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Susan Granger's review of "THE SANDY BOTTOM ORCHESTRA" (SHOWTIME TV)
On Sunday night, August 27, at 8 PM, Showtime TV premieres this sugar-coated drama about an eccentric family struggling to belong in a small town in Northern Wisconsin. Based on the novel, "The Sandy Bottom Orchestra," by husband-and-wife Garrison Keillor and Jenny Lind Nilsson, it's constructed as a reminiscence, narrated by 14 year-old Rachel (Madeline Zima), a talented violinist, who lives in Sandy Bottom and studies at Amidore's Music School. Her mother Ingrid (Glenne Headley) gave up a promising career as a classical pianist to marry Norman (Tom Irwin), a local dairy farmer who dreams of conducting an orchestra. Determined to bring culture to their provincial, little town, Ingrid tackles community "causes," like introducing sophisticated hymns to the recalcitrant members of the Zion Methodist Church choir, along with its troubled minister (Richard McMillan), and fighting to preserve a magnificent historical building which the Mayor wants to demolish to make way for a pizza parlor. Her closest friend is an 80 year-old widow (Jane Powell), who not only understands Ingrid's frustration but seems to be her only ally. Two pivotal crises occur when Norman, playing the impresario, decides to forgo the traditional marching and oom-pah bands to present a classical concert at the annual Dairy Days celebration and when Rachel's parents decide she should apply to Interlochen Music School in Michigan - but neither is explored in enough depth to be emotionally effective. Under the direction of Bradley Wigor, the actors rise above the bland superficiality of Joseph Maurer's script and the cinematography is beautiful. On the Granger Made-for-Television Movie Gauge, "The Sandy Bottom Orchestra" is a slow-paced, syrupy, sentimental 6, as it answers Ingrid's question: "I wonder what it would be like to feel you were part of something important." Additional playdates are Aug.30 at 9:35 AM, Sept. 2 at 8:15 AM, Sept. 22 at 11:15 AM, and Sept. 25 at 6:15 PM.
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