Profoundly Normal (2003)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

This movie is excellent. I too have a developmental disability, a very mild one. I'm a very high-functioning autistic college student. This movie sends out the correct message about labels. To put it in my own words labels are nothing but meaningless pieces of crap that should never be relied upon. Each case is different.The point is also made here that people with these and other kinds of disabilities can make and find their way in life. Richardo and Donna getting married and having a child is absolutely no different from other people doing the same things. All this nonsense about them having to ask is just that. They are not children, no one else has to ask.Yes there are some people who can't live on their own but not all. Margaret just could not. She was just not capable of it. There is nothing wrong with that.

Having had relatives and friends classified as "retarded" during the same era the Thornton's were institutionalized I feel ashamed of how this society behaved. Now I deal with some of the results of closing down most 'Fair-Haven' institutions. Unfortunately not all the displaced residents of such places fared so well. Many did end up as Margaret did. However, Kirstie Alley was wonderful and Delroy Lindo displayed the subtle problems that may have been Ricardo's, or may have been created from growing up in a place like Fair Haven. Both were excellent and when I watched the argument scene it sounded like someone had been listening to my marriage. From what I read there were no great awards for either actor or this film and that is merely another layer of tragedy.

Kirstie Alley is wonderful as Donna, a retarded character based on a real person, who overcame many odds to marry another retarded person. At the beginning of the movie, Donna, Ricardo and their son are being interviewed, and the story is told through flashbacks, which at the beginning alternate between the characters' lives as adults and their experiences as children. Donna and Ricardo live in an institution for the mentally retarded, and at the beginning of the movie, the facility is about to close and force them out into the world. Donna and her friend Margaret get an apartment together, and with the help of Charlotte, they begin adjusting to the real world. Margaret has a harder time, but it's just as well because Donna will soon have enough problems without having to take care of Margaret too. Ricardo shows up at Donna's place one night for a party and, since it is too late for him to go home, he stays the night. Believing that a man and woman shouldn't spend the night together without being married, they decide they should get married. Charlotte supports the idea but has trouble convincing her boss, who would have to approve of the arrangement. The situation gets resolved a little too neatly (I was disappointed there wasn't more of a fight). Once they get married, since we have already seen their 'normal' son, we know what will happen next. It's interesting to note: although I saw 'Jungle Fever' earlier in the day, the fact that Donna is white and Ricardo is black doesn't come up until their son is born and they get a nasty letter.Alley makes this movie work, and she doesn't resemble any of her previous characters. She is smart (considering the circumstances), funny, and determined. Delroy Lindo is also good but he doesn't usually seem retarded. The actress playing Margaret also does quite well, effectively showing problems that are more serious than just mental retardation. And the children in the scenes from the characters' early years are very good also. There are flashbacks from those early years late in the movie which are quite unpleasant. Overall, the movie's tone is upbeat and inspiring, and the characters teach us a lot, making us wonder if we 'normal' people are capable of more.SPOILER: Actually, the reason for dealing with all the unpleasantness is made quite clear at the end, a touching moment where the family visits the grave of Donna's childhood friend, on the former institution grounds.

It was years ago that I saw Donna and Ricardo Thornton on Sixty Minutes and heard their story. Upon seeing the premiere of this movie, I realized who Kirstie Alley was portraying, and Alley did it superbly.In the movie, Ricky Thornton, their son, says his father should have never been institutionalized, and in all liklihood, Donna shouldn't have been either. As portrayed by Alley, it was clear Donna was a capable and determined woman who was not mentally challenged or retarded. We should all be as able to accomplish what Donna Thornton did. When I saw the Thornton's story on Sixty Minutes, it was a story that was made to be told, I just can't figure out why it has taken so long to do so.Emmy worthy? Only if the Emmy award means anything. Alley should be nominated, but if five other actresses are chosen instead, it will hardly mean any of them diminish this performance or this film. Kirstie Alley spared no punches in depicting a true woman of character. Told in the form of the news interview, Alley and Delroy Lindo were beyond convincing, looking as tho nothing was scripted.Thankfully, the film followed Donna Thornton's example and didn't focus on the travesty of the institution, instead portraying the love story, a fascinating uphill saga.Disease-of-the-Week telemovies can get tedious and annoying. This cannot be said of the Thorntons. They are truly a blessing to have heard about. Absolutely magnificent.