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Inventing the Abbotts

4.0 out of 5 stars 116 customer reviews


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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Forbidden love and impossible dreams intertwine when the handsome working-class Holt brothers are drawn to the beautiful and wealthy Abbott sisters. Sparks fly, passion flare, and family loyalties are suddenly torn and tested against a small town backdrop of social boundaries and dark secrets. Starring Liv Tyler and an all-star cast including Joaquin Phoenix, Billy Crudup and Jennifer Connelly, "Inventing the Abbotts" re-invents the trials and triumphs of coming of age in a time of innocence that was anything but.

Amazon.com

A showcase for bright young stars, Inventing the Abbotts aspires to be the kind of 1950s melodrama--like Splendor in the Grass--that was perfected by directors like Elia Kazan and Douglas Sirk. Calling on the strength of his earlier Circle of Friends, Irish director Pat O'Connor brings many of that film's admirable qualities to this similar ensemble piece (set in late-'50s Illinois), but it's held together by looser and weaker threads. And yet this tale of class division and forbidden love is sensitively written and beautifully filmed, highlighted by two young lovers at the center of an interfamilial conflict.

"Alice is the good daughter, Eleanor's the bad one, and I'm the one that just sorta gets off the hook." That's how rich girl Pam Abbott (Liv Tyler) describes herself and her older siblings (Joanna Going and Jennifer Connelly, respectively), whose father made his fortune in manufacturing. Working-class neighbor Jacey Holt (Billy Crudup) has "invented" Mr. Abbott as a villain whose wealth came at the Holts' expense and destroyed the reputation of Jacey's widowed mom (Kathy Baker in a fine but underwritten role). Jacey retaliates by callously bedding each Abbott sister in sequence, but his destructive behavior is countered by younger brother Doug (Joaquin Phoenix), whose love for Pam is sweetly genuine. Memorable scenes abound, and the film's period design is impeccable, but sluggish pacing and filigrees of plot make Inventing the Abbotts a faint echo of its '50s predecessors. The fine cast makes it worthwhile, however, and Michael Keaton's (uncredited) narration adds another layer of retrospective charm. --Jeff Shannon


Special Features

  • Featurette

Product Details

  • Actors: Liv Tyler, Jennifer Connelly, Joaquin Phoenix, Billy Crudup, Will Patton
  • Directors: Pat O'Connor
  • Writers: Ken Hixon, Sue Miller
  • Producers: Brian Grazer, Jack Cummins, Janet Meyers, Karen Kehela Sherwood, Ron Howard
  • Format: Multiple Formats, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Widescreen, NTSC
  • Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
  • Subtitles: English, Spanish
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rated:
    R
    Restricted
  • Studio: 20th Century Fox
  • DVD Release Date: March 13, 2001
  • Run Time: 110 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (116 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000056BSF
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #92,794 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • Learn more about "Inventing the Abbotts" on IMDb


Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

Format: DVD Verified Purchase
I started watching this film on TV, but had to end it early. I immediately came to Amazon to get the video, because it was so interesting.
I wasn't disappointed with the later part of the story and I found the ending perfectly to my liking. Gonna watch it again soon.
I don't remember having seen Liv Tyler in other films (though I recalled somewhat having seen her in her father's music video a long time
ago). Anyway I was charmed by her sweetness and her acting. Won't say anything about the plot, so you'll have to see it. However, if you like
a complex story with lots of twists and turns and are in the least romantically inclined, you'll love this film. Joaquin Phoenix does a great job
too (he always does). Don't miss this.
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This is one of my favorite movies. Good script and acting. I live Joaquin and Liv's story line. You may not love it, but you'll like it a lot.
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Enjoyable from beginning to end. The story is good, acting is great and I could watch it over and over again. Joaquin Phoenix and Liv Tyler are exceptional actors and a treat to watch.
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Format: DVD Verified Purchase
All Star cast.. Liv Tyler, Jennifer Connely and Joaquin Phoenix.. Typical romance movie about Poor boy and Rich Girl.. but with a
wonderful twist.. If you love not so ordinary romance movies then this is for you... I love watching this movie over and over again
Buy it... you won't be disappointed.
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Great writing and great acting. I get bothered by those who describe it as a "fun romp" (that would be you Amazon). It's not that. It's a drama and a well written and well acted one at that.
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Had never heard of this movie and stumbled upon it. Was entertaining.
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IF you like movies like fried green tomatoes then you will definately enjoy this movie contains a great cast as well.
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Charming romantic drama with fantastic acting performances by several of Hollywood's leading actors.
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