Product Details

• Actors: Greg Germann, Ashley Rickards, Beth Broderick, Janet Grillo
• Directors: Janet Grillo
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: New Video Group
• DVD Release Date: April 26, 2011
• Run Time: 80 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B004HJ0ZS2
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #166,719 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Mandy is played by Ashley Rickards, a young lady who should win an Academy Award for best supporting actress. She is that convincing... Broderick and Rickards hit all the notes perfectly. Their duet is really something to see. --Huffington Post

The lovely, heartbreaking FLY AWAY benefits from superb performances and a gripping story managed with simplicity and grace by writer-producer-director Janet Grillo. --Los Angeles Times

It's a stimulating sense of realism that helps to shape a raw, compassionate portrait of life lived with the disorder, finding pauses of behavior and response that shock and enlighten. It's not an easy film to watch, but it's a picture of immense importance, capturing an intimate state of mind few are allowed to visit. --DVD Talk

Product Description

A powerful film directed by Emmy Award® winner Janet Grillo (Autism: The Musical), FLY AWAY narrates the story of Jeanne (Beth Broderick, Bonfire of the Vanities, Sabrina the Teenage Witch) and her autistic teenage daughter, Mandy (Ashley Rickards, One Tree Hill). Jeanne has cared for Mandy since the day she was born, growing closer every day to a child who is charmingly offbeat one moment and nearly impossible to manage the next. In the dog park, Jeanne encounters Tom (Greg Germann, Ally McBeal, Friends with Money), an easygoing and accepting neighbor who sparks a romantic interest, but she finds juggling Mandy s care and her own career leaves little room for a new man. As the pressures of work and her child s needs increase, she must decide whether or not to enroll Mandy in a therapeutic residential facility. Over the course of a few weeks, Jeanne is confronted with the most difficult decision a parent can make: to let go, allowing her child to grow, but also grow apart; or to hold on tight and fall together.

10% of proceeds from DVD sales benefits Autism Speaks

Bonus Features: A conversation with the filmmakers of FLY AWAY; Autism Speaks: It s Time to Listen (Music Video); Companion guide with information on autism spectrum disorders

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Autism And The Modern Family--When Letting Go Becomes A Painful, But Realistic, Necessity April 19, 2011

By K. Harris HALL OF FAMETOP 10 REVIEWER

Format:DVD

Promoted in large part by Autism Speaks, which receives a portion of all DVD sales and Video on Demand viewing fees, there is no doubt that "Fly Away" will be discovered and embraced by those with a direct connection with autism. However, this brief and matter-of-fact film deserves a wider audience--so hopefully those that champion small independent films will help to build an awareness of this well meaning examination of mother love and sacrifice. The film presents a gritty and realistic look at the challenges that those with severe autism face as well as the repercussions the disease has on their immediate caregivers. And while not perfect--some minor roles are a bit heavy handed and there are a few issues in narrative flow--"Fly Away" is about as realistic as can be at the level of family intimacy and is bolstered by strong lead performances.

Janet Grillo's film chronicles an uncomfortable transitional period--when an afflicted girl is no longer a child, yet still maintains a childlike existence. Ashley Rickards plays the burgeoning woman whose frustrations have caused her to increasingly lash out at school and at home. Beth Broderick is a mother whose life is dedicated to her daughter, but who must make some hard choices about the future. When is it time to let go and entrust your child's well-being to others? She has subjugated her own independence and chance at happiness--yet when a new romantic interest as well as a new educational opportunity for Rickards coincide, it just might be time for some serious thought. Broderick wrestles with what would be best for everyone, but there are no easy answers and bright outlooks. Through it all, the film maintains a central realism as opposed to going for overwrought drama--and the choice is quietly effective....

Rickards does well capturing the enthusiasm, confusion, and frustration battling for domain over her body and mind. But, in many ways, the film belongs to Broderick. I remember first seeing Broderick in the mid-eighties (yes, I know that dates me) and liking her--and in the next 25 years, she was oftentimes the brightest spot in some pretty dismal entertainment. Finally, she has a role worthy of her. Exceptionally understated, you can always see the gears moving behind her eyes. It's a compelling, thoughtful, and surprisingly introspective performance that might have veered toward melodrama in other hands. All in all, this is both a sweet and sad movie and certainly not without hope. The film might feel incredibly personal if your family has struggled with autism--but there is also much to recommend it for a general audience. KGHarris, 4/11. Read more ›

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful movie: NOT a cliched retread, more than I expected. March 31, 2011

By Saki

Format:DVD

I saw this at the SXSW film festival, and am getting in line here to preorder a copy. Beautiful, subtle performances by both female leads, even when yelling their heads off. I sort of expected one of those Lifetime "Heroic Mom withstands dire circumstances and in the end her Love Conquers All" things. You know, where the disabled child is nothing more than a way for the scriptwriter to illustrate how great Mom is?

Not so. The girl who played the autistic daughter (the actress is not autistic) wasn't just a collection of tics and screams: she was a complex person, and we got to see her that way. Really well done!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Real Inspiration June 2, 2012

By Craig Deininger

Format:DVD

For those who prefer inspiration that is applicable to what many would call `the real world,' Fly Away is a much welcomed reminder that the heroes of our day do not bend bars or wear capes. This rare and refreshingly real film presents the stalwart commitment and precarious delicacy requisite to deep, personal relationships. Set in a wildly unfamiliar landscape where the psyches of a dedicated mother and her autistic daughter overlap, we are challenged to take a hard look at love's position on the scale of holding on and letting go. As with all great stories, Fly Away finds genuine and credible ways to navigate the cusp between the miraculous and the mundane. With its uncompromising fidelity to the challenges of raising an autistic child, Fly Away delivers experiences starkly authentic to life. Carefully weaving sorrow and joy into a quiet plot with a voluminous interior, there is nothing excessive or contrived in this complex, psychologically active, yet grounded film. In short, the story carries the grit of life with the kind of hard-earned gracefulness that comes with bearing the weight of honesty and integrity. These dynamics, supported by superb acting-performances by seasoned veterans and new-comers alike, seals the final product with a fifth star.

13 of 18 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Two Major Problems with Fly Away June 14, 2011

By Dan Baer

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have a 13-year-old son with autism. My wife and I purchased this film, and we both appreciated the fact that people made a movie like this that tries to realistically capture everyday life with an autism/PDD teen. The film would have fit the bill if it was not for two huge errors about life with autism and what this particular character would say/do. Number one: At one point the character with autism sees two people kissing and then she asks her mom, "Will I ever get married?" (or something of the sort). Point-blank: no person with the kind of severe autism depicted in this character would ask such a question. The screenwriter nearly ruined the film by inserting this totally inappropriate sequence that we all WISH were true of the autistic mind. Number two: At the conclusion of the film, the mom brings her daughter to an unrealistic utopia of a special-needs residential placement and school (I've been to many Northern California special needs schools. Maybe down in Beverly Hills they have amazing ones that I've never seen.). The mom and girl have a brief encounter/conversation with an overly idealized special-needs boy, and suddenly the daughter becomes enthused about being in such a place with a potential new friend. Again, this is a dream-wish of the screenwriter, producer, and director to believe that the most difficult decision of a mother's life could be reduced so easily. I am not being cynical here. I really am very disappointed with these two sequences that show a failure on the part of the movie makers to understand the reality of most people living with autism. "Austism the Musical" is, in my opinion, a much superior production.