Film Reviews:
Cider House Rules, Disney's Tarzan, Stuart Little

Cider House Rules (1999, Lasse Hallström)

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Reviewed by Marlena Villers (marlenav@earthlink.net)

The Cider House Rules is the story of an orphan, twice adopted and twice returned, coming of age in 1940's New England.  I never read the book, so I don't know how faithful it is to the original story, but I enjoyed the movie on its own merits.  It is beautifully shot and has a great cast including Michael Caine as orphanage doctor and Jane Alexander & Kathy Baker as his nurses.  Musicians Erykah Badu and Heavy D also give good supporting performances. 

As far as I know, I was never in an orphanage, but still many moments rang true to my adoptee experience -- and birthmothers may recognize their feelings on the screen as well.  There is a good scene where the doctor is burying a woman who came to him for medical treatment after a botched abortion.  He is unable to save her and when asked what she died of,  he says, "She died from secrecy!" 

I found the whole bit about the cider house rules to be very Bastard worthy.  The black migrant workers who stayed in the cider house could not read the rules posted there. When our orphan hero moves in and reads the rules aloud, the workers realize how asinine those rules are.  The father of the clan says something to the effect of,  "Whoever wrote those rules never lived in the cider house; we do.  We didn't write them and we don't have to live by them.  Burn them."  It made me think of Measure 58 and how Bastards are finally taking charge and re-writing the rules.

While I was aware of the film poking my Primal Wound, I never felt manipulated, perhaps because the characters were so finely drawn.  Everyone has good and bad qualities, and even those who play God try to make decisions as their conscience dictates.

With 7 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, the story oforphan Homer Wells' journey to adulthood may rule the Oscars this year.  While not a direct comment on adoptee rights like past Oscar nominee Secrets and Lies,  The Cider House Rules does touch on the sorrow, shame, and secrecy surrounding unplanned pregnancies, abortion, adoption, and incest.  Topics that rarely see the light of day, let alone get fair treatment under the bright lights of Hollywood.

Marlena Villers is a documentary filmmaker, former Social Worker, and a member of Bastard Nation's Education & Training Committee. She resides in Texas.

Tarzan (1999, Disney Pictures)

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Reviewed by Lori Pringle (computer-goddess@home.com)

Tarzan was really good. I think I must have been PMSing, because I really cried when the ape parents lost their little baby ape to the tiger, and again when the tiger got Tarzan's parents. I must have continued to cry for a good ten minutes afterward.

I thought it really did a good job at showing that, even though a person may be adopted, and generally accepted into his/her new family, there is nonetheless an undeniable and unchangeable link to one's birth family, and that who you are is a combination of genetics and  environment.

Disney movies are so great. I've noticed that many of them have adoption-related themes, and they always seem to have the same positive attitude about adoption. It makes me wonder if someone at Disney has been affected by adoption. If not, they must be tuned in to the brainwaves of those of us who have.

Lori Pringle is a computer specialist and Bastard Nation's Western Canadian Regional Director. She resides with her family in Alberta, Canada.

Stuart Little (1999, Sony Pictures)

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Reviewed by Mary Hunt (bgotis@bellatlantic.net)

E.B. White’s children’s books were a staple of my childhood.  I read Charlotte’s Web, The Trumpet of the Swan and Stuart Little again and again.  I loved White’s insistence that being different was not only good, but that differences have the ability to cause one to lead an extraordinary life.  His endearing characters lived human lives despite their animal nature, and overcame incredible obstacles to fulfill their dreams.

Stuart Little, as portrayed in E.B. White’s children's novel, was born into his family with a somewhat pronounced difference:  he was a mouse.  The book details his adventures in overcoming his small scale and learning to function in a large world.  Stuart is more than a match for his challenges, and he ultimately triumphs.

Enter Hollywood.

Apparently the screenwriters felt that it was too much of a stretch of the imagination for Stuart the mouse to be born to human parents.  For whatever reason, they altered the book's scenario.  The Littles adopt Stuart from an orphanage instead.  A real orphanage with real children, a bespectacled social worker and one pathetic mouse. Stuart wins over the hearts of the Littles once they find out that he has been waiting for years to be adopted by a family, passed over time and time again by parents who opted for (surprise) human children rather than a small, white mouse, however nattily dressed.  The social worker interviews the Littles at length to make certain that they understand Stuart’s unique needs.  Once satisfied that they will provide him a loving home, the social worker approves the adoption, and Stuart goes home with his new mom and dad.

The story focuses on Stuart’s attempts to fit into his “new” family, his longing for his “real” parents, and his subsequent reclamation by his (supposedly) biological parents. Mr. and Mrs.  Little, possibly the most pristine and perfect set of adoptive parents ever to come into existence, assist Stuart in his search by contacting the agency (“I’m sorry Mrs. Little, those records are sealed.  But I’ll see what I can do.”)

Ignorant adoption storyline and improbable premise aside, Stuart Little does have a few elements that make it somewhat enjoyable.  Nathan Lane turns in a hilarious performance as the voice of Snowball, the family cat, and Michael J. Fox as Stuart is adorable.  In all, the animals in the film provide more enjoyment than the humans with the assistance of some well-done animation.  The dialogue does present some excellent one-liners, if you can stop groaning at the poorly written adoption theme long enough to actually hear them.

If you still haven’t seen Stuart Little and still want to after this, at least wait until it’s out on video.  No one should have to pay eight bucks a head to hear this much smarmy adoption crapola.

Mary Hunt, an adoptee, is Program Director of the Terminal Illness Emergency Search program and a member of Bastard Nation's Events Committee. She lives in New Jersey.

(This feature appeared in the Spring 2000 issue of the Bastard Quarterly.)

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