If you are looking for an NTSC VHS or DVD copy of the film email
me.
AKA The Winter Garden
Formats |
Interviews | Soundtrack | My Summary | My Review
VHS - NTSC (Emmy Screener)
Exclusive 11/97 - Richard David Lewis/Malcolm's Stand in
The story centers around seven year old
David, the boy no one wants. His mother, Ezra, is a crack addict whore who one day just
goes and leaves him for five months. He then gets dumped on his whore
grandmother who just married a man after having a 25 year affair with him. The
kid now has no mother, no father and a grandmother that is too busy to take care
of him. Heart warming stuff. Where's Malcolm you say? Well, he's on the outside
of all this. The grandma, Vivian, played by Carol Burnett is a hot shot New York
editor. Her big project is to edit Alfred McGuinness' autobiography, a man she
once had an affair with. Malcolm is Alfred, the crazy old drunken writer.
Vivian's marriage to Ezra the mobster is shaky as it is. Now with the kid
around, she has lost a daughter, gained a grandson and lost a husband, though
both eventually come back. As Vivian grows closer to David, she grows farther
from Ezra. When they were having their affair, everything was great, not so
after they were married.
After five months of this the mother finally returns
wanting the kid back and saying how she has changed, of course she hasn't, but
by law she has to return the kid to his mother. Ezra is happy, Vivian is not, even
though Ezra has been able to bond with the boy in a way she has not. It is
really a pathetic movie, especially when David admits he can't read and hardly
goes to school. On top of that he says his mom's use of drugs has made him
stupid and unable to keep up with the other kids.
Of course there is way too
little Malcolm in this depressing TV movie. There are a couple scenes with him
near the beginning. He is in a bar, then in a meeting about Vivian editing her
book. Then at 33 minutes in he is in her office where he gets off some good lines.
Around 50-59 minutes in, it is around Xmas and the deadline is almost up. So
Alfred moves in with Vivian, Ezra and David to finish the book. After a few
short scenes and a couple more good lines we are informed that he has died and
dedicated the book to David.
Another dark and depressing tale. Malcolm really gets into the crazy writer role and is fun to watch in his all too brief scenes. He also has a full beard for the first time which makes him even more interesting to watch. It is not a bad film, but there isn't much there to get interested in either.
Rating 4/10
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