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Ordinary People starring Timothy Hutton, Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore and Judd Hirsch. Made in 1980, directed by Robert Redford. Image: cinemoviehistory.com

The life of an ordinary family has gotten turned upside down by 2 tragic and shocking events: First, the older son Bucky (Scott Doebler) died in a boating accident during a trip he went with his younger brother Conrad (Timothy Hutton). Then, some time after the accident Conrad attempted suicide by cutting his wrists and very nearly succeeded.

When C onrad comes home from a4-month stay at a psychiatric hospital, he tries to adjust his settings. While his father Calvin (Donald Sutherland) does his best to make him feel better, his mother Beth (Mary Tyler Moore) for some reason seems uncomfortable by his son’s presence.

Conrad goes back to his high school and the swim team but he can’t help but feel disconnected. He loved his brother a lot and his mother’s coldness isn’t helping matters. So he unwillingly starts seeing a psychiatrist named Berger (Judd Hirsch). Disconnected from his mother and friends, Conrad is missing the hospital.

Will Conrad eventually be able to let go of his anger, guilt and depression? Will Calvin manage to reconnect with his son and try to figure out his wife, who seems to be more interested in romantic getaways and social gatherings than her own son’s well-being?

***

Ordinary People, unlike its title, is an extraordinary movie. The plot summary might not have intrigued you all that much but trust me, this movie is an amazing emotional experience. The tagline “some films you watch…others you feel” couldn’t have been more appropriate. This very humane story is directed by Robert Redford. And even though a very young Timothy Hutton’s name is written 4th on the opening credits, the heavy-lifting is mostly on his shoulders as he brilliantly portrays Conrad, a character you like, understand and feel the pain of. And the academy agrees as Timothy won the Best Actor in a Supporting Role Oscar with this role. The movie has 3 more Oscars: Best Director, Best Picture and Best Screenplay. Judd Hirsch, Donald Sutherland and Mary Tyler Moore are expectedly good (note that Judd Hirsch was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Moore for Best Actress) but if you do cry, it is probably gonna be Hutton who makes you.

Based on the novel Judith Guest. Written by Alvin Sargent and Nancy Dowd. Directed by Robert Redford.

Rated 7.8 on IMDB and a solid 8 from me, Ordinary People is a must see. The coldness and the weird way Conrad’s mother’s mind works will give you the chills and you won’t be able to help but feel for the father who is trying his best to hold his family together despite what’s happened and what’s still happening.

Fun notes:

The first time we see Conrad’s friends is when they pick him up for school. The guy in the front seat is a very young Adam Baldwin, who you might remember from Chuck- he plays John Casey.
Do you remember the classic Tom Cruise comedy Risky Business? You may not remember the fil exactly but it is the film where his parents go away for a while and our high school kid ends up having a relationship with the prostitute. The classic scene is Tom Cruise wearing a white shirt over his underpants and white socks, wearing sunglasses and dancing in the house. Well, that role could have been Timothy Hutton’s. But after Ordinary People and Taps, Timothy wasn’t really impressed with the storyline so he turned it town. You might see it as a strategic mistake but I have to say, I can see how Timothy would haven’t seen it as a challenge after these two.

Other Movies and Posts featuring Donald Sutherland

Pride and Prejudice starring Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen and Donald Sutherland

Canadian Celebrity Trivia: Donald Sutherland, Jim Carrey, Michael J. Fox, Ryan Reynolds & More

Other Posts on Robert Redford Movies

3 Movies with Indecent Proposals: The Box, Indecent Proposal and A Perfect Murder

Lions for Lambs starring Robert Redford, Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise

Other Movies and TV series with Timothy Hutton

The Absolute Timothy Hutton Trivia

The Killing Room starring Timothy Hutton, Chloe Sevigny and Peter Stormare

Serious Moonlight starring Timothy Hutton and Meg Ryan

City of Industry starring Harvey Keitel, Stephen Dorff and Timothy Hutton

French Kiss starring Meg Ryan and Timothy Hutton

Taps starring Timothy Hutton, Tom Cruise and Sean Penn

Leverage TV Series starring Timothy Hutton

The Ghost Writer starring Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan. Feat. Timothy Hutton

The Good Shepherd starring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie. Feat. Timothy Hutton

Chuck starring Zachary Levi and Yvonne Strahovski. Image from: http://www.22dakika.org

Chuck is in its 3^rd season and my feelings for the show have not changed. I like half of it, and I can rarely stand the other half. I like the whole secret agents, gears, spies storyline. The nerdy friends and bosses of Chuck? Not so much.

Well, let me introduce the show a little bit.

Chuck (Zachary Levi) is a smart, nice, cute and a little nerdy guy who works at an electronics store. His best friend is the really geeky and socially disgraceful Morgan. Two other guys who are supposed to form the rest of the “gang” are even worse than Morgan (Joshua Gomez) but one of them thinks he is super cool. Well, Chuck could have done much better for himself, had he not been kicked out of Stanford. Now he lives with his older doctor sister Ellie (Sarah Lancester) and her “awesome” doctor boyfriend Devon (Ryan McPartlin). His stable and not so interesting life changes when an old friend college friend sends him something. Because of that thing he really wasn’t supposed to see, his mind is filled with confidential CIA intel. Two CIA agents are assigned to his case: John Casey (Adam Baldwin) and Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski). So Chuck becomes-albeit unwillingly) an important asset for his country and these two agents. A true pro, poker-faced John is impatient and unwilling to “hang around” with Chuck. But Sarah and Chuck develop feeling for each other. The covers? Chuck keeps his day job, John Casey starts “working” at the same store as Chuck and Sarah poses as Chuck’s girlfriend.

The concept is really fun. An ordinary guy tries to keep his secret identity secret from his sister and best friends, tries to keep his feelings in check for Sarah, tries not to panic during real operations and tries to get rid of the shock. The action and the comedy coming from Chuck being a total anti-hero is really fun. The other supposedly funny elements such as his co-workers and their relationships end up being boring or annoying or both. Too much time is spent there. So what could have easily become the show to look forward to, becomes an alternative pastime activity if there is nothing else to watch.

It has really good episodes, but most lose its charm due to the elements I counted.Other than that, casting is pretty ok. I previously watched Zachary Levi on the tv show Less Than Perfect. He played a pretentious snob really well and it is quite enjoyable to watch him as this genuinely nice guy. Adam Baldwin is perfect at his role, Yvonne Strahovski is really gorgeous and she really fits her part. “Awesome” Devon is a hunky yet dull character and handled well by Ryan McPartlin. In fact, it is handled too well. I can’t help but think if he is that square in real life. If Chuck gets cancelled, I won’t celebrate but I won’t really miss it either. I hope they give it a make-over with the Morgan storyline.

Chuck starring Sarah Lancester, Adam Baldwin, Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski and Joshua Gomez — Chuck Cast, from left: Sarah Lancester, Adam Baldwin, Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski and Joshua Gomez. Image from: http://www.dizidizi.net

Chuck, Sarah Lancester and Ryan McPartlin — Sarah Lancester and Ryan McPartlin at a Chuck event.

That’s all I need to say for Chuck. If you want to check out the other TV shows I covered on the blog, here’s the list.