Tender Loving Care

For those of you who may be confused, this isn't a movie per se, it's more of a video game. You are shown clips of the story, afterwhich you are asked a series of questions and are given a chance to search around the house in which the action takes place, finding clues and sometimes interacting with the characters. That said, it is very very easy to get yourself totally immersed in Tender Loving Care. The acting at times is less than par, but despite this the characters seem very deep. The "game" aspect makes it take a while to finish the whole thing, but it is very worth it at the end when you are presented with a complete psychoanalysis based on your answers to questions and your searches through the house. I've played it through more than once, it is well worth the time.

This is one of the best and most original films I've seen in a long time. To be honest, I don't think I've seen a drama that could keep me interested for so long. I was hooked immediately. I wanted to know what would happen and where the movie would go the entire time. It wasn't like one of those dramas you see on TV--this was one ultimate thriller! Filmmakers should make more dramas like this; a struggle of power and sexuality is something men would actually watch. I appreciated this movie and I really felt that the movie, much like the book, was something that would entice many people who can't stand the drama and sitcoms people are force-fed on television.

And the PC game was a real testament to the originality and thoughtfulness of the makers. The game allowed the player to decide on an ending and take some fun psychological tests in them. I especially liked it because I got two different endings and I enjoyed the way it left me hanging off, wanting more, but in a way, answering all I wanted to know. You really have to see it.

Be warned, feminists won't like the movie; the theme is very distrustful of women overall.

I have just viewed this movie, after about three sessions (the quizzes and tours of the Overtons' residence take up quite a bit of time, and as they also break the flow, are convenient points to leave the story for later viewing). You cannot just pop the disk in and expect to be done in two hours. It is true that the acting is less than stellar, and the interactive nature of the plot means that the scene transitions can be jarring and sometimes lack flow when the software selects the scene according to the personality questions you've answered. Additionally, there are the typical gaffs you see in grade "B" movie making, such as when the camera revolves around Michael in a phone booth and you see the crew reflected in the glass. All this I can overlook, however, as I think this is a very laudable attempt at coming to grips with a new genre. For me, the emotional impact of the story was definitely heightened by its attempt at identifying, then pushing, my emotional buttons, even in such a ham-handed, primitive way. Of course, the more honest you are with the many questions, the more satisfying is the end result. The highly personal nature of the questions suggests that it is best to view this alone, at first. It would be interesting viewing for couples who are comfortable communicating with each other, but caution is recommended. As this genre becomes more sophisticated (assuming of course the fickle public buys into it), becoming more incisive, I think it will have a larger effect on society than violence in the media, maybe even the television itself. If it succedes in reaching into your guts and shoving that stuff in your face, who knows how different people will react when confronted by that level of truth?

This movie is actually a computer cd-rom game. But that doesn't make it bad, actually it's the other way around. The actors are great and is really handling this new kind of acting very well. At the beginning it felt a little strange when the actors stared right through the camera and looked at you, but it gave a better impression of being in the movie. The questions given in the movie can be a little stupid sometimes and I never knew what they really where there for. Anyway this is a great movie and it can't be missed, see it and play it.

My friend and I recently played the video game version for some laughs. As a game it's very limited with the technology you are actually just answering questions and exploring the game world via on rails pre rendered backgrounds with fmv segments to fill in the story. The acting is decent the premise is quite dull taking way to long to get any where but the actors are surprisingly good you hate and sympathize all the right people. You are better off watching the movie version than playing as a game. It's just to long and convoluted as a game and start to lose interest very early on I don't know if this was supposed to be a hand that rocked the cradle situation but we stopped caring half way through.