In the bonus track of the DVD of "Being Frank" (a.k.a., "You Can Choose Your Family"), there was a set of deleted scenes with one that was particularly revealing. In the deleted scene, Frank was reading about the philandering of President Bill Clinton and made a critical remark about the President's conduct. The film needed more of this kind of satirical content if it wanted to be a comedy with any backbone or indeed any humor.
The time is 1992, and Frank's family is gearing up for the Starling Festival, which brings back memories for the time when Frank was courting his life Laura. The film has overtones of a sit com as a potentially heartwarming family film with light comic overtones. The film could have easily moved in the direction of a Hallmark film. Unfortunately, "Being Frank" was at heart a disturbing drama of bigamy in which Frank leads two lives with two separate families.
Was this supposed to be a comedy about a man who could face jail time for his misconduct? The film's snappy dialogue was played with so much understatement that it rarely felt like a comedy. The character of the pothead named Uncle Ross, who impersonates Richie, the fictitious father of Frank's son Phillip, was really the only character who rang true as a comic figure.
There is a lengthy build-up to the declaration of truth of Frank to his two devoted and long-suffering wives, Laura and Bonnie. But the key character in enabling the father's despicable conduct was his young son Phillip. So, in addition to polygamy, Frank was inflicting emotional trauma on his teenage son.
What will Hollywood think of next as a subject for a film comedy? It would be difficult to stoop to any lower depth than the disgusting subject matter of this film.
The time is 1992, and Frank's family is gearing up for the Starling Festival, which brings back memories for the time when Frank was courting his life Laura. The film has overtones of a sit com as a potentially heartwarming family film with light comic overtones. The film could have easily moved in the direction of a Hallmark film. Unfortunately, "Being Frank" was at heart a disturbing drama of bigamy in which Frank leads two lives with two separate families.
Was this supposed to be a comedy about a man who could face jail time for his misconduct? The film's snappy dialogue was played with so much understatement that it rarely felt like a comedy. The character of the pothead named Uncle Ross, who impersonates Richie, the fictitious father of Frank's son Phillip, was really the only character who rang true as a comic figure.
There is a lengthy build-up to the declaration of truth of Frank to his two devoted and long-suffering wives, Laura and Bonnie. But the key character in enabling the father's despicable conduct was his young son Phillip. So, in addition to polygamy, Frank was inflicting emotional trauma on his teenage son.
What will Hollywood think of next as a subject for a film comedy? It would be difficult to stoop to any lower depth than the disgusting subject matter of this film.