Product Description

Hala (Claire Danes) is as sassy as her mother ( Lena Olin) and as sensitive as her father (Gabriel Byrne). It's a winning combination, but when she falls for the neighborhood cop on the beat, their summer romance stretches her family's strength and support to outrageous lengths, Now the rush is on to plan the nuptials - despite an extremely reluctant groom and other hilarious complications!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25902 in DVD
• Brand: TCFHE
• Released on: 1999-03-16
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 107 minutes

Customer Reviews

Life is Not ALWAYS Funny
Life is not ALWAYS funny, and neither was this movie, but I have to believe it was not meant to be. The characters and setting are rich and believable (isn't this what movies and books are about-- suspension of disbelief, and being taken to another time and place?).

No, I didn't sit there and laugh the whole time, but I did feel deep emotion throughout the movie. Anger, indignation, pride, empathy, amazement (Lena Olin's character is quite a wildwoman), joy, curiosity, sadness, pity, regret, hope... and the list goes on.

No, darlings, it's not a Jim Carrey brainless comedy, and it's not a Minnie Driver brainy comedy, either. It is a drama that is funny occasionally because life is funny occasionally. (Sometimes you either laugh or you cry, you know. This movie is an excellent example of that.)

And if that weren't enough, well then, what about watching it for Gabriel Byrne? He is compelling as the Polish, chain-smoking, flour-dusted baker-- husband to the dashing and determined Lena Olin and father to the fresh and curious Claire Danes. Byrne's performance is reason enough to watch this film. For one thing, his accent is absolutely perfect. The viewer is not reminded that this is an Irishman, because he plays the Pole through and through.

Though Olin's character seems to be running the show, one look at Byrne sitting on the steps blowing smoke into the sky and flashing his dark-fringed moody blues is enough to make you feel this man knows what's going on. He's no dummy. But he accepts the imperfections in his life because, well, life isn't perfect. Unlike most of us, he is finding contentment in a world that would leave most wanting. There are no cellphones, cable TV, or credit cards, no designer clothing, nothing trendy at all in this movie, yet the world of the characters is complete, and in turn, the story is focused on the people and what is truly important in their lives. SO different from many movies these days.

This is simply the story of a Polish family in Detroit who are trying in their own way to be who they are (some of them still trying to find out who they are). After seeing the story unfold before me, I felt like I had a taken a glimpse behind closed doors. I'd say that makes the movie effective, wouldn't you?

I would happily watch this movie again and again.

Nothing polish about it except the food
This movie showed disrespect for all Polish people. The person writting this movie evidently knew very little about Polish tradition or cuture. She should research her work before using involving a nationality.

QUIRKY, AMUSING, HUMANIZING
I do not own the DVD. I own the soundtrack cd (great score!). But, I must say that there was a lot to enjoy in this movie. Quirky is just fine with me. And then, to be able to look at the fabulous Lena Olin!! I, too, am from an "ethnic" family, and, thus, look at portrayals of ethnic people with a particularly sensitive eye. In that light, I must say that I did not find anything so terribly or intentionally offensive in the portrayal of characters or nationalities here. As an adult, hopefully one realizes that there is a great deal of variety within each ethnic group. There is a lot of universal stuff here, too, as it relates to family and humanity. In fact, if the subject here had been Italians, this film might have been directed by Giuseppe Tornatore ["Cinema Paradiso," "Malena"]. I agree with other reviewers who recommended that some viewers need to take a chill pill and see the humanity and universality here. VERY MUCH WORTH A LOOK. Ciao!