The title 'Life After Tomorrow' is a bit misleading.
Overall, the documentary was good, and I don't regret renting it.
But the title is a bit misleading. I assumed the doc would be just that -- profiling the lives of the Annies and Orphans AFTER tomorrow.
Oh yeah, I thought they'd definitely sit in chairs and take us down memory lane, but I thought it would also profile their lives a bit now. I thought a camera would follow a few of the girls and their home and family lives and in their new careers... kind of a "where are they now?"
Instead, it was a lot of people dwelling on their pasts. It was a bit like a therapy session on film.
I'm amazed at how affected many of these women still are.
It was a bit melodramatic, at times. Like Kristen Vigard recalling her past, and crying, as if the past was replaying itself right then and there. Good Lord. Move on already, ladies. For gosh sakes, there are worse things that could happen to you in your lives than being the stars of a major play.
(A good thing about Kristen Vigard, though --- one of my favorite things she's done are the songs from the 1996 film "Grace Of My Heart." Illeana Douglas played a singer/songwriter in that film and Kristen performed the songs that Illeana lip-synched to. That's a great movie soundtrack.)
I also thought Sarah Jessica Parker's dreams about Annie in comparison with the other cast members' dreams was very intriguing.
Notice when the other girls talked about the dreams they had later on, they would describe dream scenarios in which stage doors locked them out, they forgot lines, they didn't know their lines, etc. etc.... and Sarah Jessica Parker's dreams were just the opposite -- in her dreams, she knows her lines like the back of her hand, the audience is applauding as much as they ever were, and she still knows all the dance steps.
Sarah Jessica Parker is a huge star. And I don't mean because she's famous - (Famous and successful, like one of the ladies said, are not necessarily synonomous with one another) - but because she is successful in what she is doing.
Notice girls who had the bad dreams are either still struggling in the business or are still hung up on the negative points of the past. And you can tell some of them are still very passionate about it.. you can see it in a few of their faces.
Notice that Sarah Jessica dwelled on none of that negative stuff. If she talked about it at all, it was in a distant, removed sort of way --- that indicated it is very much over and done with for her. That's proof of the power of positive thinking in your life. Positive thinkers are the true stars in life.
People may say, "Well, it's easy for her, she went on to be a star." BUT THAT'S THE WHOLE REASON SHE DID!
Do you think if Sarah Jessica carried on with the mindset of "I used to be Annie" she would have gotten "Square Pegs," or "Footloose" so easily shortly afterwards?
Many of the other girls are still very stuck in their Annie days. And you can plainly see how it's affected the rest of their lives. It's as if it was all downhill from Annie or something... what a way to approach your life. :-(
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it was ALL negative. And they were not all "dwelling." Because realistically, that's what they were there to discuss - Annie. And they were there to discuss it CANDIDLY.
What I'm saying is --- I just don't agree with the tears, and whatnot.
I just don't believe people should dwell on their pasts to that degree. Especially so many years later.
Personally -- if I were one of those ladies, and having to leave the play when I started developing or recalling negative happenings backstage 30 years ago were STILL enough to bring tears to my eyes, then I probably wouldn't feel ready or willing enough to discuss it on film that's going to last forever.
If they can't recall bad events of three decades ago without a healthy sense of detachment, then that's not too healthy.