These two leading ladies of stage and screen always got me into the movie theaters in the 1970's and 80's, and in the past 20 years, I've seen them both on and off Broadway twice each, along with costars Molly Ringwald and Len Caribou, so discovering this is a a treat for me, even at two and a quarter hours. But for the first 75 minutes, the story focuses on the gifted but troubled teens played by Zach Galligan (son of Burstyn and Caribou) and Ringwald (the sensitive, suicidal daughter of Mason and Paul Sorvino), in love but treated as children and certainly not taken seriously which leads to tragedy.
The two couples are best friends and neighbors, and the outcome of the horrendous events had the fathers deciding that they needed to be apart, and the hurt of mothers Burstyn and Mason threatens to further divide the families. Burstyn in particular is very confused with Galligan out of the blue having broke down with her, only able to tell her how much he loves her, hiding the secret that he saw his father kissing another woman. What is even sadder is the presence of the real life tragic Heather O'Rourke and River Phoenix as Galligan's younger siblings, devastated and confused by what happens.
It's very sad but oh so real to see this unfold, and the powerhouse performances of Burstyn and Mason as they face grief in different ways will really haunt you. Burstyn is more outwardly destroyed but more dangerous is the calmness of Mason which suddenly explodes into fury. I was filled with racking sobs that wanted to reach out to these two amazing mothers who should never have to go through such grief. Then there's the fathers, two terrific actors who are equally grief-stricken and overcome with guilt, realizing that their earlier actions led to the actions. The stages of grief that hit creates animosity which is natural as evidenced by a course I once took on death and dying. I'm passing this onto friends with the warning that it is like every Edward Albee play rolled into one.
The two couples are best friends and neighbors, and the outcome of the horrendous events had the fathers deciding that they needed to be apart, and the hurt of mothers Burstyn and Mason threatens to further divide the families. Burstyn in particular is very confused with Galligan out of the blue having broke down with her, only able to tell her how much he loves her, hiding the secret that he saw his father kissing another woman. What is even sadder is the presence of the real life tragic Heather O'Rourke and River Phoenix as Galligan's younger siblings, devastated and confused by what happens.
It's very sad but oh so real to see this unfold, and the powerhouse performances of Burstyn and Mason as they face grief in different ways will really haunt you. Burstyn is more outwardly destroyed but more dangerous is the calmness of Mason which suddenly explodes into fury. I was filled with racking sobs that wanted to reach out to these two amazing mothers who should never have to go through such grief. Then there's the fathers, two terrific actors who are equally grief-stricken and overcome with guilt, realizing that their earlier actions led to the actions. The stages of grief that hit creates animosity which is natural as evidenced by a course I once took on death and dying. I'm passing this onto friends with the warning that it is like every Edward Albee play rolled into one.