Freak City

Freak City was a better movie than I expected. It actually was a good storyline and what a cast. From the talented and beautiful Samantha Mathis playing a girl with MS and she plays it so well to Jonathan Silverman playing a blindman so well. Marlee Matlin is terrific and such a talented actress who is deaf in real life. Natalie Cole plays a brain damaged singer and she is good. She sings in the movie and it is good. Now a movie about handicapped people may not be a movie geared to alot of people but when you watch this, you will basically be watching people's lives in this. I was so impressed with it and bought it to add to my Samantha Mathis collection. Samantha is superb as always and this girl shines like always as well. It was shot here in Toronto and that was when I had the honor of meeting Samantha who is such a sweetheart. Rent it or buy it, not boring at all.

This movie stars Samantha Mathis and shows the life of someone with MS who is sent to a nursing home after her grandmother dies. Her grandmother had been her care-giver up to that point. It shows the emotional problems that someone in this situation would face because they can still THINK for themselves, but are not physically sufficient any longer. Ruth (Samantha) has to learn to deal with the others around her in the nursing home and ends up with several friends (blind guy, mentally slow roommate, brain damaged singer, and others). She not only learns how to deal with others, but helps them learn to move forward with their lives too.

It was a good movie that touches on a subject that most of us do not like to think about and Samantha gives a good performance. Her co-stars are Jonathan Silverman, Marlee Matlin, and Natalie Cole.

IT WASN'T A MOVIE I WATCHED - IT WAS SOME PEOPLES LIVES I SAW! I think Freak City is an amazing movie. All the actors made their absolutely best. How easy is it to act someone who is so completely different? That question been made up in my mind during the time I saw the film. It is after a movie like this you can see which people who are good actors or not. An actor I think is really great in the film is Peter Sarsgaard as Cal. I think his role is really difficult to play. He made a fantastic job in the movie and he is very real and believable. I recommend this movie to all kind of persons. The movie is even funny in some scenes. I think the film would be seen by more people in the world, it is really a GREAT movie.

This is a nice movie, some scenes are a little long, but it's not annoying. In this movie, Ruth's grandma dies. Ruth is an MS-patient and her family takes her to a home for mental and physical handicapped people. At first, she does not like the home, but she finds her way there and makes some new friends. The movie has a good story. It's definitely one to watch if you like drama movies.

Other reviewers focused on the improbable circumstances of the story. Being familiar with institutions, asylums, and homes since the mid-60s I can vouch for there still being plenty of places like those depicted to warehouse the unwanted. Having paperwork makes it easier even if it's the wrong paperwork. This holds true for adults; there are plenty of ways to entangle them in the system.

What I really wanted to those who care that the movie is full of strong language. Many of the characters toss off obscenities easily. I am used to a TV-14 being roughly equivalent to PG-13. The PG-13 however only permits limited strong language and this film runs way beyond counting. I do not know that the rest of the content would have warranted an R rating in theaters. The language would have to be toned down to get the PG-13, however, as the f-bomb detonates more than I would want my children to hear. More than I want to hear too now that I am thinking about it.

Otherwise cast members each have beautiful scenes that highlight their strengths as actors. Watching that is a real pleasure since there is so much talent pooled in this cast. Also nice that the movie is old enough that many are caught before their careers took off.