Reviews

Queen Bees is a cute watch but very low budget, bordering on cheese fest quality. The acting is pretty bad, the worst of which is our heroine, the legendary Ellen Burstyn. The writing is also very lazy. Although it's a comedy, there were many opportunities for some real zingers, mostly for Jane Curtain, that didn't materialize. The rest of the Bees, like Ann-Margret and Loretta Divine, turned in performances that were so forgettable that they could have not said one word in the entire film and it would have been about the same.

I love the relationship between Ellen and her grandson Peter, it's so sweet and genuine. Her daughter, Laura, on the other hand, goes WAY overboard in the villain role and it makes her incredibly unlikable. So much so, I didn't want them to reconcile at the end of the movie.

French Stewart as the "evil" director of the assisted living home was also so over the top in his acting, that he came across as a cartoonish antagonist.

My favorite is the wonderful late James Caan. He's cool, smooth, and believable as Dan, the senior citizen Valentino.

All in all, it's not a BAD movie, but definitely not great and I doubt I'd choose to watch it again. It seems a shame that you could have an ensemble cast of iconic actors such as Ellen Burstyn and Ann-Marget, in a so-called romantic comedy that just falls flat.

After seeing this film, I am heartbroken and outraged. Outraged that Katie was ripped away time and again from the only person who had her best interest at heart. But, I'm disappointed that this movie only found its audience by way of a low budget indie movie. Mr. Davenport antagonistically replied to another viewer's comments which only shows that his ego likely got in the way of this movie possibly being the kind of film that creates a dialogue and inspires change. The only actor with any skill is Melissa Errico, but even her lines fell a little short at times. I think the director was lazy at how Katie was shuffled from place to place. Who ever in the world has heard of a hospital NOT allowing someone with rubella to enter? They could have just put her in an isolation room. The social worker at DSS was ridiculous. "The problem is with Katie, not the foster family." Please. And this being such a high profile case, Katie would have had a social worker documenting every step she made. If she had stopped talking and begun mutilating herself, she would have been moved. It would have been better if the social worker, the doctors, even the mother had tried harder to help her but got stalled by a CPS system that is broken and doesn't protect the children. But for every person except Sandra not to give a crap is just dumb. CPS isn't going to just arbitrarily give a special needs kid back to the mother who stayed silent while her daughter was tortured for 13 years. She would have had supervised visits, had to apply for custody...I mean, the number of inconsistencies are just outrageous. And I'm really sad about that. This could have been a great movie. It was good. Mostly good.

I have to admit, more often than not I disagree with critic's choices for Oscar Contenders. I especially didn't expect to love Jennifer Lawrence's performance so much. But the hype about this film is 100% accurate.

When Pat and Tiffany first meet, I thought she was just as crazy as Pat does. Not just the "eccentric" kind of crazy, but completely bat-s**t crazy. But as you get to know her, and understand how she has gotten to this place in her life, you just want to give her a hug. I think it would have been easy for a young actress to try to over-act a character like Tiffany. But, Lawrence's understated performance depicts an isolated and misunderstood girl who had to grow up too fast when she lost everything that mattered to her. She shows us a girl with a tough exterior who just below the surface is a fragile and frightened child who doesn't want to be alone anymore and it is positively flawless.

The story is fresh and extraordinary. It gives a behind-closed-doors look at the stigma of mental illness in a way that doesn't beg for sympathy. It shows how everyone's family is a little dysfunctional and even a "normal" person could snap if given the right conditions. The moment Pat Sr. realizes that his initial opinion of Tiffany is completely wrong is priceless. She seems to be the only person who isn't afraid to tell him what he needs to hear. Instead of going postal like we would expect, he surprises everyone and we witness his realization that maybe what he (and his son) need isn't more medical mumbo-jumbo, but someone who doesn't pull any punches to try to appease them. I think at first, Veronica wanted to set Tiffany & Pat up to keep them both from bringing their messy pasts into her pretty new house. But following Pat's meltdown in front of the theater, it becomes apparent that what they're both in desperate need of is a friend who understands them. Lookout Jessica Biel, Rachel McAdams, Emma Stone, and Amanda Seyfried; America's new sweetheart has arrived and after this Sunday, she will likely have the words "Academy Award Winning Actress" in front of her name.