Suburban Soap Opera Featuring Oscar-Nominated Performances by Winslet and Haley Available on DVD
Sarah Pierce (Kate Winslet) is emotionally estranged from her workaholic husband, Richard (Gregg Edelman), who’s been carrying on a virtual affair after hours with a woman over the internet. Sarah deals with her predicament by focusing her attention on her daughter, and by befriending the other mothers of toddlers, she encounters at the park.
Brad Adamson (Patrick Wilson) is an unemployable attorney due to his being unable to pass the bar. While his wife, Kathy (Jennifer Connelly), toils away as a filmmaker, the stay-at-home dad devotes his days to caring for their young son.
Ronnie McGorvey (Jackie Hale Earley) is a recently-paroled pedophile who just moved back in with his mom (Phyllis Somerville), and Larry (Noah Emmerich) is an ex-cop who has decided to make Ronnie’s life miserable by passing out leaflets and barking on a bullhorn to make sure everybody in the neighborhood knows know that a sex-offender is living on the block.
The threads weaving all of the above to each other are the community’s kids which explains the title of this suburban soap opera set in Anywhere, Massachusetts. The film is narrated by Will Lyman, whose name you might not know, but whose distinct voice you will undoubtedly recognize if you’re familiar with such PBS series as Frontline and Nova. Every time he speaks here, unfortunately, it is incredibly distracting, because each time he speaks one cannot help but think that this must be a documentary.
This nearly fatal flaw aside, the plot thickens when bored housewife Sarah flirts shamelessly with Richard on a dare from the other moms, an indiscretion that leads to a series of lustful, animalistic liaisons. Eventually, Larry’s sidebar is incorporated into the front story, though the resolution of the shocking revelation is likely to leave the audience ultimately unsatisfied.
Peyton Place with a perv.
Fair (1 star)
Rated R for nudity, profanity, graphic sexuality, mature themes and disturbing content.
Running time: 130 minutes
Studio: New Line Home Video
DVD Extras:
