I actually enjoyed this movie's portrayal of life with a severely autistic child. I loved the mom's mouthy way of dealing with her life and her reality. I could easily relate to her life and the way she was handling things. I could also understand her amazement at finding that her son could do more than she thought he could.<br /><br />But having the movie end with her putting her child into an institution and walking out the door.... and her final speech to her son where she tells him that she has been holding him back... that spoiled it for me a bit.<br /><br />This movie's very unfortunate message seems to be that it is the mother's fault that her child is autistic and the best thing for autistic children is to go live in an institution and the best thing for moms of autistic children is to put their children in an institution and get out and have a life. There is also a point made that moms who don't want to put their children into an institution are just using their kids to make themselves feel special.<br /><br />I believe that this movie is a very good representation of 1994. Kirstie Alley did a fantastic job of conveying the complex emotions involved in raising a child who simultaneously needs her desperately and barely acknowledges her existence.<br /><br />The speech that she gave when her husband was leaving her was exactly right. We do what we have to do no matter how hard it is to do. And the unfortunate truth is that most fathers of special needs kids do leave. They can't handle it and they give up, leaving it all to the mother to handle on her own. And by the time some actually nice man comes along who wants to accept and help and be part of the family the mother is so worn out she cannot feel anything except what must be done. The complex combination of hope and despair was beautifully portrayed here.<br /><br />I would love to see this movie made again with the same cast but with a different ending. I would like to see the mom find a school that was during the day only to take care of and teach her son and then she could have her days free to pursue her own interests. She could see her son's progress and learn how to help him learn life skills at home. As she begins to relax and have more hope and less despair on a daily basis she becomes able to reconnect with her own self again.<br /><br />Of course I love Kirstie Alley, Stockard Channing and Sam Waterston so much I would watch those three do just about anything. It was such a treat to see all three of them together and doing a show about a subject so close to my heart.