I saw this last year and I still think about this movie- I really loved it. My question is, to the peopl ewho've seen it . Becaus eive been reading these posts and it seems that everyone thinks that Pippa married Herb becuase she was looking for a father figure , but its the mother that was the problem-The mother who mentally ill and practically destroyed Pippa, so i agree witht that she's a survivor. But why Herb also how much older is supposed to be anyway?
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I don't think the mother was mentally ill. She had a 16 year addiction to Dexedrine which her doctor shouldn't have continued giving her. The times they show her really wacked out are when she is trying to quit the drug cold-turkey. She is obviously emotionally and mentally screwed up and maybe has a mental illness but it would take her going into rehab (which was probably a crappy version of rehab in the 70's in comparison to today) and get her cleaned up and in therapy before determining whether she has an underlying mental illness or not.
I feel sorry for the woman, partly because of the times it takes place. People knew much less about so many issues with substance abuse and mental illness and services were limited so that there was so much professionals didn't know about things. It was very new and experimental back then. Even though AA existed at that time, I don't know when NA came into being. It might not have existed yet. Another reason I feel sorry for her is because her family almost completely ignores her. While it might not be her kids responsibility to do something to try and help her, at least her husband should be trying to do something but he does nothing. They just all watch her fall apart and ignore it. They don't even attempt an intervention. The only one who seems concerned is Pippa who is a kid and isn't in much position to do anything to really change things. Pippa just keeps trying to handle it by herself and what the mother really needs is for her whole family. esp. her husband, to help her. I mean the guy's a minister. Why doesn't he minister to his own wife?
Do ya love him Loretta?
Ah Ma I love im awful.
Oh God, you poor thing.
Indeed, Astrid.
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I thought Maria Bello was superb as Pippa's Dexedrine-fuelled nightmare mother. Her best scene is when she runs through 14 different moods at the dinner table in front of her oblivious brood.
I too really enjoyed this movie!
My personal take on Pippa and Herb, is that she liked him; as she said; not necessarily for his money, but because he simply made her feel special. After suffering through all that family dysfunction, I think Pippa was just looking for someone to make her feel safe - she wasn't the most emotionally-stable character, as the movie illustrates.
The age difference is supposed to be around 20 to 30 years, I think. Adult Pippa reflects on her childhood in a 'montage' kind of approach, but it's stated that "when she was 16" she finally figured out her mother had a drug problem. I figured she moved out around age 16, lived with her aunt (and Cat) for a year or so, and then got kicked out of their place around age 18...which would make sense if Pippa dabbled in adult films for a bit, after those weird photo shoots with Cat. That puts her in the age range of about 18 to 20, when she first meets Herb; and I'd guess he's about 50 when she first talks with him at that party.
My opinion! I didn't really know what to expect from this movie, but it turned out pleasantly enough. :)