Yours, Mine & Ours

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Yesterday was our middle child's 18th birthday. As part of the festivities there was a trip to the local cinema. The birthday girl gets to choose the movie, you know, so "Pride and Prejudice" (my choice) wasn't chosen. Mom vetoed Brokeback Mountain. The compromise choice was "Yours, Mine and Ours".

Just before going out the door I checked a couple of on-line reviews. Yikes! Other reviewers were trashing this film. On top of that I'm not a big fan of the "madcap comedy featuring a housefull of characters." I gritted my teeth and vowed to not complain or cast any shadow over the sweet 18 celebration.

Okay - this is not Casablanca. But I liked it. This movie overcame my negative expectations and won me over despite it's numerous flaws. Why? The characters, though drawn with broad strokes, are nonetheless likable, and I found myself rooting for them going into the final act.

Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo are as attractive as actors my age get, and their characters are both essentially good. That was a good place to start.

Quaid is a 2-Star Coast Guard Admiral just assigned to take over leadership at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. A widower of several years, he presides over his brood of 8 kids along with housekeeper Linda Hunt. Russo portrays his high school sweetheart, still living there in New London. She is also widowed. After 4 children of their own, she and her previous spouse adopted 6 more. There is a real international feeling in that house. She works at home in a messily creative studio as a designer who sells things at places like Saks Fifth Avenue.

The admiral's kids are all quite regimented. They keep a tidy ship, adhere rigidly to written schedules and call their father "Admiral", which I thought sort of odd despite 22 years in the Navy myself. My children call me "Dad". But I digress. Russo is raising her children to be free-thinking spirits.

There would be no movie if the designer and the admiral didn't get together. The "conflict" that must be resolved is between the military brats and the flower children.

There is much to scoff at. There are several frenzied scenes of physical comedy - all ending with Quaid covered with wet stuff. With 20 family members there is scarcely a moment for any degree of character development. Rip Torn is absolutely fantastic in the right role - here he is badly miscast as the Commandant of the Coast Guard. At one point he is so pleased at the promotion of his subordinate Quaid that he lifts him off the ground in a big bear hug in one of those big Washington, D.C. rotundas. All the Admirals I know in real life are slightly more reserved in large public places. A portion of the family conflict comes when Quaid's 2-star Admiral is nominated to become the replacement for 4-Star Torn. This is about as realistic as the person who just got the job supervising orientation of new employees to the Ford Motor Company suddenly being named CEO. I know this sort of plot device happens in film all the time, but even a kindergarden understanding of arithmetic would allow you to know that a 2-Star Admiral doesn't replace a 4-Star without that intermediate 3-Star step.

Still - I liked it. I liked the couple. I liked the kids. I wanted things to work out for them.

I wouldn't cancel a trip to "Pride and Prejudice" or "King Kong" to see this, but if your kids or significant other drags you to it, don't run screaming.

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