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.

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.

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.

There are very few movies that strike me as realistic in nature when it comes to dealing with the topic of medical challenges. In the movie Freak City, the viewer is given the chance to be a part of the anger and hostility that surrounds different disorders. Not only does it focus on self inflicted pain but it also takes a look at family reactions by focusing on the different ways that people cope.

Having been through the gamut with my own afflictions, I will have to say that this is a movie I truly identified with. Also, Freak City is a film that will give people a deeper insight into the lives of those that society deems handicapped.

Samantha Mathis, Jonathan Silverman, and Natalie Cole? Sounds like it ought to be trite and even a bit goofy or silly...however, I was more than pleasantly surprised.

Ruth (Mathis) undergoes a beautiful transformation in this film. She finds her life in utter upheaval after the death of her grandmother. Dealing not only with that loss, she must also seek to find personal peace in Lewellyn, a care facility she is placed in against her will by her aunt.

It is here that she encounters Lenny (Silverman), Cass (Matlin), Elanor (Cole), and Cal (Sarsgaard). Each facing their own affliction, Ruth must learn to deal with her MS.

I must take a moment to applaud Peter Sarsgaard's performance as Cal. Through his conversations on Dante's inferno and his own personal demons rising to the surface, he monopolized my attention. He is phenomenal, powerful, real, and, above all, believable.

I urge you all to rent this, especially if you are involved in any way with health care. This is a beautiful story and film deserving more attention.

Caution: there are, at times, some predictable moments, Natalie's song does seem to be about two verses too long, and Lenny's mother (who you'll know as Roseanne's sitcom mom) is unavoidably annoying.