Waiting for the Light

1990
PG
1h 34m

IMDb RATING

6.0/10

591

YOUR RATING

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Comedy

It is not about Aunt Z moving her niece and family....The niece, Garr, moves her family away from the city. The kids enjoy playing tricks, learned from Aunt Z (MacLaine). The kids get kicked... Read allIt is not about Aunt Z moving her niece and family....The niece, Garr, moves her family away from the city. The kids enjoy playing tricks, learned from Aunt Z (MacLaine). The kids get kicked out of school one too many times and after inheriting the diner, they move. Garr promises... Read allIt is not about Aunt Z moving her niece and family....The niece, Garr, moves her family away from the city. The kids enjoy playing tricks, learned from Aunt Z (MacLaine). The kids get kicked out of school one too many times and after inheriting the diner, they move. Garr promises them if they don't quit embarrassing her with their foolishness, she will put the kids in... Read all

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.0/10

591

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
Angela DiMarco's debut.

Goofs
In a scene set in 1962, characters tell the box-office clerk at a movie theater they want two tickets to The Miracle Worker. Prior to the introduction of multiplex cinemas years later, it was unnecessary to specify which movie you wanted to see because the theater was only showing one picture.

Crazy credits
After the closing credits, Kay (Teri Garr's character) changes the "open" sign on the diner door to "closed"

Connections
Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Jacob's Ladder/Waiting for the Light/Tune in Tomorrow.../Vincent & Theo (1990)

Soundtracks
Jesus Hits Like An Atom Bomb
Written by Lee V. McCullum
Performed by The Blue Jay Singers
Courtesy of MCA Records
Published by Edwin Morris & Co., a division of MPL Communications, Inc.

User reviews9

Review

Featured review

5/10

Bright and likable at first, but a bit of a mess by the end

This film - a nostalgic look back at early 1960s America - initially has a lot going for it. The early scenes with single mother Kay Harris (Terri Garr) struggling with the pressures of troublemaking kids and an irascible aunt who leads the children into more mischief are amusing, fast-paced and generally engaging.

But once the plot switches to Kay inherting a rundown diner the film slowly goes downhill. The miracle narrative that takes over the film is predictable and uninteresting with an inept finale.

More significantly, too many new characters are introduced in the second half so that the film not only feels chaotic and messy, but that the central family we followed with interest in the first half feels like an afterthought. Especially so with Garr's character who becomes a supporting role in a film where she's supposedly the central character.

Overall, the film isn't too bad but should've been better than the afternoon TV timewaster that it is. Particularly so for the underrated Garr who after 15 years of impressive work saw her film career ebb away due to flops like this.