PLAINSONG (2004)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
Watching a Hallmark TV movie may be the most harmless activity in the world, but it shouldn't be the most laughable. After watching "Plainsong," you may wonder why sentimental family movies can get it so wrong and so quickly from the start.
The movie begins with several plotlines and characters, none of which cohere in any manner. America Ferrara (what a name!) is Victoria, a pregnant high-school teenager. Her mother disowns her rather quickly after discovering the reasons for her consistent vomiting. Victoria is left to fend for herself, so she seeks shelter from her extremely nice high school teacher, Maggie (Rachel Griffiths), who allows her to live in her house despite a disgruntled father. Seeing that the father is a nuisance who attacks Victoria, Maggie lets her stay with two cattle-rustling brothers (Geoffrey Lewis, William Andrews) who have never been married. Would you trust two strangers with a frightened teenage girl? Hmm, the plot thickens.
Then there is Mr. Tom Guthrie (Aidan Quinn), another high school teacher who is either going through a divorce, or his wife is sick or depressed or all the above. The wife is played by Megan Follows, and most of her scenes have her sitting in a couch or laying in bed wrapped in a blanket (kind of like my mother). Oh, yes, Guthrie has two kids to take care of. And Mom has her sights set on moving to some city in Colorado (and she may be bisexual, though in a movie like this, you can never be too sure). We also have Mr. Guthrie's dilemna concering a senior football jock - he is failing the course but the higher-ups prefer that he passes with a solid D, I imagine. And there is the potential romance between Guthrie and Maggie, the latter being something of a push-over. And there is a fistfight between the jock and the teacher. And the two kids are assaulted by the jock in the middle of the night. And there is a cute sequence where the kids learn to ride the ponies at the deserted ranch belonging to the two strangers. And go vomit, if you must.
I have nothing against sentimental family movies, but "Plainsong" is mired in thick sentiment and a lagging narrative. It is also full of such implausible scenes that you'll laugh incredulously, if you don't fall asleep. Aidan Quinn and veteran Geoffrey Lewis rise above the material. The problem is there is not much material to rise above.
