This movie begins to try to explain the complex family relationships between three generations of women, grandmother, mother and daughter. Although the story is straightforward, the entanglements aren't. The film deals with two sets of mothers and two sets of daughters, all with their individual hang ups, issues and life plans.
Maureen Stapleton is wonderful as the grandmother, close to her grand-daughter but cold to her own daughter. Melissa Gilbert plays the spoilt little girl pretty well (although I did feel tempted to slap her at times!). But, as usual, it is Stefanie Powers who walks away with the film. Stefanie's character, Jessie, is a workaholic with a string of failed marriages behind her. She struggles to deal with her teenage daughter and has almost given up on any kind of relationship with her mother, particularly after the recent death of the father she adored.
This set up is fairly representative of most mother/daughter relationships. As happens in the movies, this one works itself out but it's interesting to watch the process.
