Terror in the Family

At first, 'Terror in the Family' seems like just another familiar tale of a 'normal' American family dealing with a violent teenager.

As the story progresses, however, you eventually realize that the violently rebellious daughter (Hillary Swank) may be the only member of this family that ISN'T totally bonkers. Mom's an alcoholic, dear ol' dad (who spends most of his time making wooden salad bowls) never wanted kids in the first place, younger brother Adam is a closet drunk, and grandma makes Joan Crawford look like mother of the year.

This family is so dysfunctional that you have to wonder how they ever stayed together long enough to have teenage kids! As the non-stop bickering reaches a fever pitch in the final hour, it's hard not to laugh out loud.

If this were a black comedy, it might work. But as a drama, it falls apart rather quickly. Too bad, since the cast was good enough to deliver much more.

Joanna Kerns, (Cynthia Martin) plays the role of a mother who loves her family and especially her daughter, Deena Martin (Hilary Swank) who has the hots for her boyfriend who is wild and drags Deena down the wrong way of life. However, Cynthia Martin loves to drink wine all day long and has trouble trying to deal with her husband who wants to make pottery in the basement all the time. In the meantime, Adam Martin, the son of Cynthia Martin loves to drink vodka from a bottle before he goes to sleep or when problems start to hit him in the face. The only sane person in this out of control family is Todd Martin, (Dan Lauria) who plays the role of the husband of this crazy family which needs professional help.

Hilary Swank is obviously a very good actress, but her casting here presents a problem: as a rebellious suburban teen with an anger management problem, Swank isn't too convincing as a malicious liar and conniver. This pedantic TV-made drama hopes to show how some parents attempt to substitute personal problems or an estranged marriage by turning their kids into pals (instead of helping them become responsible people). It has many intense moments of family conflict, yet Swank is too clean-cut, too brainy and well-wrought as a person to match up with this mercurial character. As her parents, Joanna Kerns and Dan Lauria have some very fine scenes, but Kerns (playing an alcoholic) is given too many not-so-subtle "sipping her wine" close-ups, and this particular needy mom (whose own mother was abusive–-these patterns repeat!) isn't quite convincing either: she seems to go downhill awfully fast (after the obligatory 'fixing dinner' scenes) and her background and relationship with her sister is left too vague. The melodramatic music score is obtrusive and obnoxious, underlining every emotion to the nth-degree and signaling the traumas far in advance. However, for a television film the narrative is tight and, after a poor opening (including a tatty flashback frame, the kind that never works), the movie improves and does try to solve its dilemmas carefully without too much hand-holding.

This was an intense film from Lifetime Network, Hilary Swank is a teenage girl who wants her freedom from her parents and wants to be with her boyfriend,, well her parents are going to put a stop to this, but problem is this spoiled brat is violent and she goes after her dad by slamming a door on his arm,, fighting with her mother,, classic tale of teenage girl rebelling but goes way to far in this movie I felt,, the mother escapes by drinking whine during the day,, the husband is busy in the basement doing woodworking,, and the son is busy sipping vodka before bed,, this movie is kinda hard to watch,, in part because I had a teenage step daughter that was violent as she got older, but thank goodness not to the point in the movie , but close enough. interesting watch,,, Dan Lauria was good, and Jo Anna Kerns was great and stole the show for me.

If you're looking for a quality movie about a family and their problems, "Terror in the Family" is the one to see. It doesn't waste time, or sermonize, which is what a drama, especially one with this theme, should be. And it's never slow, either. Also, there's nothing new to it either. And it is predictable. Hence the title, the movie is about a teenager's behavior that is apparently influenced by her boyfriend. At the very end, it turns out it is. In case you haven't seen or heard of any of the actors here, almost the entire cast is made up of familiar faces: Hilary Swank, "Growing Pains" star Joanna Kerns, and "The Wonder Years" star Dan Lauria.

Grade: B+