Immediate Family

Linda and Michael (Glenn Close and James Woods) are Linda and Michael who have been unable to have a biological child.

An adoption agency matches them with a pregnant teen (Mary Stuart Masterson) who agrees to sign away custody. Once the baby is born, she decides to keep the baby and raise the child with her boyfriend (Matt Dillon).

I do not mean in any way to make light of the plot of this film as family friends went through it, and it's devastating.

However, I was conned into seeing a preview screening of this where we had to fill out opinion cards. No one in my group gave it a good review. Glenn Close is always good. I thought James Wood was awful as was some of the dialogue and situations.

I have no idea what was changed in the final film, except I know the ending we saw was added to. It still made back a little bit over the third of its budget.

As someone who went through much of what the movie portrays, I think it was beautifully written and felt true to life. I think the most wonderful thing about this movie are the subtle vignettes - like when Michael Spector is at a baseball game and sees a boy on his dad's shoulder ... everything becomes slow motion around it. And I absorbed the subtle shots of Linda dealing with everyday life and job, while going through treatments ... not many words had to be spoken to understand her sadness and stress. The insensitive doctors, friends, and the imperfections of Michael and Linda were important to understanding the layers involved. There were some touching and subtle moments between the Linda and Lucy that were great to see. Lucy's character was likable and genuine. A few years after this movie was released, I entered into an open adoption. When listing my favorite movies of all time, this one makes the list of my top ten, and I often recommend it to friends going through a similar situation.

"Immediate Family" is a look at the vicissitudes of adoption. Glenn Close and James Woods play Linda and Michael Spector, a middle-aged couple who have never been able to have children. They meet with a younger, economically strapped couple to discuss adopting from them, but further complications ensue.

I will admit that this isn't the ultimate masterpiece, but it's the sort of movie that people should see before they adopt, just to understand the issues. Equally as good as Close and Woods are Mary Stuart Masterson and Kevin Dillon, as the young couple having the baby but having doubts about giving it up. A pretty interesting movie.

30th Anniversary: 1989 - the Best Year in Cinema Marathon Film #82/100: "Immediate Family" (2nd Viewing.) My memory did NOT serve me right on this film. I *know* I saw this when it first came out 30 years ago and I recall a much longer and more in-depth drama/court/law case against the two parties, but there was NONE of that here. Maybe there was a Director's Cut I saw? Not sure, but this is a straight forward story of a loving couple adopting an unborn child of another loving couple, only one family (the former) who's well off and can provide for the child. Last minute, or post?, the real Mommy has second thoughts and we'll see how that plays out. Really good performances from solid actors and nicely shot, it's only shortcoming was the glossed over real emotions that come with mothers-to-be giving up their unborn child to strangers.

Side note: My first nephew was a product of this exact situation. My sister was pregnant at 17 (gave birth at 18) and realized, or talked into by my parents and/or church, she couldn't care for the child. A VERY well-off family stepped in and adopted the child. Nicely, he was born on Christmas Day, the year of this movie: 1989.

This movie was an excellent follow up for actress Glenn Close, after Fatal Attraction. It is a completely different direction, and showed her range as an actress. Lucy and Michael Spector, a upper middle class Seattle couple, have been married for ten years, and long to start a family. After several failed attempts, they opt for an open adoption. Mary Stuart Masterson plays the expecting teenage mother who contacts them through the ad they placed in a out of state newspaper. What follows is an acurate and touching portrayal of four people, (including the baby's father,) who's rollercoaster emotions manage to be both funny and heartbreaking at times. I thought this movie was fantastic, engrosing from start to finish, and a must see for any fan of the actors in it! Eight stars!