ORDINARY PEOPLE (1980)

ORDINARY PEOPLE (1980) - Directed by Robert Redford

Greg introduced me to this one, and I wanna get into Robert Redford's directed stuff a lot more.

Basically, the film is about a family trying to cope with the loss of a family member, who died in a tragic boating accident. Tim Hutton plays the lesser-favorite brother who attempted suicide and is racked with guilt, and is seeing a psychiatrist (played by Judd Hirsch). Mary Tyler Moore is the cold, unforgiving mother, incapable of doling out any more love, total bitch. Donald Sutherland plays the father that tries to remain positive and keep everyone together.

It was well done, but it kind of dragged near the end, and then finished abruptly.

But that's okay, because the movie had the few occasional lines that just seemed so out-of-place for this kind of drama, that me and Greg just looked at each other and laughed. Seriously, Tim Hutton barking like a dog was awesome. Plus, Donald Sutherland's goofy face when he laughs, and Mary Tyler Moore's Egyptian Mummy Corpse Face added to the comedic relief throughout the otherwise heavy film.

The psychiatrist scenes with Hutton and Hirsch were good, and looked like they could have been inspiration for Good Will Hunting. I teared up a little bit when they did a "It's not your fault, it's not your fault" sequence. No, this was total inspiration for GWH (Except I like Robin Williams as a psychiatrist more, just because of the "if you talk ill about my wife again, I WILL END YOU, you got that chief?!" line).

As I said, the ending was abrupt (Husband tells wife she's a cold bitch and he doesn't love her; she fucks off to Houston; the son blames himself for her leaving; father consoling kid telling him not to blame himself, and that's it! END.)

SO AWESOME.

The cold ending gives this 6 grim skulls of 10.

I'd recommend this movie to anyone that's ever coped with the loss of a loved one, or anyone who wants to see tomb face. Plus, this movie gets referenced in Party Down, first episode.

Ordinary Fucking People.

- LD



Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZYHe8IAlto&feature=player_embedded