Brenda Blethyn stars as Jean, a controlling mother who is trying to make it big as a comedienne while keeping her two sons under her thumb. She has a funny but risqué act and the love and devotion of her sons. But she is a control freak who drinks a lot. She keeps her sons close to her and doesn't give them any space to live their own lives.
Her one son Mark is brain damaged and her son Tim is just learning about women. When he meets Jill he falls head over heels for her and they enter into a romantic relationship, to the chagrin of his mother. Jean tries to sabotage their relationship with snide comments and even going so far as to call Jill by Tim's former girlfriend's name. She doesn't want her son falling for anyone. She wants to keep him home.
Jean ends up blaming her kids and a failed marriage for the fact that she never made it big in the entertainment business. Everyone is to blame but herself. Yes, she is wickedly funny, but she never made it to the top.
Tim and Jill are wonderful together, and even though Jean makes Jill's life miserable, she is in love with Tim and manages to stick it out. At least she tires to stick it out. With Jean around, you don't need any enemies. But there comes a time when Jill has to say - it's either her or me!
This is one show that definitely fits in the genre category of "dramedy." It is filled with comical things, but it is a touching story of a very dysfunctional family. This non-traditional household is the quentiscential poster family for dysfunction. But they do love each other, even though at times they want to strangle each other. And you'll want to slap Jean yourself!
But through it all, it is a really good movie about a family trying to live and grow and survive. Just thinking about it now, I am chuckling about some of the lines and scenes, but I also know that there is a lot of pain within the characters besides the laughs.
Through their journey they discover more about each other than they ever knew. The acting is incredible, and you'll leave the theater content with their story. The Dwights are definitely not the Cleavers, but they are memorable.
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