One of the benefits of watching old Siskel and Ebert episodes on YouTube is re-discovering old movies that have mostly been forgotten. Both Siskel and Ebert gave A Home of Our Own a marginal recommendation and a lukewarm review, calling it a "movie of the week" and noting that good performances elevate a hokey script. After watching it, I have to say I agree.
Kathy Bates is, of course, great as a single mother of six children. That's no surprise; Kathy Bates is always great. I was impressed by the maturity of Edward Furlong's performance, having found him kind of whiny and overblown in Terminator 2. He plays the oldest of the kids, asked to be the Man of the House since their father is dead, and he steps up to the challenge while still resenting the unfair responsibility. His mother, who is stubborn and turns away charity even when it means she can't give her children a joyful Christmas, tells him that life isn't fair, as a matter of fact it's often pretty rotten, but it isn't going to change. She doesn't mean this as an apology.
Soon-Tek Oh is a warm presence as Mr. "Moon", the neighbor/landlord who owns the land and the unfinished house of the title. He agrees to let the Lacey "tribe" live there in exchange for labor, and grows attached to them. His life has been a lonely one of late, and perhaps community is more important than money.
The biggest letdown is the script. You sense every story beat a mile away, and my girlfriend correctly foresaw the film's ending from the moment Mrs. Lacey pulls up on Mr. Moon's property. She starts dating her new boss at the bowling alley; you know how that will end. Kids working unsupervised with tools? Gee, I hope nobody gets hurt. It's not exactly formula, but it's standard. There's also a redundant voice over that tells you little more than what you already see on screen.
The early '90s was full of stellar humanistic small-town stories like Fried Green Tomatoes and What's Eating Gilbert Grape? By those standards, A Home of Our Own doesn't quite measure up. But given its ambitions (which are pretty low), it's effective. Familiar, but not contrived. One of those "nice" movies Mom always wanted to rent on family movie night.
Kathy Bates is, of course, great as a single mother of six children. That's no surprise; Kathy Bates is always great. I was impressed by the maturity of Edward Furlong's performance, having found him kind of whiny and overblown in Terminator 2. He plays the oldest of the kids, asked to be the Man of the House since their father is dead, and he steps up to the challenge while still resenting the unfair responsibility. His mother, who is stubborn and turns away charity even when it means she can't give her children a joyful Christmas, tells him that life isn't fair, as a matter of fact it's often pretty rotten, but it isn't going to change. She doesn't mean this as an apology.
Soon-Tek Oh is a warm presence as Mr. "Moon", the neighbor/landlord who owns the land and the unfinished house of the title. He agrees to let the Lacey "tribe" live there in exchange for labor, and grows attached to them. His life has been a lonely one of late, and perhaps community is more important than money.
The biggest letdown is the script. You sense every story beat a mile away, and my girlfriend correctly foresaw the film's ending from the moment Mrs. Lacey pulls up on Mr. Moon's property. She starts dating her new boss at the bowling alley; you know how that will end. Kids working unsupervised with tools? Gee, I hope nobody gets hurt. It's not exactly formula, but it's standard. There's also a redundant voice over that tells you little more than what you already see on screen.
The early '90s was full of stellar humanistic small-town stories like Fried Green Tomatoes and What's Eating Gilbert Grape? By those standards, A Home of Our Own doesn't quite measure up. But given its ambitions (which are pretty low), it's effective. Familiar, but not contrived. One of those "nice" movies Mom always wanted to rent on family movie night.