Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Grandparents raise girls who've lost parents; mature themes.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
When We Last Spoke
What's the Story?
Ruby (Melissa Gilbert) and Walt (Corbin Bernsen) live in rural Texas in 1967 when their son James (Donny Boaz) goes off to serve in Vietnam. Shortly after, his frazzled wife Marguerite (Julia Denton) arrives at the farm to dump their young girls, Juliet (Darby Camp) and Evangeline (Chandler Head). Almost without feeling, she's off to revive her New York singing career. Ruby and Walt don't hesitate to do the right thing -- they're loving, generous, understanding, and practical. The girls, missing their dad and now their mom, too, thrive under Ruby and Walt's care. Great-grandmother Itasca (Cloris Leachman), half lucid and half immersed in visions of her late husband, is also dumped on the couple, this time by Walt's impatient brother. She, too, is taken in and cared for. Cut to present-day (1996) Juliet (Lacy Camp), who never left town and has embraced small-town life. She's now the enthusiastic local radio host, and trying to bring younger sister Evangeline back to town to see the fading Walt one last time. The incident that ruptured the sisters' relationship and supposedly drove Evangeline (Alicia Fusting) away is revealed later, but it doesn't prevent a warm revival of their sisterly affection. Back and forth from the 1960s to the 1990s, dramas play out, deaths are revealed, lessons are learned, and small-town values are hailed.
Is It Any Good?
Melissa Gilbert and Corbin Bernsen give warm, flawless performances that together stand When We Last Spoke on its admirably sturdy spine. The soundtrack tours 50 or so years of pop and other music, a score purposed to engender an audience's appreciation for times that may seem simpler but probably weren't. The movie isn't without its faults. A few scenes drag on a bit. It's hard to believe two little kids could, or would, take over a radio show without a hitch. And Evangeline's central complaint seems somewhat overblown and underexplained once it's revealed. But the overarching sentiments expressed and virtues recommended here -- the importance of love, forgiveness, and patience -- far outweigh the failings. As in another flawed but involving drama, Terms of Endearment, tears will be jerked, so have your hankies ready.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what keeps families together and what can tear them apart.
Evangeline doesn't speak to her sister for many years. Do you think she had good reason? Why or why not?
What is the movie's point of view on long marriages, fidelity, and taking on family responsibilities? How do the grandparents fit into that view?
Movie Details
- In theaters : October 30, 2019
- On DVD or streaming : November 20, 2020
- Cast : Melissa Gilbert , Corbin Bernsen , Cloris Leachman , Chandler Head , Darby Camp , Lacy Camp , Alicia Fusting , Donny Boaz
- Director : Joanne Hock
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : ReelWorks
- Genre : Drama
- Run time : 120 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : April 28, 2021
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