Product Details

• Actors: Delroy Lindo, Kevin Duhaney, Kirstie Alley, Rosemary Dunsmore, Catherine Fitch
• Directors: Graeme Clifford
• Format: Anamorphic, Color, DVD, 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
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Celebrity Video Distribution
• DVD Release Date: November 25, 2008
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001J2XRLC
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #59,456 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Review
A winning and benevolent performance from Delroy Lindo and charming chemistry between the actor and Kirstie Alley allow Profoundly Normal to find its bearings and keep it from drifting toward the profoundly oversentimental. Telepic's based on the lives of a developmentally disabled couple who find themselves on their own, marry and raise a son after being institutionalized deep into their adult lives. Story is told in blocks separated by 60 Minutes-like interviews with Donna (Alley) and Ricardo Thornton (Lindo) that establish Normal's can-do spirit and allow viewers to absorb their troubled lives and know that it will all work out in the end. The effect diffuses any extra emotional pull the story might have had had the end been up in the air. Nevertheless, this is very much a story of struggle, albeit moved to the mundane facts of life like grocery shopping, riding a bus or making simple hors d'oeuvres for a party. It tackles their lives chronologically, from moving out on their own to marriage, childbirth and the rearing of their son Ricky (Kevin Duhaney). Only after the Thorntons start to raise their child do the horrors of Donna's and Ricardo's childhoods spent at Forest Haven crop up in flashback. Although their retardation appears mild in comparison to that of the kids they're locked up with, both were treated as if they were incapable of ever learning anything; Ricardo, especially, seems to have been misdiagnosed, though Normal never wholly addresses that issue. Story depends heavily on the two leads. Alley is asked to be a bit flighty, and she does so without supercilious flair. Lindo's perf is admirably measured and nuanced. The two characters receive the strongest support from Forest Haven administrator Charlotte Johnson (Rosemary Dunsmore), who pushes for Donna and Ricardo's marriage, even if it means heading to Washington, D.C., where people labeled retarded are allowed to marry. Telepic never states where the action is set, though it most likely takes place in the Northeast. Donna is initially set into the real world with best friend Margaret (Catherine Fitch), a woman clearly incapable of taking care of herself. Fitch plays her with a cliched assortment of facial tics and hair pulling that contrast with the assuredness of Alley's Donna. We're left to assume Donna, or for that manner any mildly disabled person, can function a-OK as long as they have a loving support system. --Phil Gallo-Variety

Product Description
Donna Selby (Kirstie Alley) and Ricardo Thornton (Delroy Lindo) were two mentally disabled children who were taken from their parents and institutionalized. Donna was angry and afraid; she hated the heavy medications, uncompassionate staff, and had difficulty coping. Then Donna met cheerful and optimistic Ricardo, who had a calming effect on her. Their friendship blossomed over 20 years. Then they were told that the institution was closing. Patients were re-assigned to other institutions, group homes and apartments. Could Donna and Ricardo survive in the outside world? Would they be able to survive without each other? Follow the quest of this mentally disabled couple to find each other again. Feel their love and determination to fulfill their dreams of getting married, having a child, (forbidden by the Social Services Authorities) and becoming a normal family.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Warm touching insight to mentally handicapped people, December 20, 2008

By	B. Hileman (PA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an emotionally moving story of handicapped people trying to be like "normal" people and live in our world. I found it very beleiveable and touching. I don't know why some people are so up in arms about it. It's about real life! It allows you to put yourself in their shoes and feel what they go through, or feel like in a way.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great movie, January 11, 2009

By	M. Frasca (Moreno Valley, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I really enjoyed this movie on Lifetime. I look forward to viewing it again and sharing it.

3.0 out of 5 stars I can not believe......, March 27, 2009

By	Movie Fan (Oxford, UK) - See all my reviews

.... that DVDs are still being released in letterbox widescreen format. If it's widescreen, there is no excuse for it not to be anamorphic to best use the available resolution. In respect of this made for TV film, I suspect the original format was 4:3 fullscreen which makes the letterbox widescreen all the more unforgivable - they have simply cut the top and bottom off the full picture.

The film itself is good and portrayed a range of problems and triumphs faced by people with learning difficulties or institutionalised from a young age. Kirstie Alley is particularly impressive.

So, good film, DVD could and should have been better.