Please don't spend money on this.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Bessie Wakefield (Diane Keaton) takes care of her father Marvin (Hume Cronyn) and her aunt Ruth (Gwen Verdon). Marvin has been bed-ridden since a stroke 17 years earlier. Lee Wakefield Lacker (Meryl Streep) is Bessie's estrange sister. She's a single mom to Charlie and angry Hank (Leonardo DiCaprio) who set fire to the house. Hank gets sent to the mental ward. Dr. Carter (Robert De Niro) diagnoses Bessie with leukemia and she needs a bone marrow transplant. She contacts Lee. Lee takes Hank out of the hospital to go get themselves tested but neither of the boys even know they have an aunt.This is a powerhouse cast and they deliver great performances. Gwen Verdon is hilarious. Keaton and Streep act the living stuffing out of their relationship. DiCaprio is excellent. Director Jerry Zaks is probably the weak spot. The directions are functional but it lacks a certain panache. Nevertheless there is no denying the first rate acting.

This movie was a beautiful source of inspiration in my life. Whenever I'm confused with all the burdens, remembering this movie tells me what to do.The beauty of it is how it shows you the difference between wasting your life with someone, and offering your life to someone. There's a great difference which we tend to sometimes not pay attention to. Diane Keaton "Bessie" shines in one of the brightest scenes I have ever seen in my life, telling her sister how she loved offering her life to her sick father and aunt, and how true love takes different forms and comes in ways we never to expect. Meryl Streep "Lee" on the other hand, succeeds brilliantly in showing us that pursuing our idea of a full free life can be a waste of time, an illusion. Maybe the best things in life aren't about what we think we know. This piece of art is a gem for anyone who likes drama and is interested in learning a real lesson or whoever liked "One True Thing" and other wonderful movies which didn't get the recognition they deserved. The movie is very entertaining, provoking and beautiful although it gets sappy at some parts. An applause to real movies' makers.

I came across this movie on Netflix and thought I would give it a go! Surely a movie with Meryl Streep and Dianne Keaton wouldn't disappoint! It sure didn't! While the story has been done before in various formats it's the screenplay that makes this movie a real gem. The main three actors really do a great job. But with Streep, Keaton and DiCaprio one would expect nothing less. For me the the late Gwen Verdon steals the show. she really shows how comedy should be done. The scene with the orange is one that stands out. A mixture of comedy and heart wrenching reality showcases how underrated she has been. This for me should have definitely gained a nod in any supporting actress awards. This movie certainly won't change your life but it really does provide you with food for though about love, family and the importance of life! Give it a go. It won't disappoint.

Two sisters try to set their familial differences aside -- one in hopes of saving her own life -- in this drama with comic accents.Marvin's Room is a film based on the play of the same name by Scott McPherson.The play, which was directed by David Petrarca, was adapted for the screen by McPherson and directed by Jerry Zaks. It stars Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, Diane Keaton, Robert De Niro, Hume Cronyn, Gwen Verdon, Hal Scardino and Dan Hedaya. Bessie has lived in Florida for the past 20 years, where she's been caring for her chronically ill father Marvin and her Aunt Ruth, who does not seem well acquainted with reality. While Bessie's life has not been easy, she feels that it's rewarding in its way, and she's come to love her father very much. However, when Bessie is diagnosed with cancer, she's told that the only treatment likely to save her would be a bone marrow transplant from a close relative -- which leads Bessie to contact her sister Lee for the first time since their father fell ill. Bessie and Lee have a number of issues with each other that they've never resolved, many concerning their responses to Marvin's illness as Bessie rushed to his side, while Lee preferred to stay away, and Lee's own life has been difficult. She's gotten herself out of a bad marriage, has only recently started supporting herself as a beautician, and has to raise two kids on her own. Ten-year-old Charlie tries to simply ignore the chaos going on all round him, while Hank, a troubled 17-year-old, was recently institutionalized after burning down the family's home. As the straight-laced Bessie and the earthy Lee reestablish contact after two decades, they discover just how much emotional ground they have to cover before they can meet on common ground. Based on a play by Scott McPherson's who died of AIDS, it's impossible to watch the well-acted film particularly Diane Keaton, who got an Oscar nomination,as she was given a rare opportunity here to remind us that she's not simply a fine comedienne, and she's marvelous.Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Hume Cronyn and Gwen Verdon add to the greatness of the cast's brilliance and excellent performance.And most of all,it provides great themes about the various approaches to love; the strength of family bonds in times of death, aging parents, reconciliation; and the healing power of selfless love.It was one good movie inspite of being dull and slow at times.A can't miss movie.