At Random
The Myth of Fingerprints (1997)
director: bart freundlich
cast: randee allen, arija bareikis, justin barreto, christopher bauer, nicholas bourgeois, tom cumler, blythe danner, hope davis, christopher duva, kelsey gunn, laurel holloman, brian kerwin, james le gros, julianne moore, polly pelletier, noah wyle, michael vartan
Well,
I spun myself around the video store, closed my eyes and chose "At Random":
This time I grabbed a hold of "The Myth of Fingerprints". This was a great flick.
I really thought the cast was perfect, everybody really fit in. Which is kind
of ironic, being a film about a dysfunctional family. But it was really true
to life. You could see that there was a connection between them, even though
most of them didn't connect. The great thing about this film was that it didn't
seem to try hard to make you believe they were a family. It allowed the viewer
to see bits and pieces of this family's lives, with all its imperfections and
short comings. And it felt genuine.
The movie focuses around a family's
Thanksgiving reunion. Roy Scheider and Blyth Danner play the parents, with Noah
Wyle, Julianne Moore, Michael Vartan and Laurel Holloman as their children.
They all come to this get-together with their own personal baggage. Julianna
Moore brings her boyfriend, and it isn't long before we see how dysfunctional
their relationship is. Michael Vartan 
brings
along his girlfriend. Vartan too is a product of his upbringing and is having
difficulties with commitment, and saying "I love you". Which is something I
could never understand. Maybe it's a product of my upbringing, but I never have
trouble saying,"I love you." I could say I love you to a box of Triscuits and
mean it. Which may not be such a great attribute of mine. My hair is kind of
frizzy too. Another "not so great attribute". I'm not too happy with my teeth
either. But none-the-less, it is a result of my genetics and upbringing. My
mother sees good in everyone and is very "lovey". Her hair is kind of frizzy
too and my dad has big teeth. The old nature/nurture argument comes into play
here. Blythe Danner (I'm back to the movie now so keep up) seems like a nice
enough mother. But no affection is exchanged. Scheider too is unaffectionate
and appears to be the introverted type who is grappling with some demons of
his own. But through clever writing and a great performance, you feel for him.
As you do for all the characters. At least I did. Which may be because of my
mother. Hell, melt some cheddar cheese on Triscuits in the microwave and you
tell me you can't say "I love you". You're dead inside if you can't. Dead!
The
interesting thing about the characters is that although the children all grew
up under the same roof, with the same "influences", they didn't turn out the
same. They each got something else from their surroundings. Noah became the
overly sensitive type, Julianna the strong, never show her emotions type, Michael
Vartan is somewhere in the middle and Laurel Holloman is the really sweet, "nothing
bothers her" type. But there's a subtle, similar undercurrent that they share.
Which is how life is. How family is. If you have brothers or sisters you will
be able to identify and understand what it's all about. And if you don't, you
can always curl up to a box of wheat thins and enjoy the show. You probably
got everything you ever wanted anyway. Just like my older sister did. She got
braces... her teeth are perfect now. – Edd Rockis
$9.50
© 2001 Edd Rockis