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A new cable film exam ines a lan d m ark custody case
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It’s love at first sight for Brooke Shields (left) and Cherry Jones
Honoring Diversity
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with systemic lupus, which is said to be treat
f you think the Elian Gonzalez affair and the
able and “not usually fatal.”
presidential election made Florida look bad,
This being the story it is, Sandy’s case is
wait till you see What Makes a Family!
obviously not usual. The medical drama eventu
Rarely does as much as 15 minutes go by
ally evolves into a legal case, and the screenplay
in this Lifetime original movie without a
by Robert L. Freedman is unabashedly partisan.
reminder that Florida is the only state in the
If I weren’t on the same side, I’d really come
country with a law forbidding adoption by
down hard on it for its heavy-handedness. The
homosexuals. That point is the crux of this true
grandparents turn into monsters who will say
custody story, which achieves its aims as both a
or do anything to keep their granddaughter.
tearjerker and a call for reason and compassion
W ith so much crammed into two hours,
in awarding children to the most loving and
the effect is somewhat melodramatic, but
deserving parent without letting sexual orienta
director Maggie Greenwald and her excellent
tion or even blcxxl relationships be the sole
cast make each individual moment ring true.
determining factor.
Janine’s first clue that she’s no longer in the
The film has a formidable list of executive
bosom of her partner’s family comes when she
producers: Barbra Streisand, Cis Corman,
reads Sandy’s obituary in the paper and she’s
Whoopi Goldberg, Craig Zadan and Neil
not mentioned. She sighs, “I would have set
Meron— essentially the team that made Serving
tled for ‘longtime companion.’ ”
in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story.
Unlike Philadelphia, in which Tom Hanks
Their new film is another powerful story of a
and Antonio Banderas rarely touched, the
lesbian fighting injustice.
women in What Makes a Family are affection
Brooke Shields, establishing her dramatic cred
ate, exchanging several passionate kisses. Tony
once and for all, stars as Janine Nielssen, who is
Award winner Jones has been out for years, and
introduced outside the Pinellas County (St.
this might be the first role that’s allowed her to
Petcrsburg/Clearwater) courthouse soliciting the
be both sexual and sexy.
help of powerful civil rights attorney Terry Harri
son (Goldberg). She tells her story in a flashback
An impressive Shields holds her own
that takes up about two-thirds of the picture.
opposite her in their dramatic scenes. Meara
brings what humanity she can to what is
Janine wasn’t even out when she was
cruised by Sandy Cataldi (Cherry Jones) in a
essentially a wicked role, and if Goldberg
coasts through the part of the attorney, I’d
store. Her wealthy, conservative parents had
rather watch her coast than
come down so hard on her over
watch most actors act.
her first crush at age 12 that she
had suppressed all sexual feel
You might feel a sense of
ings since then. O n their first
“been there, seen that” as you
date, Sandy takes her to a dance
watch W hat M akes a Family,
at the queer Sunnyview C om
but I think that’s less from see
munity Church, and next thing
ing similar movies than from
you know they’re having a holy
reading news reports year after
V
union at the same church.
year o f lesbians and gay men
Beaming in the front row
embroiled in similar battles for
the custody o f children they’ve
and supporting them enthusias
parented. I hope this film will
tically are Sandy’s parents, Eve
Whoopi Goldberg
lyn (A nne Meara) and Frank
give them strength and comfort
(A1 W axman). T hat support
doesn’t wane when, years later, they learn
they’re going to be grandparents: Sandy is
pregnant by artificial insemination. The
donor, she says, “is everything you’d want in a
man— if you wanted a man.”
At the christening of their daughter,
Heather, Sandy passes out. She’s diagnosed
and perhaps move and enlight
en the people with the authority to rule on
what makes their families. j n
W
hat
M akes
a
F amily premieres at 9 p.m .
Jan. 22 on Lifetime.
S tev e W arren is a free-lance writer.