That's the request of the free spirited Joanne Woodward given to husband Christopher Plummer long before their divorce, one that he's finally taking seriously now that he's dying of cancer. It turns out that Plummer is lovers with the much younger Ben Masters who gets to meet the blunt and drunk Woodard who speaks to Masters in homophobic terms but is fascinated by the lifestyle she thinks of in perverted terms yet is aroused by it. This makes her tolerable and even likeable once you get past the urge to scream at her to shut up.
Then there's the emotional denial that wife Valarie Harper has for the fact that husband James Broderick is also dying, not even telling their young son. This is nowhere near Rhoda Morgenstern for the awesome Harper, a sad element of the film considering what she went through in the last decade of her life. She's cheerful in a completely phony way one minute then furious out of the blue, even slapping her son suddenly.
The elderly Sylvia Sidney is riveting as the rightfully angry woman dying and in typical Sidney fashion is cranky, yet suddenly scared and vulnerable, showing love to her daughter Melinda Dillon whom she bullies yet obviously adores. You recognize her immediately from modern Tim Burton cult classics, but there's also a flash of the troubled young heroine from 1930's like "An American Tragedy" and "Fury". To think that she doesn't have the legendary status of Bette Davis (who greatly admired her) is astonishing to me. When she finds momentary joy in breaking into song, you'll be smiling through slight tears. She is sensational. I can see her in the role of the ailing art gallery in "The Waverly Gallery" that Woodward (who played her daughter in "Summer Wishes, Summer Dreams") originally directed Eileen Heckart in, and was later beautifully revived with Elaine May.
These three dying characters and their families are not characters you feel pity for as they aren't demanding it, just a chance for a dignified exit. To single any of them out as the best of the cast is impossible although as a huge fan of Sidney's, I could never look away and cherished every moment. The chemistry between Plummer and Woodward is also striking, and as exes who still love each other in a spiritual way is very touching. Under the direction of Paul Newman, this TV movie is a perfect example of the American theater put on the screen at its finest. This is the type of movie that makes you think, gives you tears and a few ironic laughs, and deserves to be rediscovered and acclaimed as a very human story that reminds us of the importance of the loved ones who come out of their way to support us in the darkest of times, knowing without us having to tell them that we need them as much as they need us.
Then there's the emotional denial that wife Valarie Harper has for the fact that husband James Broderick is also dying, not even telling their young son. This is nowhere near Rhoda Morgenstern for the awesome Harper, a sad element of the film considering what she went through in the last decade of her life. She's cheerful in a completely phony way one minute then furious out of the blue, even slapping her son suddenly.
The elderly Sylvia Sidney is riveting as the rightfully angry woman dying and in typical Sidney fashion is cranky, yet suddenly scared and vulnerable, showing love to her daughter Melinda Dillon whom she bullies yet obviously adores. You recognize her immediately from modern Tim Burton cult classics, but there's also a flash of the troubled young heroine from 1930's like "An American Tragedy" and "Fury". To think that she doesn't have the legendary status of Bette Davis (who greatly admired her) is astonishing to me. When she finds momentary joy in breaking into song, you'll be smiling through slight tears. She is sensational. I can see her in the role of the ailing art gallery in "The Waverly Gallery" that Woodward (who played her daughter in "Summer Wishes, Summer Dreams") originally directed Eileen Heckart in, and was later beautifully revived with Elaine May.
These three dying characters and their families are not characters you feel pity for as they aren't demanding it, just a chance for a dignified exit. To single any of them out as the best of the cast is impossible although as a huge fan of Sidney's, I could never look away and cherished every moment. The chemistry between Plummer and Woodward is also striking, and as exes who still love each other in a spiritual way is very touching. Under the direction of Paul Newman, this TV movie is a perfect example of the American theater put on the screen at its finest. This is the type of movie that makes you think, gives you tears and a few ironic laughs, and deserves to be rediscovered and acclaimed as a very human story that reminds us of the importance of the loved ones who come out of their way to support us in the darkest of times, knowing without us having to tell them that we need them as much as they need us.