Doing Time on Maple Drive

Wow. A made for TV movie that could have been a feature - what a switch! Usually you pay ten bucks for something that would have played better on TV.

"Doin' Time on Maple Drive" is a powerful film, more or less based on the syndrome of the controlling, affluent parents/children afraid of their disapproval, trying to please them and not measuring up. So it will hit home with lots of people. In fact, probably with most people.

The film is of special interest because of a supporting dramatic role by none other than Jim Carrey. He and the whole cast are excellent and ring true.

A therapist once told me, "There are no secrets in families." This movie points that up magnificently.

Doin' Time on Maple Drive is irresistible - when it's on TV, even if you've seen it, you won't be able to resist watching it again.

At first, the characters in this family melodrama all seem so ordinary and well adjusted. The dad (James Sikking) is financially successful, competitive, and something of a perfectionist. Mom (Bibi Besch) is motherly and traditional. One son is getting married. The other son has just a slight fondness for alcohol. And the daughter and her husband have returned for a pleasant visit, and to attend the family wedding. Our ideal family lives in a two-story house with manicured lawn on Maple Drive. As in the 1950's sitcom "Leave It To Beaver", all is peaches and cream, comfy and cozy, a household that is the very archetype of American family values.

But viewers are alerted to the shallowness of this overall image when the story's POV character tells another character: "See, he just has to be perfect. And if he isn't perfect, just keep it to yourself because I don't think anybody in this family wants to know". As secrets and anger surface, verbal conflict builds. And by the film's end, all these people are revealed to be complex, flawed, vulnerable, and hurting.

"Doing Time On Maple Drive" gets off to a slow start. I think the script setup might be a tad too long. And the writers could have been a little clearer about who is related to whom. Other than that, the script is well written and highly thematic. With rich characterization, the story conveys a realistic view of contemporary America, with its penchant for shallow idealism that overlays deep social and psychological turmoil. Although the dialogue seems a bit dated, it nevertheless has some good subtext.

Overall acting is quite impressive. I couldn't find any weak performances. It's nice to see Jim Carrey play a serious role; I wish he would do more drama. The film's color cinematography is adequate.

I have two complaints. First, the score consists of dreary, nondescript elevator music; second, sets seem cheap. However, this is after all a made-for-TV movie; visual breaks show where the commercials were inserted. And I can imagine that the budget here was fairly low.

But the film's strength is its script. "Doing Time On Maple Drive" is a poignant story that has genuine thematic depth. For what director Ken Olin set out to do, I think he succeeded quite well. Although there have been more recent films dealing with the same general topic, the high quality of this film makes it worth watching.

This seemed great when it premiered in 1992, but it now seems a little bit contrived. The father is too easy to hate, and the grown sons are too easy to feel sorry for. Therefore, the only multidimensional characters are Lori Laughlin's and Bibi Besch's. But at the time, Ken Olin was pretty bold to tackle the issues in this movie. The nightmare bachelor party is probably the most cringe-worthy scene, of many, but that's probably intentional. Loughlin has one of the best lines in the movie: "Matt, I don't think this is the kind of thing you can talk yourself out of." Too bad she was only in half the movie. Jayne Brook (of "Gattaca") is great as the sister, and her character's storyline, though the least dramatic, should have given her more to do. And as for Besch, she pulls off the best acting as much with her facial expressions as with her lines. Always a radiant character actor, she was taken from us too soon (1996).

It's a story about a dysfunctional family centering on the up-coming marriage of one the sons, and how years of trying to keep everything up for appearances finally unravels and nearly destroys everyone with it. Oddly, the most functional member of the family is an alcoholic (played by Jim Carey), the only one with the ability to state what's true and to speak his mind.

The story and plot are well developed, as are the characters. The only thing I would've like to have seen more of was the sister and her husband. The movie hints at some serious issues (beside the one immediate one at hand) between them--which seemed oddly down-played.

Anyway, see this when it comes on cable!!

One of the most incredibly honest family dramas I've ever seen. Exceptional writing and acting. Jim Carrey's (pre-fame) dramatic acting is his best to-date, in my opinion. This little film is underrated and should be aired more frequently, and at least released on video/dvd.