Million Dollar Babies

This is an extremely sad movie from beginning to end. It's heartbreaking to see a poor Depression era family raise five children on the farm and then add another five all at once to their roster. Initially, it's a blessing when the family doctor takes over the Dionne quintuplets to ease the burden of looking after the underdeveloped babies with very little medical equipment and staff. But the doctor goes overboard when worldwide attention is given to the infant girls, and this translates into advertising endorsements for which he is handsomely rewarded but the earnings are not shared with either the parents or the quintuplets. Instead, the girls are put on display for the next five years, raising the doctor's profile and career to new highs.

Great performances by real-life couple Roy Dupuis and Celine Bonnier as the parents and also Beau Bridges as the unscrupulous doctor. The official DVD offers some commentary by the surviving quintuplets. Presented in two parts as a three hour mini series, it's lengthy and could have been shortened to a two hour movie. But it's a shocking story and is of interest not only to Canadians but perhaps to anyone who may have some ideas about placing their children into the business of entertainment. Yeah, the money may be good, but being part of the industry at such a young age may also be viewed as being part of a freak show.