Arlene Golonka died at the age of 85 after deliverable several memorable performances in the entertainment industry. Golonka is an American actress known for her roles in notable television shows such as The Andy Griffith Show and its spin-off Mayberry R.F.D. The late actress’s ancestry can be traced to a distant country but she made a name for herself in the American entertainment industry. Golonka rose through the ranks from her humble beginnings in the movie industry, leaving a record of stellar performances in her wake. Arlene Golonka launched her acting career as a teenager with the zeal to make...
- 7/14/2023
- by Banks Onuoha
- TVovermind.com
Who will be included for the special “In Memoriam” segment for Sunday night’s Oscars 2022 ceremony? For almost all other Academy Awards productions since the 1990s, producers typically select 40-50 people from the various branches. The 2021 segment had close to 100 people in a particularly fast-paced three minutes that was not very well-received since many of them were only on screen for a second or two.
SEECelebrity Deaths 2022: In Memoriam Gallery
Previous Oscar winners from acting categories passing away since last year’s late April ceremony are Olympia Dukakis, William Hurt and Sidney Poitier. Past acting nominees include Ned Beatty, Sally Kellerman and Dean Stockwell.
Almost all of the dozens on the list below were Academy members, previous nominees/winners or both.
Louie Anderson (actor)
Ed Asner (actor)
Ned Beatty (actor)
Marilyn Bergman (composer)
Val Bisoglio (actor)
Robert Blalack (visual effects)
Peter Bogdanovich (director)
David Brenner (editor)
Leslie Bricusse (composer...
SEECelebrity Deaths 2022: In Memoriam Gallery
Previous Oscar winners from acting categories passing away since last year’s late April ceremony are Olympia Dukakis, William Hurt and Sidney Poitier. Past acting nominees include Ned Beatty, Sally Kellerman and Dean Stockwell.
Almost all of the dozens on the list below were Academy members, previous nominees/winners or both.
Louie Anderson (actor)
Ed Asner (actor)
Ned Beatty (actor)
Marilyn Bergman (composer)
Val Bisoglio (actor)
Robert Blalack (visual effects)
Peter Bogdanovich (director)
David Brenner (editor)
Leslie Bricusse (composer...
- 3/24/2022
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Sunday’s SAG Awards ceremony will return to its normal two-hour live format on TNT and TBS. One of the highlights each year is the special In Memoriam segment. It’s been a particularly rough year with over 100 deaths of prominent actors and actresses who were likely members of SAG/AFTRA. Show producers typically are able to include approximately 40-50 people in a tribute. The 2021 segment saluted 55 people because they had responsibility for 14 months instead of 12.
Among that group will certainly be previous SAG president Ed Asner, who was also a life achievement award recipient. That honorary award was also presented to Sidney Poitier and Betty White, who both died this past year.
SEECelebrity Deaths 2022: In Memoriam Gallery
Who else might be featured in the 2022 tribute? Look for Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis, Oscar nominees Ned Beatty, Peter Bogdanovich and Dean Stockwell, plus Emmy champs Louie Anderson, Michael Constantine, Charles Grodin,...
Among that group will certainly be previous SAG president Ed Asner, who was also a life achievement award recipient. That honorary award was also presented to Sidney Poitier and Betty White, who both died this past year.
SEECelebrity Deaths 2022: In Memoriam Gallery
Who else might be featured in the 2022 tribute? Look for Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis, Oscar nominees Ned Beatty, Peter Bogdanovich and Dean Stockwell, plus Emmy champs Louie Anderson, Michael Constantine, Charles Grodin,...
- 2/25/2022
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Producers of the 73rd annual Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony honored almost all of the expected people who died this past year. Who was not featured during the emotional In Memoriam segment Sunday night on CBS? Prominent performers and character actors such as Frank Bonner, Sean Connery, Michael Constantine, Abby Dalton, James Hampton, Bruce Kirby, Norman Lloyd, Helen Reddy and Jane Withers were not part of the 49 people included.
While over 100 celebrated television people died since last year’s event in mid-September of 2020, the segment generally only makes room for less than 50. Among those featured Sunday night: TV Academy Hall of Fame members actor Ed Asner, production designer Roy Christopher, actress Cloris Leachman, writer/producer William Link and actress Cicely Tyson. Current nominee Michael K. Williams (“Lovecraft Country”) and “Saturday Night Live” veteran Norm Macdonald sadly passed away this month as well.
SEECelebrity Deaths 2021: In Memoriam Gallery
The 49 people featured...
While over 100 celebrated television people died since last year’s event in mid-September of 2020, the segment generally only makes room for less than 50. Among those featured Sunday night: TV Academy Hall of Fame members actor Ed Asner, production designer Roy Christopher, actress Cloris Leachman, writer/producer William Link and actress Cicely Tyson. Current nominee Michael K. Williams (“Lovecraft Country”) and “Saturday Night Live” veteran Norm Macdonald sadly passed away this month as well.
SEECelebrity Deaths 2021: In Memoriam Gallery
The 49 people featured...
- 9/20/2021
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Emmys 2021: In Memoriam segment will honor Michael K. Williams, Cicely Tyson, Ed Asner and who else?
Producers of this Sunday’s Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony have some difficult decisions to make about who to honor during the emotional In Memoriam segment. Cedric the Entertainer will host the 2021 Emmys for CBS at 8:00 p.m. Et; 5:00 p.m. Pt. A total of 34 presenters have been announced so far.
Our list below includes almost 100 people who made a strong contribution to television and have died since mid-September of 2020. Only about 40-45 of these people will probably be in the video segment. Certain to be featured will be TV Academy Hall of Fame members actor Ed Asner, production designer Roy Christopher, actress Cloris Leachman, writer/producer William Link and actress Cicely Tyson. Current nominee Michael K. Williams (“Lovecraft Country”) sadly passed away this month as well.
SEECelebrity Deaths 2021: In Memoriam Gallery
Ed Asner (actor)
Dana Baratta (writer/producer)
Anne Beatts (writer)
Ned Beatty (actor)
William Blinn (writer)
Frank Bonner (actor)
Perry Botkin,...
Our list below includes almost 100 people who made a strong contribution to television and have died since mid-September of 2020. Only about 40-45 of these people will probably be in the video segment. Certain to be featured will be TV Academy Hall of Fame members actor Ed Asner, production designer Roy Christopher, actress Cloris Leachman, writer/producer William Link and actress Cicely Tyson. Current nominee Michael K. Williams (“Lovecraft Country”) sadly passed away this month as well.
SEECelebrity Deaths 2021: In Memoriam Gallery
Ed Asner (actor)
Dana Baratta (writer/producer)
Anne Beatts (writer)
Ned Beatty (actor)
William Blinn (writer)
Frank Bonner (actor)
Perry Botkin,...
- 9/15/2021
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Arlene Golonka, best known for her portrayal of waitress Millie on the classic CBS sitcom The Andy Griffith Show and its spinoff Mayberry R.F.D., died Monday at a West Hollywood memory care facility following a battle with Alzheimer’s. She was 85.
Her death was announced by her friend, the literary agent Cary Kozlov.
Golonka, who made her Broadway debut in 1958’s short-lived The Night Circus before landing stage roles in 1962’s Come Blow Your Horn and 1963’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, already had made numerous appearances on television prior to her breakthrough role on The Andy Griffith Show in 1967, among them Car 54, Where Are You?, The Doctors, The Flying Nun and The Big Valley.
She made her first Griffith appearance on Oct. 16, 1967, in an episode that introduced her as Millie Hutchins, initially intended as a love interest for bookish bachelor Howard Sprague (played by Jack Dodson...
Her death was announced by her friend, the literary agent Cary Kozlov.
Golonka, who made her Broadway debut in 1958’s short-lived The Night Circus before landing stage roles in 1962’s Come Blow Your Horn and 1963’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, already had made numerous appearances on television prior to her breakthrough role on The Andy Griffith Show in 1967, among them Car 54, Where Are You?, The Doctors, The Flying Nun and The Big Valley.
She made her first Griffith appearance on Oct. 16, 1967, in an episode that introduced her as Millie Hutchins, initially intended as a love interest for bookish bachelor Howard Sprague (played by Jack Dodson...
- 6/1/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Arlene Golonka, a veteran character actor best known for playing Millie Swanson on “Mayberry R.F.D.,” died Monday in West Hollywood, Calif. She was 85.
Her niece Stephanie Morton, said she had been suffering from Alzheimer’s.
“She lived and breathed being an artist, being an actress was who she was born to be,” said her niece, “She was a very wise woman who I was lucky to call my aunt.”
“She loved to teach,” said Morton, who said her acting students over the years included Halle Berry.
With a career spanning over 45 years, Golonka played recurring roles on “The Doctors,” “Joe & Valerie” and “1st & 10” and appeared in episodes of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “M*A*S*H” and “The King of Queens.” On “The Andy Griffith Show,” Golonka played Millie Hutchins, the girlfriend of Sam Jones (Ken Berry) on two episodes, and she reprised the role as Millie Swanson on “Mayberry R.F.D.” across 34 episodes.
Her niece Stephanie Morton, said she had been suffering from Alzheimer’s.
“She lived and breathed being an artist, being an actress was who she was born to be,” said her niece, “She was a very wise woman who I was lucky to call my aunt.”
“She loved to teach,” said Morton, who said her acting students over the years included Halle Berry.
With a career spanning over 45 years, Golonka played recurring roles on “The Doctors,” “Joe & Valerie” and “1st & 10” and appeared in episodes of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “M*A*S*H” and “The King of Queens.” On “The Andy Griffith Show,” Golonka played Millie Hutchins, the girlfriend of Sam Jones (Ken Berry) on two episodes, and she reprised the role as Millie Swanson on “Mayberry R.F.D.” across 34 episodes.
- 6/1/2021
- by Ethan Shanfeld
- Variety Film + TV
Arlene Golonka, the bubbly actress who starred on Broadway before working behind the counter at Boysinger’s Bakery on The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D. has died. She was 85.
Golonka died early Monday morning in her sleep at a memory care facility in West Hollywood after a battle with Alzheimer’s, her niece Stephanie Morton-Millstein told The Hollywood Reporter.
Early in her career, Golonka shared a New York apartment with Valerie Harper and played hookers on Broadway in Take Me Along and Kirk Douglas’ One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. She also was the object of two brothers’ affection in Neil ...
Golonka died early Monday morning in her sleep at a memory care facility in West Hollywood after a battle with Alzheimer’s, her niece Stephanie Morton-Millstein told The Hollywood Reporter.
Early in her career, Golonka shared a New York apartment with Valerie Harper and played hookers on Broadway in Take Me Along and Kirk Douglas’ One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. She also was the object of two brothers’ affection in Neil ...
Arlene Golonka, the bubbly actress who starred on Broadway before working behind the counter at Boysinger’s Bakery on The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D. has died. She was 85.
Golonka died early Monday morning in her sleep at a memory care facility in West Hollywood after a battle with Alzheimer’s, her niece Stephanie Morton-Millstein told The Hollywood Reporter.
Early in her career, Golonka shared a New York apartment with Valerie Harper and played hookers on Broadway in Take Me Along and Kirk Douglas’ One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. She also was the object of two brothers’ affection in Neil ...
Golonka died early Monday morning in her sleep at a memory care facility in West Hollywood after a battle with Alzheimer’s, her niece Stephanie Morton-Millstein told The Hollywood Reporter.
Early in her career, Golonka shared a New York apartment with Valerie Harper and played hookers on Broadway in Take Me Along and Kirk Douglas’ One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. She also was the object of two brothers’ affection in Neil ...
What can one say about a comedy that just limps along, even when an attractive cast does fine work every step of the way? Even the bit parts are creatively cast in this odd romp infected with a really bad case of The Cutes. Natalie Wood is at her best, but in service of dumb gags: let’s blow bubble gum bubbles! The result so upset Natalie that she ditched her studio contract. The roster of engaging talent includes Peter Falk (in suave leading man mode!), Dick Shawn (less grating than usual), Lila Kedrova & Lou Jacobi (showing real style), Jonathan Winters (wasted) and, of all people, Ian Bannen as Natalie Wood’s uncomprehending husband. Bannen is so good, he drags a real laugh or two from the material. The show has been beautifully remastered.
Penelope
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 97 min. / Street Date January 26, 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Natalie Wood,...
Penelope
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 97 min. / Street Date January 26, 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Natalie Wood,...
- 1/25/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Valerie Harper, who played Rhoda Morgenstern, the brash, Bronx-accented sidekick to the Mary Richards character on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and went on to topline spinoff “Rhoda,” died Friday after being diagnosed with lung and brain cancer in 2009. She was 80.
Her daughter Christina tweeted the news.
My dad has asked me to pass on this message: “My beautiful caring wife of nearly 40 years has passed away at 10:06am, after years of fighting cancer.
She will never, ever be forgotten. Rest In Peace, mia Valeria. -Anthony.”
— Cris (@cristicacci) August 30, 2019
ABC7 first announced the news.
On July 23, her husband Tony Cacciotti posted a message saying he would be “where I belong right beside her” for as long as possible.
Harper won four Emmys for the two hugely popular 1970s shows and performed on the stage and bigscreen as well on appearing on dozens of other series. Through she was diagnosed with cancer 10 years ago,...
Her daughter Christina tweeted the news.
My dad has asked me to pass on this message: “My beautiful caring wife of nearly 40 years has passed away at 10:06am, after years of fighting cancer.
She will never, ever be forgotten. Rest In Peace, mia Valeria. -Anthony.”
— Cris (@cristicacci) August 30, 2019
ABC7 first announced the news.
On July 23, her husband Tony Cacciotti posted a message saying he would be “where I belong right beside her” for as long as possible.
Harper won four Emmys for the two hugely popular 1970s shows and performed on the stage and bigscreen as well on appearing on dozens of other series. Through she was diagnosed with cancer 10 years ago,...
- 8/30/2019
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
What are two individualistic, highly motivated movie stars supposed to do when faced with an unimaginative studio system eager to misuse their talents? Natalie Wood and Steve McQueen collaborate with a great writer, director and producer for an urban romance with an eye on the sexual double standard. It’s a hybrid production: a gritty drama that’s also a calculated career move.
Love with the Proper Stranger
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1963 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 100 min. / Street Date September 19, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Natalie Wood, Steve McQueen, Edie Adams, Tom Bosley, Herschel Bernardi, Harvey Lembeck, Agusta Ciolli, Nina Varela, Marilyn Chris, Richard Dysart, Arlene Golonka, Tony Mordente, Nobu McCarthy, Richard Mulligan, Vic Tayback, Dyanne Thorne, Val Avery.
Cinematography: Milton Krasner
Film Editor: Aaron Stell
Original Music: Elmer Bernstein
Written by Arnold Schulman
Produced by Alan J. Pakula
Directed by Robert Mulligan
1963’s Love with the Proper Stranger is...
Love with the Proper Stranger
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1963 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 100 min. / Street Date September 19, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Natalie Wood, Steve McQueen, Edie Adams, Tom Bosley, Herschel Bernardi, Harvey Lembeck, Agusta Ciolli, Nina Varela, Marilyn Chris, Richard Dysart, Arlene Golonka, Tony Mordente, Nobu McCarthy, Richard Mulligan, Vic Tayback, Dyanne Thorne, Val Avery.
Cinematography: Milton Krasner
Film Editor: Aaron Stell
Original Music: Elmer Bernstein
Written by Arnold Schulman
Produced by Alan J. Pakula
Directed by Robert Mulligan
1963’s Love with the Proper Stranger is...
- 9/9/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
This Alan Arkin-Peter Falk show is finally being recognized as a comedy mini-masterpiece. Afraid of offending his daughter's future father-in-law, a dentist is sucked into a nightmare of crime and jeopardy, as a jolly Chinese airline whisks him away to a rendezvous with danger in a Latin American dictatorship. It's a gem of sustained mirth. The In-Laws Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 823 1979 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 103 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date July 5, 2016 / 39.95 Starring Peter Falk, Alan Arkin, Richard Libertini, Nancy Dussault, Penny Peyser, Arlene Golonka, Michael Lembeck, Paul Lawrence Smith, Ed Begley Jr., James Hong, Barbara Dana, David Paymer. Cinematography David M. Walsh Film Editor Robert E. Swink Original Music John Morris Written by Andrew Bergman Produced by Arthur Miller, William Sackheim Directed by Arthur Hiller
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Good grief, I had no idea that Albert Brooks and Michael Douglas remade this movie back in...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Good grief, I had no idea that Albert Brooks and Michael Douglas remade this movie back in...
- 6/29/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Celebrity Bowling—that unabashedly silly but undeniably entertaining weekly TV show that ran for eight years in the 1970s (from 1971 though ’78) is coming to DVD From S’More Entertainment.
The Celebrity Bowling 3-dvd Collector’s Set will be available on June 14.
Hosted by Jed Allan (CSI: Miami), Celebrity Bowling featured a pair of two-celebrity teams competing on regulation size bowling lanes that were actually installed inside the show’s studio at L.A.’s Kttv Channel 5.
The rules of the game were known as “best ball”—each team member would take a shot on their own lane. If neither bowled a strike, then whoever rolled the worse shot would try to put up a spare on their partner’s lane. Winning teams garnered prizes (usually appliances, but occasionally even cars!) for audience members both present and sitting at home.
Dick Martin and Bob Newhart team up in that Seventies TV staple,...
The Celebrity Bowling 3-dvd Collector’s Set will be available on June 14.
Hosted by Jed Allan (CSI: Miami), Celebrity Bowling featured a pair of two-celebrity teams competing on regulation size bowling lanes that were actually installed inside the show’s studio at L.A.’s Kttv Channel 5.
The rules of the game were known as “best ball”—each team member would take a shot on their own lane. If neither bowled a strike, then whoever rolled the worse shot would try to put up a spare on their partner’s lane. Winning teams garnered prizes (usually appliances, but occasionally even cars!) for audience members both present and sitting at home.
Dick Martin and Bob Newhart team up in that Seventies TV staple,...
- 3/26/2011
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Aaron Merken fell in love with the Morgan-Wixson Theatre in Santa Monica, Calif., last summer, when he saw its production of "A Chorus Line." "I loved it so much that I went to see it twice," he says. "The second time I saw it, I thought to myself, 'Gee, I wish I could do a play here,' and then I couldn't believe when I saw the notice in Back Stage for 'The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler.' I thought, 'This is fate.' "The play, by Jeff Whitty, who wrote the book for the musical "Avenue Q," is an imaginative comedy in which Ibsen's Hedda Gabler meets characters throughout history and literature. Director Sabrina Ann Lloyd thought the role of Patrick, a wisecracking gay man with a 1960s style, might be difficult to cast. "The character is kind of a touchy stereotype," she explains. "I needed someone who...
- 11/22/2010
- backstage.com
The I Spy series ran for 82 episodes and three seasons on NBC, from 1965 until 1968. The show revolves around international tennis player Kelly Robinson (Robert Culp) and his trainer, Alexander Scott (Bill Cosby), as they travel to exotic locales enjoying the good life. However, they are secretly spies for the Pentagon and use their covers to gain access to exclusive functions, woo beautiful women, and stop international villains.
I Spy was revolutionary in its day for being the first series to feature an African-American actor in a lead role. Cosby won Emmys for all the three years of the series, beating out Culp each time. Other actors featured in the series include
In the last episode of the show, "Pinwheel," Robinson and Scott must work with a flighty agent named Melanie (Arlene Golonka) to retrieve Soviet documents in Acapulco.
I Spy was revolutionary in its day for being the first series to feature an African-American actor in a lead role. Cosby won Emmys for all the three years of the series, beating out Culp each time. Other actors featured in the series include
In the last episode of the show, "Pinwheel," Robinson and Scott must work with a flighty agent named Melanie (Arlene Golonka) to retrieve Soviet documents in Acapulco.
- 3/25/2010
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
Opened
Friday, May 9
Writing, directing, editing and starring in her first feature, Helen Lesnick makes a strong case for delegating responsibility with "A Family Affair", a forced romantic comedy about a Jewish lesbian who's torn between two lovers.
Unlike the title character in last year's "Kissing Jessica Stein", Lesnick's Rachel Rosen isn't at all conflicted about her sexual identity -- she knows exactly what she's searching for, and it's her "Ms. Rightowitz".
But also unlike the charming "Kissing", the Lesnick variation suffers from inexperienced filmmaking and a self-absorbed lead character who fails to elicit any truly tangible degree of audience sympathy.
While Lesnick's ambition is admirable, the end result will fail to cater to viewers beyond the big-city gay and lesbian milieu.
Fleeing New York after a traumatic breakup with her last girlfriend, Lesnick's wise-cracking Rachel takes refuge at the San Diego home of her parents, the tireless, smothering Leah (Arlene Golonka) and her supportive hubby, Sam (Michael Moerman), a man of very, very few words.
With Mom keeping busy with various PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) activities, Rachel bides her time going on a dispiriting series of blind dates -- until one fateful evening when she hooks up with Christine (Erica Shaffer), a sweet massage therapist.
The two initially hit it off, with the smitten Christine even going as far as taking conversion classes to become a perfect Jewish wife, but mopey Rachel is dragging her feet. It seems she still carries a torch for her ex, Reggie (Michele Greene), who has popped up in California and is determined to win Rachel back.
It might have been easier to overlook Lesnick's awkwardly staged scenes if she had been able to make the self-centered Rachel a little more likable. As it stands, it's hard to see why the adoring Christine would be attracted to her in the first place, unless it was that caustic wit that the other characters keep mentioning.
On the performance front -- with the film's budget-conscious mix of professional, amateur and nonactors -- there's a whole lot of mugging going on, with the notable exceptions of Shaffer and Greene, who broke some TV ground back in 1991 with a same-sex kiss (with Amanda Donohoe) on "L.A. Law".
As the unstoppable Reggie, Greene is a bright burst of energy in this otherwise labored "Affair".
A FAMILY AFFAIR
Small Planet Pictures
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Helen Lesnick
Producer: Valerie Pichney
Executive producers: Helen Lesnick, Dolores Lesnick
Director of photography: Jim Orr
Production and costume designer: Lorrie Blackard
Editor: Helen Lesnick
Music: Natashais Ghost
Cast:
Rachel Rosen: Helen Lesnick
Christine Peterson: Erica Shaffer
Leah Rosen: Arlene Golonka
Sylvia Peterson: Barbara Stuart
Reggie Abravanel: Michele Greene
Carol Rosen: Suzanne Westenhoefer
Sam Rosen: Michael Moerman
Running time -- 100 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Friday, May 9
Writing, directing, editing and starring in her first feature, Helen Lesnick makes a strong case for delegating responsibility with "A Family Affair", a forced romantic comedy about a Jewish lesbian who's torn between two lovers.
Unlike the title character in last year's "Kissing Jessica Stein", Lesnick's Rachel Rosen isn't at all conflicted about her sexual identity -- she knows exactly what she's searching for, and it's her "Ms. Rightowitz".
But also unlike the charming "Kissing", the Lesnick variation suffers from inexperienced filmmaking and a self-absorbed lead character who fails to elicit any truly tangible degree of audience sympathy.
While Lesnick's ambition is admirable, the end result will fail to cater to viewers beyond the big-city gay and lesbian milieu.
Fleeing New York after a traumatic breakup with her last girlfriend, Lesnick's wise-cracking Rachel takes refuge at the San Diego home of her parents, the tireless, smothering Leah (Arlene Golonka) and her supportive hubby, Sam (Michael Moerman), a man of very, very few words.
With Mom keeping busy with various PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) activities, Rachel bides her time going on a dispiriting series of blind dates -- until one fateful evening when she hooks up with Christine (Erica Shaffer), a sweet massage therapist.
The two initially hit it off, with the smitten Christine even going as far as taking conversion classes to become a perfect Jewish wife, but mopey Rachel is dragging her feet. It seems she still carries a torch for her ex, Reggie (Michele Greene), who has popped up in California and is determined to win Rachel back.
It might have been easier to overlook Lesnick's awkwardly staged scenes if she had been able to make the self-centered Rachel a little more likable. As it stands, it's hard to see why the adoring Christine would be attracted to her in the first place, unless it was that caustic wit that the other characters keep mentioning.
On the performance front -- with the film's budget-conscious mix of professional, amateur and nonactors -- there's a whole lot of mugging going on, with the notable exceptions of Shaffer and Greene, who broke some TV ground back in 1991 with a same-sex kiss (with Amanda Donohoe) on "L.A. Law".
As the unstoppable Reggie, Greene is a bright burst of energy in this otherwise labored "Affair".
A FAMILY AFFAIR
Small Planet Pictures
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Helen Lesnick
Producer: Valerie Pichney
Executive producers: Helen Lesnick, Dolores Lesnick
Director of photography: Jim Orr
Production and costume designer: Lorrie Blackard
Editor: Helen Lesnick
Music: Natashais Ghost
Cast:
Rachel Rosen: Helen Lesnick
Christine Peterson: Erica Shaffer
Leah Rosen: Arlene Golonka
Sylvia Peterson: Barbara Stuart
Reggie Abravanel: Michele Greene
Carol Rosen: Suzanne Westenhoefer
Sam Rosen: Michael Moerman
Running time -- 100 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 5/19/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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