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Post by Jackie on Apr 28, 2005 5:39:52 GMT -5
When I read this on another site this morning I couldnt help but think how sad it is that most actors when portraying individuals with developmental disabilities seem to feel the need to posture and contort their faces and bodies....almost like kids tend to do on the playground when cruelly imitating individuals with a disability. It is so sterotypical and not at all necessary.
I do hope if you have not read the book and you feel you are ready to deal with the issues of adults with mental retardation that you will still do so.
It is a good book....like I have said before....Beth is a "composite" of many of the people in Emily's life....a little bit of Elvis, Kenny, Theresa...etc......
But what I liked most in the story was her sister Rachels ability to remain in her life ...yet letting Beth live the way she wanted to instead of constantly trying to change her.
We spend most of our kids lives trying to mold them...teach them....fix them....help them...etc...etc....so when they reach adulthood and its time to stop.....its very hard. It has taken me years to realize that Emily is ready to live her OWN life...just as Beth is doing and that it might not be the same life I would like her to live.
But...like I said....you will enjoy this most if you are ready to think about dealing with these issues.
I probably wouldnt have liked it nearly as much if Emily was just a toddler.
Jackie
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Post by Jackie on Apr 30, 2005 5:40:31 GMT -5
Here is yet another review sent to me from a friend in KC.
There were some comments by the TV critic in the KC STAR today that you might find interesting. His name is Aaron Barnhart. " I was looking forward to this adaptation of Rachel Simon's memoir of her developmentally disabled sister, who preferred living off her government check and riding city buses all day, to working. "Simon wrote an insightful and emotionally honest account, which I hope you'll read instead of watching Rosie O'Donnell's embarrassing turn here. O'Donnell gives us a caricature of a mildly retarded woman with a 'special' voice that sounds uncannily like PeeWee Herman's. Andie McDowell is just as ill-suited to the role of the uptight sister, but O'Donnell, who surely meant better than she gives, is cringe-inducing."
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