Late Bloomers (1996) Poster

(1996)

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7/10
Better late than never
kenjha29 July 2007
Connie Nelson (not to be confused with Connie Nielsen; in fact she looks like David Warner) is a female basketball coach who falls in love with a female school secretary, creating an uproar at the high school. Hennigan is touching as the overweight secretary in a sexless marriage whose life is renewed when she meets Nelson. Carter is good as Hennigan's perplexed husband, who is also a teacher at the school. Although it feels at times like an after-school TV special, it is saved by the interesting characters and pretty good acting by the large cast. It is competently written and directed by the Dyer sisters, who have not done anything since.
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7/10
Gay liberation, in a way, but sweet and non-militant
smatysia14 February 2021
A fairly early entry in the push for gay acceptance. It's always easier to use a lesbian story for this, as picturing male homosexuality is widely considered unappealing and offensive. Having said that, this movie was sweet and non-militant. Connie Nelson did a fine acting job, but she looks like a stereotypical middle-aged lesbian. Dee Hennigan was the opposite, playing a harried suburban mom. I thought she was lovely, even though she didn't have a typical Hollywood look. being a bit older and heavier than that. That's an observation, not a criticism. I ended up really liking this film.
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5/10
It's great because I was in it
mrbluto28 January 2001
This move was slow in parts but I love it because I was in it, in the basketball scene I am the large bald guy in the stands, I had cancer at the time and it gave me something to do.
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A nice surprise, a sweet film.
drlloyd112 June 2003
Yeah, its sort of movie of the week, but its sweet and well acted. More importantly, its two middle aged woman falling in love, neither look like super models, and yet its pretty damn sexy at parts (they play nude basketball at night in a really cute scene). I have to recommend this.
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1/10
Just plain horrible
pnichols8 January 1999
Dee Hennigan, one of the stars of Late Bloomers, is my cousin. And no matter how much I hate to say this, I must - the movie was horrible. It wasn't the relatively-taboo subject matter or the nudity or anything like that. Rather, I just found the dialogue to be unnatural, and the acting fairly poor. Dee has done much better work than this, as I hope have the other actors and actresses.
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10/10
Excellent Movie!
siverline26 June 2006
While most movies show two model like hot woman in a love relationship, this one shows two ordinary women getting to know themselves and then each other.

Connie Nelson plays Dinah Groshardt (an unattached middle aged woman who is made fun off by her students for her lack of love life) , a trigonometry teacher at a high school where Carly Lumpkin (played by Dee Hennigan) works in the principal's office and her husband Ron Lumpkin (played by Gary Carter) teaches algebra.

Carly and Ron have two kids, rebel daughter Val (Jonah Marsh) & pleasing son Avery (Graham Skipper). There is no longer any love left in Carly and Ron's relationship and she has issues with her own body. One day in class Dinah confiscates a love note between Val & her boyfriend Jamie Hooper (Esteban Powell), a budding rock star. Later while Dinah comes to the Lumpkins for dinner, Carly goes through Dinah's purse while she is out playing ball with Ron. She mistakes the note for an affair between the two. Later when she realizes her mistake and confesses to Dinah it leads to friendship and much more.

The movie is thoroughly enjoyable and gives a realistic look at how a love relationship between two women, its effects on their personal and professional lives and a good anticipated ending.

While Connie Nelson looks like Jeremy Irons (ha!ha!, it is Dee Hennigan, who steals the show as Carly who wants to share her love between her new partner and her family. A little obese and petite, she is extremely attractive and looks like a million dollars. Watch out for her basketball scenes with Connie Nelson, one in the buff and one in their wedding dress. Gary Carter plays the unfortunate but understanding husband with great style.
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8/10
What's the story, Wishbone?
tilly-317 February 1999
I came upon this movie by accident while channel surfing one morning. At first, I thought it was an "Afterschool Special," being repeated, but the midnight basketball session dispelled that idea. I'm glad to see this film was shown during the day, when people can actually see it, rather than played in the middle of the night, when the world is sleeping. It's hard to play this story out without making some aspect of it melodramatic: but I give the cast an "A+" for making me care how it all would end. (Hey: Didn't I see some of the 'Wishbone' players in this one?)
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8/10
I Love This Movie
maclasch12 March 2009
Decently-written and sweetly acted, this is a realistic story of two ordinary women (I thought both of them were beautiful!) who fall in love. Carly Lumpkin, pleasingly plump and ignored by her husband is the high school secretary at Eleanor Roosevelt high school. Dinah Groshardt doubles as the high school's geometry teacher and basketball coach; she keeps turtles, lives alone, and claims to have never been in love. Their love affair eventually causes a stir at the school. There are many funny moments, along with a proper dose of drama.

I'm 22 years old, but I would much rather watch this than the current fare which usually centers around teenage or adolescent-acting young people. I'll watch it, but it won't touch my heart nearly as much as Late Bloomers. This story is about real love and shows even people your parent's age can be passionate and affectionate. Especially enjoyed the Lulu song "Oh me, Oh my" in this movie.

My only real complaint is the way they portrayed teenage Val (she really annoyed me), but then this story does not focus on her completely, so it's easy to ignore. What this movie lacks in perfect writing, it makes up for in heart and a compelling story (and good acting, at least by the two leads). One of my favorite movies.
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10/10
Fired because of homophobia- or love?
kjsahl6 August 2000
This film is for the elder audience. Don't get me wrong. I recomend everybody to see it. Finally the cast is not some teenagers but grown woman.

The film is set in a small town where everybody knows everybody. The scandal is a fact when two woman is in love with eachother-one married, with two children. The other a respectfull teacher, who also is a basket ball trainer.

The film has some good humor and serious dialog and is a film worth waching for everybody.

Anita
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9/10
I was surprised!
thedooke23 August 1999
The film was good. I liked the plot and as the story developed I enjoyed the love story very much. The Actors ( DEE and Connie) played their parts well and I hope to see more from them in the future. I give this film an A+.
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9/10
Happily Surprised
ritaspirit26 July 2020
This movie breaks molds and stereotypes. It's not a typical coming of age romcom. Society needs to see stories like this, because these kinds of stories are the ones that really happen. And, Dee Hennigen is Gorgeous!
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8/10
We saw it to see Esteban Powell, but . . .
Grand8 December 1998
. . . it was darned good! The logic of the long wait before the scheduled wedding puzzles me, but overall it was a very nice film. (And yes, we did enjoy seeing Esteban Louis Powell in it!)
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8/10
considerably better than i expected
stephangw4 April 2022
I really enjoyed this movie, even though it is now a bit dated in terms of social acceptances of homosexuality. The acting was quite good, despite there being no a-listers in the cast (obviously this is not required for a good movie). I found the writing good and the cinematography was okay. The few collage scenes were a bit too much, like looking through a kaleidoscope.

The topic of homosexuality was handled with sensitivity, compassion, and decency.

Overall, i really enjoyed this movie and would recommend it to anyone who asks.
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