MovieChat Forums > Gracie's Choice (2004) Discussion > Why were all the adults so nasty??!

Why were all the adults so nasty??!


From the teacher who acted like Gracie did something wrong by not wanting to talk about her swollen face (um she's the VICTIM jerko!), to the authorities who took them away when Rowena was arrested (you overhear them snap to the kids: "Kids can't stay with parents that use DRUGS!" and "Don't make it worse than it already is!" . How about some sympathy, guys?! I know they have a job to do, but how about going easy on these poor kids!
Even Mrs. Thurston the guidance counselor, is a head-in-the-sand woman. "Making money is not as important as going to school." Uh, lady, school is very important but money is ESSENTIAL. And when she hears about Gracie's background, not a drop of sympathy there either! Yes, Gracie needed to work harder but her rude, arrogant attitude wasn't necessary.


"I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus."
"Didn't he discover America?"
"Penfold, shush."

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i though they were harsh on them too i mean they did nothing wrong there mother was the one that messed up. I mean yes they need to take the kids away but they did not have to treat the kids like they were in prison like when the girls had to go to the juvy hall or wherever they went the woman there was kinda mean to them i mean i did not see anything wrong with 2 sisters wanting to sleep in same bed and they forced them in 2 different rooms and i just though that was not cool.

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Unfortunately that's how a lot of adults are when forced to deal with kids from that kind of background. I'm not saying it's right, but stereotypically kids from that kind of background aren't NEARLY as well behaved as Gracie and her brothers were. Plus this seemed like it was set in the 90's, therefore it was even worse.

I'm not psycho, just a little loopy.
*~me~*

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Movies, especially those based on true stories, usually portray the protagonist of the story in the best possible light and the antagonist in the worst possible light, often with gross exaggerations. The real "Gracie" whose name was Amy, and her siblings definitely went through hell by anyone's standards, but to really do the movie justice, the writers had to show the kids as being the most sympathetic characters imaginable, which meant portraying the adults in a very unsympathetic light. It's very possible in the real life chain of events, the kids were not treated quite as badly by those trying to help them as what the movie portrays, but the viewer has to get that impression to see the real justice in the end. We also have to see Gracie making nothing but good decisions about everything for herself and her siblings and handling everything perfectly fine all the time. In reality, it wasn't so easy for the real Gracie to go to school, maintain a perfect GPA, work full time, take care of her younger siblings and maintain the household. She often did come home to a messy house after working shifts at two different jobs and cried wondering how she was going to make it and hold everything together for her family. The movie also fails to mention that the real Gracie became pregnant by her boyfriend Jerry, (who, like Tommy, gave her an ultimatum to choose between him and their child or raising her younger brothers and ended up leaving her and their son when she chose the latter)and gave birth to their child at 19 years old, all the while trying to do everything mentioned before. This by no means indicates Gracie as anything but a strong young woman who beat incredible odds to go on to have a successful life and be a good mother, but the writers evidently felt that it would likely bias the viewers' opinion of Gracie if she was shown to be heading down the same path as her mother and gearing toward the life she came from by getting pregnant and becoming a single mother at such a young age. As far as Mrs. Thurston's treatment of Gracie is concerned, I agree she wasn't as sympathetic to Gracie as what would be expected, but she probably didn't understand the full extent of Gracie's situation, as evidenced by her line about "making money is not as important as going to school". Mrs. Thurston didn't understand that Gracie was pretty much the only one taking care of her brothers and had to take on responsibilities most 15 year olds wouldn't have. She identifies with Gracie as just any typical teen who had alot of potential if she just tried. She didn't realize that was easier said than done for Gracie than most kids she'd dealt with. Furthermore, I have to admit, Gracie was a little rude to Mrs. Thurston when they first met. I know Gracie was in a hurry to pick up her brother, but when you bump into someone, especially your elder, knock her papers out of her hands, then just try to keep on running off without so much as apologizing, you don't get an attitude with her and say "Look Lady---", when she scolds you about it. I don't care if you are a kid who has a hard life and is under stress because. Mrs. Thurston could have been more sympathetic upon learning Gracie's situation, but it's not acceptable for a teen to disrespect an adult like that.

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Did you get all of that from the book about Gracie's life? Because it seems that you know a lot. A lot more than the rest of us who mainly just watched and loved the movie. Is it possible that you knew Amy?

Just curious. What else do you know? Or where can I go to read and learn all that you do? I love the story of Gracie. I love her spirit and strength and would love to know more.

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Look under the thread titled "The original Reader's Digest story of Gracie's choice". There is a post on there, the second one, I believe, that should take you to a link where you can read information about the article in Reader's Digest covering the real Gracie (Amy). I also remember seeing a couple of other stories online about Amy and what she went through with her family, though I can't remember which sites they were. I can't KNOW for a fact all the info I've picked up is factually true, it's just what I know based on what I've read about, and I've seen three or four stories about Amy on the internet that pretty much say the same things. Anyway, you might check out that link that other poster put on this board under the thread I mentioned, it's interesting.

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Thanks, I'll be sure to do that.

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I think Mrs. Thurston got the wrong impression initially, that Gracie was a bratty kid who was cutting class and didn't give a crap, however once they talked I think she realized that Gracie had obviously never had anyone ride her ass about school and, as a giuidance counselor, couldn't let that much obvious potential go to waste. I actually quite liked her character, she seemed to become the only adult who really tried to understand her (perhaps the parents of her bf, but you didn't see enough of them, though they seemed sympathetic in their one scene).

When you're 17 a cow can seem dangerous and forbidden...am I alone here?

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What I hated about this movie was that the teachers were so nosy! Especially that man teacher. Teachers never mind their own business,they always try pry into students home lives thinking its thier right. It was that man teachers fault that gracie's family got split up.

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What are you talking about? It is not "nosy" for a teacher to question a student having bruises on her face, it's expected! If a teacher suspects abuse or neglect is going on in a student's home, it is not only "their right to pry into a student's home life", it's their legal responsibility. Teachers are required by law to contact authorities about suspicions of abuse to minor children. No, it was not the male teacher's fault Gracie's family was split up, it was the so called MOTHER'S fault. The cops showed up and took the kids away because the mother and her low life boyfriend were doing drugs, there's no indication the teacher had anything to do with that. If he did happen to contact the authorities, then he did the appropriate thing. Those kids were in a horrible situation they couldn't stay in, someone needed to get involved and get them away from that whack job mother if anything was going to change for them. It's sad what they went through because of it, but it was necessary to get them out of that house.

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That is part of their JOB! I suspect you may be a victim of the same sort of family situation.

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