Article summary

Most directors use a hit film to launch an immediate career--but not Paul Brickman, who hit in 1983 with Risky Business then waited until 1990 to make this, his second movie. And it was a good, if overlooked one, starring Jessica Lange as a woman suddenly widowed and unable to cope. She moves her kids (including Chris O'Donnell in his film debut) from the suburbs to downtown Baltimore, where they develop urban survival skills much more quickly than she does. Most of the plot centers on her inability to open up to a man (Arliss Howard) who obviously is right for her--and on O'Donnell's improbable (but extremely funny) affair with a nurse who lives upstairs (Joan Cusack). Touching and funny enough that its lack of surprise won't bother you. --Marshall Fine

Customer's review

Surviving hard times as a single woman and parent

I don't know if the movie title is appropriate. My initial impression was that the main character, played by Jessica Lange, husband left her for another woman.

But it has to do with a woman who was happily married, husband dies in fatal accident, she has to settle financial matters leaving her with only a home, no marketable skills, and two growing boys.

She is forced to sell the home, move to Balitmore, find work that pays a half way decent buck, find romance, lose the new romance or come close to, her older son, played by Chris O'Donnel, is involved with an older woman played by Joan Cussack, and, in the end, this mother becomes very depressed at the whole, I mean, the whole situation: her reality.

This is a great movie. It depicts, for a change, a non minority family, who also goes through tough times and also experiences the same hardships of others.

Thanks,
Diego

Perservering Through Hard Times

Sometimes life deals us a bad card. Men Don't Leave is a movie that depicts such tragedy to Jessica Lange's movie character when her well providing husband is killed in a work related accident.

From that point, money woes plague Jessica and she has to move her family from the lush suburbs to a more edgy part of Baltimore. At this point her two boys become more affected by the new surroundings as each crave for the attention left by the oid of their late father. Chris O Donnel's character is especially rebelious as he takes on "the man of the house" role and acts up around Lange's musician love interest.

Its very interesting how the relationships between mother and sons shift and change as the movie develops. The influence of both O'Donnel's and Lange's romantic relationships are quite unique as well. In spite of some rebelious attitudes by all, the bonds of family seem to stand strong. Help proves to be around the corner.

Good pacing, drama, and balance between laughter and tears. This movie does have a fairly broad appeal to many audiences.

The Widow in Baltimore

Jessica Lange is an American Treasure in the same league as Meryl Streep but with a much less lauded filmography. In "Men Don't Leave," Lange plays a recently widowed woman who finds herself without much money, two young sons and no job. She moves to Baltimore to seek her fortune and make a new life for herself and for her family.
There is a deep and abiding humanity in everything Lange does. Here she is all naked emotion and frantic desperation tempered with an endless well of positivism.

Chris O'Donnell's scene at the Riverfront with Arliss Howard is one of the great, emotionally open and heart wrenching scenes in movies...ever. O'Donnell has not been as truthful in films, since.
"Men Don't Leave" was much ignored when it first opened and it is an embarrassment that it is not available on DVD. But nonetheless, it contains one of the best performances of Jessica Lange's career and it is not to be missed by anyone interested in fine movie acting.

Hate Jessica Lange, Liked the Movie

This movie centers around a widowed mother-of-two's struggle to keep her famly together. Lange annoys me to look at, but she does give a very good performance as a mother of two children who lose their father to an accident at work. A young Chris O'Donnel is her eldest son, who has a few really funny and sarcastic lines in the movie. His character plot involves building a romantic relationship with an older Joan Cusack, a nurse that he meets when his family moves to Baltimore. (Every teenager watching has to be wishing a woman like that would just throw herself at them as she does with Chris's character in the movie). To tell the truth I was falling asleep during the stupid scenes between Lange and Arlis Howard, who plays her new love interest in the move to the city. You wanna just reach in the screen and kick Kathy Bates out of the movie during her scenes, and I think Joan Cusack, (really the only reason worth watching the movie) doesnt have enough screen time as far as Im concerned. The movie is very sweet though, and if you can tolerate dead-air every now and then as you watch, its worth seeing. And I think you'll also favor the storyling between Joan and Chris O'Donnel.

How very sad

This film recommends itself so strongly to you that you feel the need to reach out and strangle it and cry 'STOP!' With a luscious cast including Jessica Lange, Joan Cusack, Chris O'Donnell and Kathy Bates, one would think that this would endear itself more than it ultimately did. Sadly though, despite being a terrific feature in terms of acting, I would have to agree with critic Ebert in saying that it finally falls under the weight of its' own ugly cliches.

Jessica Lange loses her husband in the first few minutes of the film, and a host of Chinese cooks get to witness her pain after her trip to the morgue (Lange later dreams about the cooks, though I can't imagine why). Her eldest son, played by a youthful Chris O'Donnell (whos supposed to be 17 here, but looks 13) is a snotty brat who wants to be 'man of the house' now that Daddys dead. Her youngest, played by Charlie Korsmo (a has been who could've been - he was also that boring child in 'Dick Tracy') is sweet enough and likeable, but the vapid script soon makes it hard to care about any of these people.

Lange wastes no time finding a new boyfriend in Baltimore. This was highly expected of course, and coming as it does just 25 minutes into the film, it marks the beginning of the end of this movie. Lange is a superb actress and tries to do things with her role that could possibly inject it with SOME kind of interest, but like all the others, she too stumbles. The only thing really worth watching here is Joan Cusack who plays a nurse living above the Lange family. She and Chris get it off, much to Lange's puzzlement and dismay, yet it is she who finally brings some sort of sanity into Lange's life (after a series of predictable cliches, of course).

All this goes to show that it is the weird who help the 'normal', I suppose. Whatever. The point is, this film starts so well and ends so tamely, and the director is to blame. How else could you explain the brilliant Kathy Bates utterly wasted as the owner of an exclusive Italian eatery? She has the minimal of lines, and barely begins to make a presence before the film ends. Disappointing.

Chris O'Donnell is impressive as the eldest son, though its easy to sleepwalk through such a role. His wooden-facedness makes it that much more tasklesss for him to achieve perfection in this part. Lange, as usual, does more for her character than any of the others, and Cusack is hilarious, though I wondered what she was doing in this film at all. And it was quite a relief to find that O'Donnell's character was supposed to be 17 in this movie - I was a trifle startled to see Cusack jump his bones, for she looked like she could be 30, and he really looks pre-teen like in this film. Oh well.

This is a good watch, and while certainly not as 'essential' as this website says it is, it does have its moments. Pity that the cliches got in the way of everything. Heres a spoiler : as usual, the child gets hurt, and this in turn brings the family together. Ho hum. BOOOOOORING!!

Men Don't Leave

Article summary

Customer's review

Surviving hard times as a single woman and parent

Perservering Through Hard Times

The Widow in Baltimore

Hate Jessica Lange, Liked the Movie

How very sad

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