Normal Life

Normal Life


Starring:Ashley Judd, Luke Perry, Bruce A. Young, Jim True-Frost, Edmund Wyson, Michael Skewes, Scott Cummins, Kevin Mukherji, Kate Walsh, Tom Towles, Penelope Milford, Brian McCann, Dawn Maxey, Kevin Hurley, Brian Blondell, Grady Hutt, Jonathan Lavan, Diane Dorsey, Jennifer Chada, Tony Fitzpatrick
Director: John McNaughton
Studio: New Line Home Video
Product Type: DVD
Normal Life
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • dynamite story, hitting viewers not unlike a hammer hits a nail on the head
  • Outstanding, if very disturbing, film, but perhaps not everyone's cup of tea
  • Phenomenal Movie
  • Normal Life
  • The Abnormal Life
Normal Life
Starring: Ashley Judd , Luke Perry , Bruce A. Young , Jim True-Frost , and Edmund Wyson
Director: John McNaughton
Manufacturer: New Line Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0006Q948M
Release Date: 2005-02-15

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars dynamite story, hitting viewers not unlike a hammer hits a nail on the head.......2007-01-07


Perhaps, in NORMAL LIFE, director John McNaughton never
realized his luck in combining the right timing,
assembling the right actors and actresses and the right
story, all wrapped into one movie, considering his other
boring one, Lansky, that was a sleeper, for example.

NORMAL LIFE is quite skeletal in its complexity (or in
other words, is not unnecessarily convoluted), telling a
dynamite story, hitting viewers not unlike a hammer hits a
nail on the head, such is the shock of seeing the
progression of a upstanding, law-abiding police officer
mutate into a hidious, stickup artist, on the word of a
hot, crazed, libido-filled, drugged, delinquent young
chick, played incredibly well by Ashley Judd, known to not
shy away from controversial, shocking and out-of-the-norm
roles.

A Christian friend of mine, having seen this movie,
admitted having cried from having seen it, in dispair of
the damage borne by the man, in an attempt to preserve
that monogamous relationship with Judd, satisfying her
many wants and needs, to the point of sacrificing his own
line of work, and putting his life on the line in criminal
enterprises for profit. Other people loved this movie,
from its originality, all praised Judd's natural feel in
playing the role that she did, and the maturity of Luke
Perry, who very well conveyed to the audience the anguish
and emotional torture endured from this wild ride of
a relationship.

Of course, NORMAL LIFE's ending, condemns the entire
behavior, as it obviously had to, considering the movie is
taken from a real life story, from almost 40 years ago,
in USA.

5 out of 5 stars Outstanding, if very disturbing, film, but perhaps not everyone's cup of tea.......2006-06-26

A week ago I had never heard of this film and stumbled upon it on the Amazon website. I bought it on a whim and was amazed, I found this to be an absolutely oustanding film. The acting performance by Ashley Judd was unbelievable, I never considered her a serious actress until I saw this. She played the role of a `distressed woman' as well as Isabelle Huppert could have done, this was a performance worthy of the finest French actresses, not some lame Hollywood starlet. I can't believe I never heard of this film before, and I'm in stunned amazement that Judd could play this role so well. This is a story about a beautiful manic-depressive woman (Judd) who meets a straightlaced cop (Luke Perry) and they fall in love. Well, Perry's character falls madly in love with Judd's, and in her lucid moments, these feeling are reciprocated. If there is a better, more realistic film about mental illness, obsession, and manic-depression, I don't know what it is. We follow the ups and downs of the characters as they meet, get married, and begin their life together. They begin to have financial trouble due to Judd's obsessive spending, and Luke Perry's character resorts to robbing banks to recover their finances. This is like watching the build up to a train wreck; you know it isn't going to end well. There are some scenes in this film that are very disturbing (like the scene in which Judd shows up to her father-in-law's funeral wearing rollerblades - ouch), and this film won't appeal to everyone's tastes. If you like Huppert (particularly in films like La Ceremonie and other Chabrol films, or Coup de Torchon), you are certainly going to like this. Luke Perry also did a surprisingly good job in this film, although his role was much less demanding than AJ's. A great film, but this will not be everyone's cup of tea, so you should read the reviews and plot summaries carefully before purchasing.

5 out of 5 stars Phenomenal Movie.......2006-01-12

This is a really great movie.....balanced all around
with many interesting aspects, very well emotionally
acted out by both leading actors, and so well constructed
that those watching the movie are pulled into the story,
and taken for a ride lasting almost 2 hours, much
like a rollercoaster. This is a movie very well done,
very challenging to write and film, I would guess -but
completed with incredible skill.

4 out of 5 stars Normal Life.......2005-09-13

Based on a true story because no fiction writer could make it believeable. Well worth the time.

4 out of 5 stars The Abnormal Life.......2005-08-26

Question: What can you do when you fall in love with a manic-depressive?

Answer: Why, rob banks of course!

Normal Life, ostensibly based on a true story, is a film about two social misfits, opposites in a way, who find each other and start living a life that is anything but normal.

Chris Anderson (Luke Perry), a straight laced policeman in a small Illinois town near Chicago, while having a drink with his brother in a a local bar, can't help but notice a lovely creature (Ashley Judd) sitting in a booth with two guys. All of a sudden she blows up arguing yelling at her companions and as they walk out on her, she smashes a beer glass, cutting her hand in the process. Our chivalrous knight, Chris goes to help and Pam is impressed. So starts a torrid courtship which doesn't slow down until marriage and the drudgery of making a living.

There is something wrong with Pam but Chris either doesn't see it or he's not willing to face it. Pam has short attention span and seems to be ambivalent about sex but nevertheless craves excitement for which Chris's answer is to buy her things on credit. Pam seems to be fighting a never ending battle with her inner demons. She drinks to excess and enjoys humiliating Chris. When visiting his family she ignore them and showed up at his father's funeral on roller skates. She fixes dinner for herself and forgets Chris, tears up the apartment, mutilates herself, threatens suicide. She is a disturbed, self destructive, manic-depressive, .

In the meantime Chris is starting to make enemies on the force and eventually is forced out. Pam works in a factory but they were having trouble with two paychecks and they certainly can't make it on one. Pam flips out and leaves reminding Chris that he promised to take care of her. When he finds her, he tells her that she doesn't have to worry because he will handle things.

That's when Chris starts robbing banks. Being an ex-cop helps if you're going to rob banks and Chris is successful for quite a while. Eventually Pam finds out and she is thrilled. She insists on helping him and he reluctantly agrees but the police and FBI are setting a trap.

CONCLUSION

First, I rented the un-rated CD version. I'm not sure what the difference was versus the R version but this version was fairly explicit and showed both Perry and Judd in the nude but Judd much more as she seemed to lounge around the apartment naked when she was depressed, which was a lot.

Since Ashley Judd is probably my favorite actress this was a pleasant bonus, seeing my favorite actress in the buff. But Ashley didn't just show off her physical attributes she really got into the part. This was some of her best acting if not her best. It's a shame that it was wasted on what is essentially a `B' movie.

The movie itself seemed hokey at times and except for the nudity, I would have thought it to be a low budget TV movie. The sets and the cinematography resembled a TV movie and I would say that most of that would probably fall on the director, McNaughton.

Perry's acting was also good but supporting actors seemed a little tentative. I thought the story was good and it was portrayed well, if cheaply. I thought the film was entertaining, though it is not one I'd like to watch more than once. I give Normal Life 31/2 stars rounded up because I like Ashley Judd.

Almost Normal
Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
  • Mindbender
  • HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA
  • Where are the Borg?
  • The Wizard of Oz goes BACK TO THE FUTURE!
  • Disappointing
Almost Normal
Starring: John Brennan , J. Andrew Keitch , Kehry Anson Lane , and Peg Sheldrick
Manufacturer: Wolfe Video
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ASIN: B000AYELCO
Release Date: 2005-11-15

Product Description

A gay man approaching a mid-life crisis is tired of being different because he is gay. He wants to be normal. Suddenly he is yanked back in time to when he was in high school. But this time, the world is gay and to be straight is considered deviant behavior. Then something else happens. He meets a girl. And suddenly normal becomes ...well almost normal.

System Requirements:
Run Time: 92 minutes

Format: DVD MOVIE

Amazon.com

Almost Normal describes itself as "Back to the Future meets Peggy Sue Got Married," and that gives you a good idea of what this gay-themed comedy is all about. Like those earlier movies, it's good-natured, amusing, and conventionally mainstream in its storytelling... except, of course, for the fact that it's a low-budget contemporary fantasy intended (more or less exclusively) for a gay audience. It's also the kind of too-eager-to-please comedy (like My Big Fat Greek Wedding) that you'll either love or hate in the first 10 or 15 minutes, but if you make it that far you may find yourself enjoying the movie's low-key charm and easygoing appeal. Granted, some of the acting (by a cast of complete unknowns) is amateurish and some of the dialogue is so bad it's laughable, but the "what if?" scenario yields a few interesting situations, satisfying a fantasy notion that many gay viewers will instantly identify with: What if you could relive your painful high-school days, only this time, instead of being in the ostracized gay minority, you discover that almost everyone is gay, and it's the straight kids who are "abnormal"?! That's the surprise in store for Brad (Andrew Keitsch), a gay, perpetually single 40-year-old teacher who crashes his car, is knocked unconscious, and has a Wizard of Oz-like dream in which he's back in high school, in an all-gay society where same-sex couples have children via sex with "parental partners," gym showers are co-ed, and straight kids are outcasts. It seems like an ideal situation, but Almost Normal has a lesson to teach about growing comfortable and content with one's own sexual identity, regardless of societal expectations. The role-reversal fantasy is treated far too literally, and it's not all that clever to begin with, but writer-director Marc Moody gives it a light spin that's harmless and well-intentioned. Almost Normal is the kind of movie that is typically found on the fringes of lesser-known film festivals, but it's likely to find an appreciative audience on DVD. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars Mindbender.......2007-06-21

Ok, so this movie is not really well acted, and could certainly have been edited better and had some more substance in several parts of the story, but all that aside it was actually a neat concept. Imagine, the world has suddenly gone upside down for gays.

1 out of 5 stars HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA.......2007-06-19

This is quite possibly the worst movie i have EVER seen!

HAHA

EVERYONE! GO TO BLOCKBUSTER AND RENT THIS MOVIE (don't buy it cause once u see it u'll never want to see it again) AND WATCH IT! CAUSE IT'S SOOOOO TERRIBLE THAT IT'S ACTUALLY FUNNY!

4 out of 5 stars Where are the Borg?.......2006-12-14

I just watched this film and found the whole plot rather interesting. The acting isn't the greatest, there isn't enough male nudity (I'm tired of seeing naked women in almost every film I see, but no naked men), but the point of the whole story is well taken. As with most movies involving time travel, I half expect a Borg to pop out of no-where. ;) What caught my attention is the demonstration of how fluid human sexuality can be and how little we really understand about ourselves. Sure, you can turn on PBS and watch the mating habits of almost any other species, but put some humans in there and it's labeled "pornography". Alas, such is the paragon of animals. This is a film most teenagers and most adult should watch so that they can experience a new perspective on human life. There will always be "outsiders" in human cultures, but maybe movies like this will help all of us be less cruel to them.

4 out of 5 stars The Wizard of Oz goes BACK TO THE FUTURE!.......2006-10-02

This movie is very different and overall, the reviews I've read here are unfair. While the acting is pretty bad in some points and some of the casting is not real great either, I have to give this film 5 stars for content. The plot is incredible. You get the best of both worlds here. A gay love story with a happy ending, and a straight love story with a happy ending. You get adventure, comedy, and a strong point is made that "normal" isn't always easy to attain, even if you had a "do-over" knowing what you know now. The main character here finds that there are things in his life that he wouldn't change in order to change the things he is most disturbed about in his life. He remains in the end, the same as he was in the beginning, but his whole outlook has changed about what really matters and what is totally insignificant in life.

I guess your view of this movie will depend on how you judge films. IF the content, or story line is more important to you than technicalities, you will love "Defying Gravity". If you are more interested in how much money was spent on making it, (obviously not much), whether or not the actors deserve an academy award (which they don't), or how well the cast was put together (in this case, good and bad) then you will find plenty in this film to pick apart. Personally, I like being entertained and challenged by a plot to think about things I might not otherwise consider. This movie provides that. I recommend it highly, but also recommend you view it for it's content, not it's quality, and keep your expectations below the top.

2 out of 5 stars Disappointing.......2006-09-29

What a shame. I had high hopes for this movie. It's a terrific concept - every gay man who came of age in the 20th century dreams of returning to high school in the hopes that the past would be different.

What ruins this film? Let's start with the casting. None of the lead actors portraying teens looks young enough. Personally, I found the lead unattractive and way too old for the part. He was also a poor actor who could not emote. Not that the others around him fared better. The parents are the most stilted and ruin every scene.

Next the script. The dialogue is unrealistic. There are plenty of contrived plot elements. Wouldn't it have been more interesting if he had gone back and the jock he lusted after had not had any interest in him at all? The director could have addressed themes of dating and romance within the gay community. The role-reversal with the lead discovering straight feelings seemed heavy-handed.

Maybe because the cast was mostly (if not all) straight, but there was no passion between the players. certainly not between the male leads. Their kiss might as well have been between two brothers. Gay men in love do not kiss like this.

There are far better movies showcasing gay love. I recommend avoiding this substandard flick.
Normal
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Worth watching
  • Outstanding Sleeper Movie
  • A movie of depth and warmth
  • The things we do for love
  • In Search of Normal
Normal
Starring: Richard Bull , Mary Seibel , Danny Goldring , Jessica Lange , and Tom Wilkinson
Director: Jane Anderson (II)
Manufacturer: HBO Home Entertainment
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ASIN: B0000AYJV8
Release Date: 2003-10-07

Amazon.com

As Roy (Tom Wilkinson, In the Bedroom) and Irma (Jessica Lange, Cape Fear, Tootsie) celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary, Roy passes out. While meeting with their pastor, Roy reveals that he's a woman trapped in a man's body, and he wants to get a sex change--setting in motion a complex and emotionally fraught conflict between husband and wife, individual and community, and parent and child. Normal explores Roy's gender dysphoria with empathy, but also has an eye for the social and familial absurdities that come up. The humor, far from trivializing the issue, steers it away from cloying sentiment or politically correct sanctimony. The movie captures the confusion of Roy's friends and coworkers with realism and without judgment, and the stressful changes of Roy and Irma's relationship aren't sugarcoated or made into a moral lesson. Both Lange and Wilkinson are superb, as are the skillful script and direction. --Bret Fetzer

Description

Ray and Irma are a devoted couple living a normal life in rural Illinois, until Roy decides that his life must change and confesses to Irma that he's a woman trapped in a man's body. Now Roy must face their friends, his coworkers and his own children with the whole new way of life he has planned - and they must face him. What happens to a town, a factory and a loving marriage when confronted with such a transformation is all about being who you are, being in love, and simply being normal.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Worth watching.......2007-05-12

A very well written movie, I deffinatly like the small town setting which can hit close to home and bring a more realistic drama into the many lives of those, outside big cities. Set apart from steriotyped lives of the Transgendered, Richard Bull is extrordinary in the problems and frustrations of the "Normal" Transgendered. Jessica Lang was incredibale in portraying the real struggles of the not so excepting wife and plays no falsehood as to what many wives live with when they have to deal and/or cope with their partners and what can be devistating partnerships. This movie has a very comfortable portrayal of "Real Lives"

4 out of 5 stars Outstanding Sleeper Movie.......2006-08-14

This movie is emotionally punched. It moves with a steady pace though. It's based on a play about a man who finally finds the courage to be true to himself, ie. he opts for a sex change operation to become a woman because his inclination is there since the beginning of time. For him, he wishes to be normal and carrying on living. However, being "normal" is a subjective issue because for some, "normal" is where a man is a man, and a woman is a woman. Instead of giving him the support that he looks for, the community is giving him a hard time and even making him into a "pagan" despite his contribution to the Church community for many years. Whilst the wife is shocked in the beginning, as time goes on, she realises that she needs to look beyond the physical aspect and looking at the support and love that he has given her over the years. The movie ends by having the family reconciling with one another and moving on with life. A powerful movie that moves and touches your heart. Highly recommended. No extras in here.

5 out of 5 stars A movie of depth and warmth.......2006-04-14


The accompanying song to the opening scene and several other enchanting tunes; the shots of the growing luscious green corns to signify the passing of the time; the excellent cast with Jessica Lange (Irma, the wife) and Tom Wilkinson (Roy, the husband) all contributed to the movie's sucess. Yet it was Jane Anderson, the director, script writer and the author all-in-one, who was pivotal in keeping the story leap out of the page; making a drastic twist of fate to this normal corn-belt family convincing, sympathetic; not just another cliche and tear jerker.

Tom Wilkinson has portrayed his emotional and physical change from a dutiful father, Roy, to an evolving woman, Ruth, with subtlety, dignity and elegance. But it was Jessica Lange who kept the family and Roy from falling apart. Her even temper, smile and tenacity under the adverse condition all bespoke her strength and love for her husband. She shielded her husband from being ridiculed - picking his new clothes, stood by him in church, work place and his extended family. The 11-year old daughter(Hayden Panettiere) accepted her father's switch in gender with as much intensity as the 20-something son (Joseph Sikora) shunned it. She bombarded her father with questions while the son could barely stay in the same room with his father at the thanksgiving dinner.

It was bittersweet for Roy to be accepted by his strict and unforgiving father only because the elder man suffered from dementia; yet it was upbeating to find Roy acknowledge his mother's difficult job of taking care of his father. Being able to put himself in the shoes of his mother, understand the situation perfectly and articulate it in words, Roy completed his emotional transformation to Ruth.

5 out of 5 stars The things we do for love.......2006-03-08

This movie is so beautiful. it really makes you ask what would you do to help your lover be themselves...

it's about time the issue of transgenderism was discussed.

3 out of 5 stars In Search of Normal.......2006-01-10

"Normal" attempts to tackle a highly complex issue in the space of a feature-length movie, and this limitation makes it not a wholly successful effort. The sheer complexity of transgender issues warrants a miniseries treatment such asn HBO did for AIDS in the gay community with "Angels in America", and if "Normal" has a weakness, it's that it tried to cram too much into too brief a space. However, as the first serious dramatic treatment of a transgendered person's unique challenges, "Normal" deserves kudos, not the least for the brave performances from Tom Wilkinson & Jessica Lange. Ms. Lange in particular has a very difficult role, perched on the razor's edge between feelings of love & betrayal, and she captures this inner war brilliantly. Her face reflects all the conflicting emotions of anger, grief, bewilderment & pain, leavened with flashes of wry amusement at the ridiculousness of her situation, with grace & never, ever overacting or seeming to try too hard. Even though Tom Wilkinson's character, Roy, is the one facing the biggest outward changes, Lange reminds us that internal changes can be just as transforming, though not as evident. Her performance is the centerpiece of the film. She has gotten even more luminously beautiful over the years; we reason that if she, as his wife, can't make Roy glad he's a man, then he must really be serious.

As Roy, the catalyst for all this family trauma, Tom Wilkinson has more of a one-note performance; it seems that having made up his mind, despite 50-odd years of cultural conditioning to the contrary, Roy never looks back or even feels a twinge of doubt or regret over what he's about to do. We feel sympathy for Roy, but not nearly as much as we do for his wife, if only because we don't feel we know him as well. Our sympathy springs less from identification with his plight as it does from knowing that Roy could hardly have engineered more difficult circumstances for himself to realize his dream. His determination verges on delusion, such as when he wears perfume and earrings to work, and is surprised that his tough factory-worker colleagues slam his head into a locker. The movie ends just prior to Roy's surgery, but the odds seem stacked against him for making a successful transition; how can he, without therapy, support groups, fashion sense or seemingly any plan in place for 'after'? Does he really suppose that he'll be able to continue his life in all its outward particulars--living in the same house, working at the same job--as he did 'before'? Indeed, he seems aghast that anyone else in his life should have the gall to have a problem adjusting to his new lifestyle. These issues are not addressed satisfactorily; nor is the the problem of Roy's sex life after he becomes Ruth. Despite all of Mr. Wilkinson's best efforts, he remains a very masculine-looking man, with only the very subtlest of feminizing changes to his look or his body language. He radiates sincerety in his belief that he can become feminine, but the rest of us remain doubtful. I would've been tempted to dismiss Mr. Wilkinson's Roy as a completely unrealistic portrayal had I not recently seen a cable documentary about a MTF transsexual very like Roy: a middle-aged, burly man from the heartland with a butch job and strained family relations, whose only concession to femininity prior to his operation was bleaching his longish hair. In all other particulars of dress and manner, he was still extremely masculine. So perhaps Roy isn't as far out of the 'norm' of sexual reassignment seekers as it might seem at first blush.

Roy's family, and his life as a whole seems like a construct of TV Screenwriting 101. He's got two children, a son and a daughter, who function merely as plot conveniences and an audience for Daddy's experiment. The middle-school-aged daughter, who is coping with her own body changes provides a counterpoint to her father's concurrent body issues. To be sure the audience understands this, we are provided helpful shorthand: Patty Ann favors men's shirts, hates wearing bras & stands outside her parents' bedroom saying helpful things like "Is Daddy in drag? Can I see?" While it is not out of the realm of possibility that a teenage daughter might be able to eventually accept a transgendered parent with a minimum of trauma, it is NOT likely that she would be as glib about it as Patty Ann. Would a 13-year-old girl really be swapping makeup and waxing tips around the pool with her erstwhile dad, painting his toenails with easy familiarity like he was some kind of cool life-size Barbie, and not the person who was turning her life upside down and making her an object of ridicule among all her peers? Likewise, the opposition of the older son has the same forced glibness. Would it occur to a young man, no matter how opposed he was to the operation, to call his father a "c***" at Thanksgiving dinner? Perhaps a slew of other pejorative names, but not that one, surely. Nor would this exchange of insults culminating in a broken nose be likely to be the balm that mends the rift in their rocky relationship either, but the movie seems to suggest that after one altercation, things are all better now and the son has come around to the father's point of view. Roy's fellow townspeople, predictably, react to this metamorphosis of Roy's none too favorably. There is the locker incident. Someone writes "You are not normal" in the dirt on his truck. He is given the cold shoulder when he comes to church in a dress. However, Roy gets off very lightly, considering that his story could have an ending like "Boys Don't Cry" or "The Matthew Shepard Story". This movie was afraid to pull those kinds of punches . . .or maybe it just ran out of time.

"Normal" is a good start to a nationwide dialogue about transgendered issues, and helped pave the way for Felicity Huffman's probable Oscar nomination for "Transamerica". Despite its flaws, it depicts a transgendered individual's personal war to achieve what feels "Normal" to him, rather than being just a freak show. Better to be considered a freak show on the the outside than to feel like one on the inside, it seems to say.

A Normal Life
Average customer rating: Not rated
    A Normal Life

    Manufacturer: CustomFlix
    ProductGroup: DVD
    Binding: DVD

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    1. BoysTown

    ASIN: B000GCG9VQ
    Release Date: 2006-06-20

    Description

    In this poignant dramatic feature from first-time writer-director Dewey Moss, a family's lives are forever changed as fear and prejudice seek to determine a child's future. Josh, still coming to terms with being gay, is forced to confront his own demons when tragedy strikes the family and his young son, Nolan, reenters his life to live with him and his lover, Ben. The battle begins when Josh's overbearing father, Jack, declares that the child will never be normal if raised by gay parents. Haunted by his past and influenced by his traditional upbringing, Josh struggles with the decision to give up his own son in an unforgettable story that tries to find the meaning of A Normal Life.

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