Word: carla
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Louis, in her first performance since her drug rehabilitation, tackles the challenging role of Carla Tate, a young mentally-disabled woman returning home after coming of age in a secluded private residential school. she is escorted to her affluent family's home is San Francisco by her eager and understanding father Radley Tate (Skerritt). There Carla is greeted by her two sisters Caroline and Heather, Caroline's new fiance and an overbearing mother (Keaton). Ambitious Carla Soon enrolls at Bay Tech Junior College where she meets Daniel McMare (Ribisi), another mentally challenged 20-something student. Danny, unlike Carla, attended mainstream...
Lewis and Ribisi stand out in the movie, convincing the audience of their fine acting abilities. The characters are captivating and complex. Lewis and Ribisi effectively combine humor with the serious undertones connected to the disabilities of their characters. Danny's passion for life and marching bands and Carla's desire to love and be loved make the characters real and lovable...
Though the central story-line encompassing the relationship of Carla and Danny is interesting, it is drawn out and poorly intermingled with underdeveloped sub-stories. Carla's sisters are presented as dysfunctional daughters, at least in the eyes of their mother who describes Caroline as a "dedicated underachiever" and Heather as a "Gay workaholic." Both characters have the potential to make substantial contributions to the main theme but do not. Each is simply thrown into the mixing bowl by director Gary Marshall, adding a hint of flavor but Zero texture...
...marriage between Skerritt and Keaton is also an important aspect of the plot that is alluded to but quickly abandoned. Several times throughout the movie, the couple is pitted in conflicting roles concerning the strain of raising, and letting go of, Carla. This scenario is very real in such a complicated situation but unfortunately its importance is downplayed. The struggles are continually dissolved in a similar manner and without much angst. The personality of each character is no monotonously predictable and underdeveloped that the talents of Keaton and Skarritt are wasted upon them...
...reliable pattern: he cheats; she threatens to leave; they reconcile and have a baby. So with the couple's fourth child almost a year old, reports are surfacing that their marriage is on the brink. Recently Jagger was spotted emerging from the home of an ex-mistress, model Carla Bruni, and last week tabloid headlines shrieked the news that a Brazilian model is carrying Jagger's baby (the woman denies the rumor). Jagger is also reportedly irked by his 14-year-old daughter's new modeling career, which Hall supports. Perhaps he's worried she'll have to fend...