Family Sins

While the acting isn't superb in this made-for-television movie, the events occurring in it are excellent. This true story involves a prominent woman in the community, played by Kirstie Alley, that betrays single, struggling mothers. She manipulates one woman and has her and her daughter live in her rental property and she turns around and burns the house down, getting the woman to move into her own home. She locks the woman in the basement and raises her daughter as her own, teaching her to lie to social workers and steal from department stores. When the girl grows up, and has the baby of Kirstie Alley's son, she then goes to the police to help free her mother. But the story doesn't end here. Even in jail, Kirstie Alley wreaks havoc upon the lives of this mother, daughter, and grandson, both mentally and physically. Excellent movie, a must-see true life story.

Bring it on and Kirstie Alley does and then some. Doesn't hit a false note in Family Sins. From her sunny suburban mom persona too the outright brutal cruelty w. her family, she is the master manipulator.

She is just bone chilling in this role. It was great to see her in top form and thought the supporting cast was stellar. Just check out the stepford children and the long suffering Marie and Nadine, not to mention the son-in-law unfortunate enough to marry into this mess.

While Will Patton doesn't give the strongest of performances, his role as the prosecutor out to "get the Gecks," is solid.

All in all a good film about a very tragic story.

Superb film dealing with a family that used the system to take full advantage and do the most horrendous things to people who were under their foster care.

The film is marvelous as it is really a stinging indictment of the foster care system. That social worker saw all the symptoms of child abuse and chose instead to make notations, look at her watch and simply walk away.

Kirstie Alley again proves that she is a magnificent dramatic actress as the devil of a mother. Teaching children how to steal, setting fire to real estate that she owned, having the most disgusting children herself, and married to a brute all come together to make such an outstanding film.

The film is also a testimony to a criminal justice system that finally worked and meted out appropriate justice.

This is a marvelous film which should be viewed by so many groups alike.

This was such a terrible story. If it hadn't been Kirstie Alley playing this despicably cruel character, I don't think I could have watched it.

This seemed like a normal family, respected by the community because of their charity efforts, and because the parents took in so many foster children. But the Geck children, and the foster children, were forced to steal, and the Gecks owned apartment buildings which mysteriously caught fire when certain tenants didn't pay rent. And the disabled mother of one foster child was kept locked in the basement.

Kathleen Wilhoite did such a good job as a girl treated so harshly she apparently couldn't feel pain any more. She seemed almost happy with her life because she didn't know any better. That was just sad.

I'm not sure which would have been worse: that these people were real, or that someone could have been sick enough to make up this story. The story, unfortunately, was true. I wish it hadn't been. Still an entertaining presentation.

This was such a terrible story. If it hadn't been Kirstie Alley playing this despicably cruel character, I don't think I could have watched it.

Kathleen Wilhoite did such a good job as a girl treated so harshly she apparently couldn't feel pain any more. She seemed almost happy with her life because she didn't know any better. That was just sad.

I'm not sure which would have been worse: that these people were real, or that someone could have been sick enough to make up this story. The latter, unfortunately, was true. I wish it hadn't been. Still an entertaining presentation.