Acting was good, but it's a hit-and-miss......
By Yahoo! Shopping User Mar 26, 2001 | 1 out of 1 found this Trading Mom (1994) review helpful
I hired this video because I've been an Anna Chlumsky fan ever since I first saw her excellent performance in "My Girl". I had no idea what it was going to be about.The three Martin children are frustrated when their mother grounds them for their beh...aviour and they search for a way to make her vanish so they can go to the Mommy Market and choose a new mother. They have 3 chances to find the best mother for themselves, with each mother having a special characteristic, such as posh, sporty, and entertaining.This film was obviosuly not intended as a realistic drama, and therefore it is unlikely to interest many mature viewers, but it would be fine for the young audience.The acting was good, with Sissy Spacek playing 4 very different parts, which she acheived with appropriate charicature style. Besides the comic roles of the 3 mothers which her children choose at the Mommy Market she also plays the realistic down-to-earth parent very well, although this character was more or less used just to start and end the film.Most of the story revolves around the children finding funny ways of dealing with each of the 3 mothers they buy at the Mommy Market. Even though it was meant for fantasy and humour rather than drama, it would have added a nice feel to the film if the characters had learned about family values. For this reason I would have liked to see more use of the "realistic" mother. Sadly there are only hints of the family values feel when the children finally realise they "just want a mother who knows them...they just want their real mother".Even then, the moments when the children escape from social workers and briefly sleep on the streets just don't manage to appeal to the viewer's hearts.(In fact the scene when 2nd mother from the market refuses to let the younger neighbourhood children play baseball had a more sensitive appeal!)Anna Chlumsky adapts very well to the role of the "older one" of the kids. Her character, Elizabeth, wants to feel proud about going into 8th Grade after the summer, but like her brothers, winds up in trouble with the school principle on the last day before the holidays.She comes across very well emotionally, comforting her brothers when they lose courage in certain situations, and reassuring them with the classic familiar "everything's going to be alright" feel.While the older one of the two boys helps the younger brother to fight back against bullies and overcome his fears, there was little emphasis on this fact of childhood life which everybody can relate to.Although there is a sort of "climax" later when the younger boy rescues his older brother from the clutches of a giant circus man.The younger brother is memorable for his portrayal as the "baby of the family" who feels intimidated unless he gets attention and support from the other family members, loves family outings and most of all his pet lizard! His brother is more of a supporting character than a major part.What this film really lacks is a more interesting plot; instead of original it's like an average children's tale of a well known format adapted to screen.Although the right camera angles and photography are used, the direction is poor in places, which did not do the climax chase scene at the Mommy Market justice - this scene could have been made far more exciting with more use of "the majic of editing" combined with close up action shots.Throughout the whole film you can't help thinking it could have been done with much more heart, like the other child star films of this era like "Home Alone".The ideas and the characters are there, but unfortunately it just feels like a hit and miss attempt at adapting a children's tale to film.On the whole fans of Sissy Spacek and Anna Chlumsky would probably like to see this film, however they are far more likely to watch it purely for seeing their favourite actresses perform rather than to enjoy th Read more Less
Was this review helpful? Yes - No
