Ordinary People
Ordinary People
#0Ordinary People
Posted: 3/1/05 at 4:54pm
Was watching this movie last night. I had almost forgotten how affecting it is. It is, and has always been, one of the best movies I have ever seen. Some claim that "Raging Bull" was robbed. I beg to differ.
Timothy Hutton gives one of my favorite supporting performances of recent decades as Conrad Jarrett, a disturbed youth who is in the process of recovering from the death of his older brother, Buck. Mary Tyler Moore is, in a word, excellent. With every precise line delivery and facial expression, she brings home the emotional distance between her husband and her son. "Wait a minute... Did I take trig?"
Judd Hirsch is awesome (yay, "TAXI"!!!), as usual. The unsung hero of the film (the only member of the main cast who was ignored come Oscar season) is Donald Sutherland, who has some wonderful moments of subtlety. Dinah Manoff (Marty from the film version of "Grease") and Elizabeth McGovern are also good in their brief roles.
Updated On: 3/1/05 at 04:54 PM
FindingNamo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
#1re: Ordinary People
Posted: 3/1/05 at 4:58pmMary's the one who got robbed, my beloved Mary.
Twitter @NamoInExile
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Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#2re: Ordinary People
Posted: 3/1/05 at 5:02pm
Mary was robbed. She lost to Sissy Spacek's Loretta "Baloney makes you horny" Lynn.
The Oscars love people who can imitate other people.
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#4re: Ordinary People
Posted: 3/1/05 at 5:03pm
"Never heard of or seen the movie.... :/"
So why are you hanging around on the internet? Run out now and rent it. It's a great movie.
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
CurtainUp2
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/8/04
#6re: Ordinary People
Posted: 3/1/05 at 5:26pmIMO Ordinary People is a perfect movie. Perfect in every possibe way and in every sense of the word. To this day it remains one of my Top 5 all time favorite movies. And Mary was DEFINITELY robbed!
There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.
- Nelson Mandela
#7re: Ordinary People
Posted: 3/1/05 at 5:28pm
CurtainUp-
I was going to say the same thing, but I was afraid someone would slam me for it.
#8re: Ordinary People
Posted: 3/1/05 at 5:29pmit's one of the few movies made that I feel one can look at and call "real".
It is ridiculous to set a detective story in New York City. New York City is itself a detective story...
AGATHA CHRISTIE, Life magazine, May 14, 1956
#9re: Ordinary People
Posted: 3/1/05 at 5:33pmI agree, Elphie. It is unafraid to show even the worst sides of people. Example: Beth.
GovernorSlaton
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/14/04
#10re: Ordinary People
Posted: 3/1/05 at 5:33pmI've never gotten the chance to see the movie, but the book is wonderful.
robbiej
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#11re: Ordinary People
Posted: 3/1/05 at 5:35pm
It's hard to argue that Sissy Spacek should have lost. She's quite glorious in COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER.
HOWEVER, Mary was simply breathtaking in ORDINARY PEOPLE. I think she suffered from the same problem Annette Bening did in 2000. Though both actresses were spectacular, their roles almost seemed supporting to the men's character arcs. They were up against women who had to carry their movies.
But that scene on the golf course still kills me.
God, I love that movie. Judd Hirsch is magnificent, Timothy Hutton is sublime, Donald Sutherland is heartbreaking (ROBBED of a nomination) and Dinah Manoff was simply there, which makes any movie better, imho.
"I'm so looking forward to a time when all the Reagan Democrats are dead."
#12re: Ordinary People
Posted: 3/1/05 at 5:36pm
I want more movies like that. So few movies make you think, anymore.......
Sometimes I don't want to be entertained, but rather. I want to be engaged.........
It is ridiculous to set a detective story in New York City. New York City is itself a detective story...
AGATHA CHRISTIE, Life magazine, May 14, 1956
#13re: Ordinary People
Posted: 3/1/05 at 5:37pmOn repeat viewings, this scene puts a knife in my stomach: "Conrad, let's have a great Christmas. Let's have... a great year. Let's have the best year of our whole lives."
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#14re: Ordinary People
Posted: 3/1/05 at 5:38pmOne of my favorites ever made - and touched me deeply at an important part of my life. And I agree, Robbie, about the actresses involved. Both were stunning.
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#15re: Ordinary People
Posted: 3/1/05 at 5:54pm
I think Spacek's performance, while excellent (I've met Loretta Lynn), gets lost in imitation.
Moore's performance was brilliant acting.
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
#16re: Ordinary People
Posted: 3/1/05 at 5:57pmI truly loved Beverly as Patsy Cline
It is ridiculous to set a detective story in New York City. New York City is itself a detective story...
AGATHA CHRISTIE, Life magazine, May 14, 1956
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#17re: Ordinary People
Posted: 3/1/05 at 6:00pm
"I truly loved Beverly as Patsy Cline"
Beverly was robbed when it came time to make Sweet Dreams. Jessica Lange was a hack!!!
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
hedwig14
Leading Actor Joined: 9/6/04
#18re: Ordinary People
Posted: 3/2/05 at 12:18am
"On repeat viewings, this scene puts a knife in my stomach: "Conrad, let's have a great Christmas. Let's have... a great year. Let's have the best year of our whole lives." "
I completely agree. This movie gets me every time. Whenever it's on cable I have to sit and watch even though I know I will end up in tears.
WindyCityActor
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/13/03
#19re: Ordinary People
Posted: 3/2/05 at 8:22am
Hedwig, I love your avator. I am a PufnStuf fanatic!
Re: Ordinary People. great movie, and Mary is amazing!
wildcat
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/04
#20re: Ordinary People
Posted: 3/2/05 at 8:22am
Wasn't this the first film directed by Robert Redford? In the scheme of things, without "Ordinary People" there would be no Sundance Institute and Film Festival!
And yes, Mary was robbed. Very clever casting.
#21re: Ordinary People
Posted: 3/2/05 at 8:33am
I like 'Ordinary People.' It's a good movie.
'Raging Bull,' though, is a chapter in film history.
MusicMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/16/03
#22re: Ordinary People
Posted: 3/2/05 at 8:44am
RAGING BULL is the superior film but, Lord, I lived ORDINARY PEOPLE.
#23re: Ordinary People
Posted: 3/2/05 at 9:07amHaving been in the exact same position as the Hutton character (I was 15 when it happened), I can say with utmost authority that this film is spot on. I didn't have Medusa for a mother, mind you, but the feelings of displaced guilt -- oh, yeah. I find it hard to watch this film, but I do love it.
FindingNamo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
#24re: Ordinary People
Posted: 3/2/05 at 9:53amI'm glad to hear all this positive discussion of Ordinary People. I haven't seen it again since the early-80s, but I saw it a few times in the theater when it came out. Glad to hear that it still holds up for folks.
Twitter @NamoInExile
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