Staying Together is one of those small town family stories. Growing up is hard, especially when you own a chicken restaurant. Dad, unfortunately, gives in to “big business”, and sells his restaurant to a chain franchise. This sale puts the family into turmoil and makes the family members reevaluate their relationships with each other. The brothers of the McDermott family are featured most prominently. The three brothers, in typical movie fashion, are distinctly different. Dermot Mulroney plays Kit, the ro…antic brother, Tim Quill plays Brian, the hot-tempered one, and Sean Astin (Sam from Lord of the Rings) plays Duncan, the goofball. The film is rounded out by some good character actresses like Stockard Channing and Melinda Dillon. Unfortunately, the script by Monte Merrick is riddled with cliches and gives us everything we expect. The film is directed by Oscar winning actress Lee Grant, but her tone is dead serious. She plays the material without a hint of irony. Staying Together is like Mystic Pizza without the charm.
Audio
Nothing special here. The Dolby Digital 2.0 mix is adequate enough. The front heavy track is fairly clean. Dialogue can be heard clearly enough, but rear speaker activity is kept to a minimum. No workout on your speakers for this movie.
Video
This is a flipper disc. You can watch the movie in the 1.85:1 widescreen or 1.33:1 fullscreen formats. The picture quality is a grainy muddy at times, but I was suprised at the lack of other transfer defects. Colors are natural, which is perfect for the subject matter. A decent transfer for a mediocre film.
Special Features
Just a trailer.
Final Thoughts
The title of this film states exactly what the movie is about. No frills. Nothing new under the sun. Staying Together is a down home small town story. It’s been done before, and better. The adequate audio and video is a positive, however. I wouldn’t go running out to the video store for this one. But after the movie’s over, you might get a hankerin’ for some chicken. Mmmm mmm.
Special Features List
- Theatrical Trailer
