The Betty Ford Story (1987)
Grade: 85
Like Rodney Dangerfield, made-for-television movies get no respect. It is true that most of them aren't particularly good, but the same can be said for most films that play in theatres. TV movies have smaller budgets, less stellar casts, are less promoted and less lauded. When the AFI top 100 list was published last year, no TV movies made the cut. The very idea was unthinkable.
But there have been many excellent television movies over the years. Promotion and quality do not go hand in hand, and great scripts and acting are not limited to the big screen. For example, take 'The Betty Ford Story'. The script is excellent, and Gena Rowlands won both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her performance as the former First Lady.
Due to the short time limitations of a television movie, the plot moves quickly through ten years of Betty Ford's life. The story begins with husband Gerald ascending the Presidency upon Nixon's resignation. Betty soon provides a sharp contrast to previous First Lady's: she expresses political opinions, campaigns aggressively for her husband, and for her own agenda (including the ill-fated Equal Rights Amendment).
Betty is plagued with health problems. She develops breast cancer, and has to have a masectomy. She has advanced arthritis, which requires strong pain killers to continue an active schedule. Gradually she becomes addicted to both pills and alcohol, which consumes her life after Ford loses the 1976 election to Carter. Fortunately, a family intervention saves her life and gives her a new mission: founding her self-named clinic.
Gerald Ford was ridiculed in the media for stupidity and physical clumsiness, but those traits are absent in Josef Sommer's credible portrayal. His political ambitions sometimes conflict with Betty's needs, and he is a classic enabler when it comes to her addictions, but otherwise he's a great guy. Their children look like Ken and Barbie, but their dialogue is first rate: covering the bases from family teasing to concern over their troubled mother. But this is Rowlands' movie, and her portrayal of the plucky First Lady is well deserving of her awards.
kollers@mpsi.net http://members.tripod.com/~Brian_Koller/movies.html
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