Doing Time on Maple Drive (1992) watch online HD

Firstly I should say that this film shows how well Jim Carrey can act when he's not in "manic" mode. He has only recently come close in "The Truman Show".

I went literally around the world before I found this film on video, having searched for five years. I am so glad that I succeeded.

For once in a movie I actually felt sorry for the people that I was meant to feel sorry for, quite a directorial achievement. Carrey's "best man" speech led everyone down the wrong track, expecting a self pitying outcome, only to be twisted into a noble speech right at the end.

This is one film that is well worth the effort of tracking it down.

Some major plot line details are mentioned... don't read any further if you haven't seen this and don't want to spoil the fun.

Okay, I am one of the biggest Jim Carrey fanatics out there. The only reason I bought this movie (on eBay) was to see Jim Carrey in his "first dramatic role". It cost me $26!!! So, obviously, I went in only to see Jim. But then the title character came on, Matt, and I was like, hey, I know him... I like him. And then Laurie Laughlin (Becky from Full House, don't know how to spell her real name) came on, same reaction. And I also recognized the sister and the father. So I was like, hey, maybe it'll even be a good movie anyway.

Well, let me tell you, Jim Carrey was secondary as of twenty minutes into the film. While I wished that Tim would have been a bigger part of the story, I was completely taken into the story of Matt and being gay. I think they tackled the pressures of being gay, and hiding secrets to a "too perfect to be true" family. I think there should have been three storylines...the back stories of the sister and of Tim's were way too big to be back stories... but the movie was already 94 minutes long and I don't think any scenes preexisting should have been taken out... I guess I just think it shoulda been three different movies... I don't know. Every single actor in this movie does a beautiful job. The storys are sympathy envoking and the characters are likable, exept for the mom and for the father until about ten til the end. And speaking of the end... it was too wrapped up for my taste. A little hasty about face for the Father to go through... but anyway, it was a TV movie right?

I definately think this is right up there with Truman Show as far as Jim's acting goes... anyone who says my man can't act can't see. Thanksyou very much!!! ;)

8/10

Wow. A made for TV movie that could have been a feature - what a switch! Usually you pay ten bucks for something that would have played better on TV.

"Doin' Time on Maple Drive" is a powerful film, more or less based on the syndrome of the controlling, affluent parents/children afraid of their disapproval, trying to please them and not measuring up. So it will hit home with lots of people. In fact, probably with most people.

The film is of special interest because of a supporting dramatic role by none other than Jim Carrey. He and the whole cast are excellent and ring true.

A therapist once told me, "There are no secrets in families." This movie points that up magnificently.

Doin' Time on Maple Drive is irresistible - when it's on TV, even if you've seen it, you won't be able to resist watching it again.

One of the most incredibly honest family dramas I've ever seen. Exceptional writing and acting. Jim Carrey's (pre-fame) dramatic acting is his best to-date, in my opinion. This little film is underrated and should be aired more frequently, and at least released on video/dvd.

I first saw this movie before IMDb existed and so my opinion of its genius was kept to myself. Until now. This is not a typical "made for TV" production. This "film" is amazing in every respect. You have to start with the script by James Duff. He manages to outline, fill in, expand, and perfectly pace, this drama, and, flow out of, and into, commercial breaks!!! All films succeeds or fails starting with its script. This script is as close to perfect as you can get.

In the skillful hands of director Ken Olin, the actors are guided along the craggy cliffs of the "perfect" American family. The performances are outstanding and the staging is well crafted to convey greater meaning than what you are seeing on the surface. One metaphor I loved was the Mother, played brilliantly by Bibi Besch, standing at the sink cutting vegetables, carefully, and perfectly. It is the visual embodiment of her belief that if she serves her family perfect food, they will be perfect as a result. The problem is, however, one son is an alcoholic, one daughter is on the verge of doing something very destructive to her marriage and herself, and the youngest son, who is about to marry the perfect girl at the perfect wedding, is not who he seems to be. And the authoritarian father, played by James Sikking, presides over this little kingdom as a benevolent dictator. He is feared, and loved, equally.

Cracks emerge early in the film. The first is the noticeable heavy drinking of the brother played by Jim Carrey. He is sad and sympathetic and cripplingly vulnerable. This is the rubbery-comedian Jim Carrey making a statement, early in his career, that he can act. (We all know how this turned out.) At the time, however, it was like, "he can act???" Matthew McNamera plays the son with a secret and though he does a good job he is much overshadowed by the stronger performances around him by James Sikking, Bebe Besch, and Jim Carrey. James Sikking gives a complex, nuanced, and NATURAL, performance. I don't know if he got all the best lines in the script, or just delivered them more celestially than all the other great performers around him, but his stern, then sobered, "father figure" will stay with me for a long time.

Finally, there are two unsung geniuses in this little piece of art. The cinematographer, Bing Sokolsky, and the editor, Elba Sanchez-Short. Sokolsky's visual angles and tracking, IN A TV MOVIE, are meticulously choreographed. One shot floats into, or out of, another, lending a seamless feel to the story that says, we're all connected, even when we don't know each other is there. Sanchez-Short's editing, far from just being the academic punctuation marks of a story, cuts, contrasts, compares, and layers this story together in perfect harmony with the dialog and action. There aren't enough good words to put together to credit these highly talented invisible cast members.

The end result of the great script, directing, acting, cinematography, and editing, is a film about a family at the brink of its breaking point. After one son began drinking himself to death, and the daughter married outside the families acceptable faith parameters, the parents have placed all their hopes and dreams on the youngest, the second son, the one who is going to marry the perfect girl, and carry the torch that Mom and Dad will hand off to him. But the wedding falls apart because he is in love with someone else. And that someone is, another man... oops. What follows is a difficult, thought provoking, process of grudging acceptance by some,and grudging intractability by others. As the family begins to unravel we, as an audience, begin to see that the unraveling is just what it needed for it's survival.

The intensity and drama of this story is effectively delivered by everyone whose fingerprints are on it. It is a wild ride, an intense ride, a little bit sad, but not at all hopeless. James Sikking deserves some kind of award for playing a very unlike able father who, while you don't come away endeared to him, you do come away understanding him; and not hating him for who, or what, he is. And that is, after all, the point of the film. I like this film very much and would recommend it to anyone who likes gay themed films; or just really likes well made, well acted, films. You just can't go wrong here. I would like to give it an eleven, but IMDb only allows for up to a 10.

When I saw this movie for the first time , I was confused, almost as the main character there Matt. Confusing times, coming out, dysfunctional family under the cover of "american smile"; these are just few subjects that are mentioned in this film. Similiar to movies showing same dysfunctional family problem, is shown much later in "American Beauty" but going much deeper. "Doing time on Maple Drive is the beginning era of breaking down stereotypes which were imprinted back in 50's. As most recent "Monalisa Smile" shows the roots of dysfunkcionality. We need to live in this society today, and knowing possible problems, that may develop will help to overcome them.

Just on the side, William McNamara became my hero, ever since I saw this movie. I identified with Matt's role very much, even thoug I was born and raised in Poland, I think that movie applies very much there as well. William is a great actor. Love him for his performance and being himself.

I had a crush on him when I saw this movie..... LOve to meet him sometime, that would be really awsome.!!!

Cheers!!!!

This movie offers a sensitive and realistic, if not fully comforting, view of how parents can warp the lives of their children if they don't change their approach to them as they grow-up. An experienced high school counselor once told me that while parents should exercise consistent and reasonable control on younger children, they should ease into being consistently loving and supporting, not controlling, as their children move into the high school years. By that time values have been formed and continued control serves only to warp and distort relationships. This movie illustrates very well how unrealistic parental expectations can smother and alienate children. There are great lessons here, especially regarding sexual matters and the unique aspirations of individual children. This movie deserves a very wide audience. Beyond the message and plot, this is a movie with fine production standards and near brilliant directing. The holds and fades are timed to perfection and the cast is superb. I'd recommend this one to anyone without hesitation.

This is probably the best TV movie ever. It really made you sit up and think about your family, friends, people in general. I wish with all my heart Jim Carrey would see this movie again and do some more dramatic work. His performance in this was outstanding.

At first, the characters in this family melodrama all seem so ordinary and well adjusted. The dad (James Sikking) is financially successful, competitive, and something of a perfectionist. Mom (Bibi Besch) is motherly and traditional. One son is getting married. The other son has just a slight fondness for alcohol. And the daughter and her husband have returned for a pleasant visit, and to attend the family wedding. Our ideal family lives in a two-story house with manicured lawn on Maple Drive. As in the 1950's sitcom "Leave It To Beaver", all is peaches and cream, comfy and cozy, a household that is the very archetype of American family values.

But viewers are alerted to the shallowness of this overall image when the story's POV character tells another character: "See, he just has to be perfect. And if he isn't perfect, just keep it to yourself because I don't think anybody in this family wants to know". As secrets and anger surface, verbal conflict builds. And by the film's end, all these people are revealed to be complex, flawed, vulnerable, and hurting.

"Doing Time On Maple Drive" gets off to a slow start. I think the script setup might be a tad too long. And the writers could have been a little clearer about who is related to whom. Other than that, the script is well written and highly thematic. With rich characterization, the story conveys a realistic view of contemporary America, with its penchant for shallow idealism that overlays deep social and psychological turmoil. Although the dialogue seems a bit dated, it nevertheless has some good subtext.

Overall acting is quite impressive. I couldn't find any weak performances. It's nice to see Jim Carrey play a serious role; I wish he would do more drama. The film's color cinematography is adequate.

I have two complaints. First, the score consists of dreary, nondescript elevator music; second, sets seem cheap. However, this is after all a made-for-TV movie; visual breaks show where the commercials were inserted. And I can imagine that the budget here was fairly low.

But the film's strength is its script. "Doing Time On Maple Drive" is a poignant story that has genuine thematic depth. For what director Ken Olin set out to do, I think he succeeded quite well. Although there have been more recent films dealing with the same general topic, the high quality of this film makes it worth watching.

It's a story about a dysfunctional family centering on the up-coming marriage of one the sons, and how years of trying to keep everything up for appearances finally unravels and nearly destroys everyone with it. Oddly, the most functional member of the family is an alcoholic (played by Jim Carey), the only one with the ability to state what's true and to speak his mind.

The story and plot are well developed, as are the characters. The only thing I would've like to have seen more of was the sister and her husband. The movie hints at some serious issues (beside the one immediate one at hand) between them--which seemed oddly down-played.

Anyway, see this when it comes on cable!!

This seemed great when it premiered in 1992, but it now seems a little bit contrived. The father is too easy to hate, and the grown sons are too easy to feel sorry for. Therefore, the only multidimensional characters are Lori Laughlin's and Bibi Besch's. But at the time, Ken Olin was pretty bold to tackle the issues in this movie. The nightmare bachelor party is probably the most cringe-worthy scene, of many, but that's probably intentional. Loughlin has one of the best lines in the movie: "Matt, I don't think this is the kind of thing you can talk yourself out of." Too bad she was only in half the movie. Jayne Brook (of "Gattaca") is great as the sister, and her character's storyline, though the least dramatic, should have given her more to do. And as for Besch, she pulls off the best acting as much with her facial expressions as with her lines. Always a radiant character actor, she was taken from us too soon (1996).

Finally, this great TV movie is being released on DVD. Won't be out (pardon the pun) until September 7, 2004, same date as HBO's "Angels in America."

I really liked this when it first aired. It hit home for me, as a gay man who contemplated suicide in my youth. Often a part of the process of accepting yourself, despite the hatred and violence inflicted on GLBT persons. A test, I suppose. Failing at that attempt is the only way to pass. Truth must prevail, even if others--including those people you hold dear--do not wish to hear it. As though listening yourself is ever that easy.

Jim Carrey was amazing in this, and should have gotten him more serious roles. "Man in the Moon" was the closest to serious that he's done since this film. I hope he does more, since comedy can only take you so far. Oscars are won for dramas, typically.

Dave

A wonderful TV film that deserves to be more recognized, Doing Time On Maple Drive focuses on the Carter family and the pressures of living up to the standards of parents.

Excellent performances are given by the entire cast but I make a special mention of Jim Carrey. This is a change from his usual comedic style of acting where he proves to be quite a serious dramatic actor as well.

A sad and well made TV movie. Go and see it!

With several dozen movies playing every minute on DirecTV, I make a point of checking Halliwell or Maltin before gambling my time on some loser. I just happened to flick past a scene from Maple Drive where Jim Carrey is being confronted by his father over his drinking.

Wow! Variations on this scene have been played out in my own family with several different sons from two different generations and it had the absolute ring of truth. Plus it had Jim Carrey in something I'd never heard of before and which wasn't listed in any reference I could find. Even IMDB had none of the usual professional reviews. (Another reason I enjoy these viewer comments.)

I missed a lot of this fine movie and hope they run it again on the Fox Movie Channel. But this time they should promote the hell out of it, then consider releasing it theatrically and on DVD.

Who knew or remembered that Jim Carrey could be dramatic? He offers a genuine deep performance as a troubled youth, bright, but a high school drop-out who is unbearably harassed by his holier than thou parents, especially a father who is a perfectionist in every sense of the word.

Ironically, the Carrey character soon takes a back seat to a brother, a closet homosexual, who breaks off with his fiancé, and a married sister, ready to abort her pregnancy because the father always believes in being financially prepared before starting a family.

James Sikking and Bibi Besch are first rate as the parents out of the 1940s and 1950s who are living the 1990s as if that period never existed.

This is a very well done film worth watching.

I used to watch television movies faithfully in the late 80s and early 90s but somehow missed this one. I saw it for the first time on DVD -- and it reminded me of just how important a niche TV movies once filled. Feature films largely gave up making this kind of serious, sensitive, heartfelt drama long ago. And now broadcasters are addicted to mindless reality programming. For all their faults, older TV movies like this one had a unique and satisfying place for those who like to see social issues and genuine human relationships dealt with on film. Ken Olin, I have to think, has to take a lot of the credit for the consistently high quality of this film. Every actor, and every moment, is so precisely calibrated, scene after scene.

This is an amazing TV movie. The secrets of a lifetime finally come out for this family. I find myself tuning in EVERYTIME it's on. The best surprise is Jim Carrey's performance. I was shocked the first time I saw this. He was absolutely fabulous as the alcoholic older son. He's the one who sees everything clearly and tells it like it is. Brilliant acting all around.

I must admit, that I cried.Seeing the film 4 times during the night. It showed how the "perfect" family often hides the true identity of persons. How parents, who demands a whole lot of there children, often harms them more than they realize. Ex. Had the girlfriend not found the letter from Kyle, who knows what would have happened in there marriage. What I found the best was the way the subject of homosexuality was included in the film.

"Doing Time on Maple Drive" is one of the most incredibly well-written, superbly-acted films about family dynamics. In particular, a young, pre-super-stardom Jim Carrey gives the dramatic performance of a lifetime as the tormented, alcoholic older son. I recommend this film to everyone and anxiously await its release on video.

I very much enjoyed this film. Even though I assumed it was just a Lifetime drama on Fox Movie Channel, I was drawn into it rather quickly. It seemed as if the alcoholic son (Carrey) had the most problems but it turns out that his problems take a back seat as the movie enfolds. Maple Drive puts a lot of drama in an hour and a half.

Several times I thought this movie was copying Ordinary People a little too much. The dining room scene with Mom and Dad on the end and dysfunctional son in the middle is straight out of Redford's classic. Even the last two lines of this film are virtually identical to the last lines in Ordinary People.

Doing Time on Maple Drive doesn't rise to the film it tries to imitate but still worth watching...especially for a TV movie!

The poor person's "Ordinary People". While that film approached the subject of dysfunctional family relationships on tiptoes, this one comes clumping up in Army boots. As the plot unfolds, I found myself wondering "What next?!" Every cliche except alien abduction is crammed into this unintentionally hilarious dead-pan marvel. My favorite character is that of the alcoholic loser son played by Jim Carrey, in a rare dramatic role--and dramatic it is, with a capital D! Easy to see why he turned to comedy after this. It may not be an accident that this is not available on video--Mr. Carrey may have seen to that himself! But this isn't to urge anyone to skip it. By all means, catch it on cable where it turns up periodically. It's great, like Ed Wood with production values.

and the performance by Jim Carrey is certainly worthwhile, as well as Jayne Brook, Bibi Besch, and James B. Sikking.

At the time, the subject was rarely approached by TV, so Ken Olin deserves credit for addressing the issue: although I believe quite a bit was edited when this film first aired on TV, and the dysfunctional issue (Carrey hating his father, and drinking) was more emphasized than the McNamara role.

Bibi Besch is the typical mother in denial, she has an alcoholic son, and a homosexual son, but rather than discussing issues, she worries about what tablecloth to use in the dining room. Her daughter (as played by Jayne Brook) is so worried about her father's disapproval she refuses to have a child with her new husband.

A scene between Carrey and James Sikking is quite telling; his father asks why he gets drunk in front of him; Carrey retorts that he feels that is what he deserves. The rage and hostility simmering beneath the surface of a "normal" family is palpable.

If you like this genre, you may also appreciate "Ordinary People" a superb film directed by Robert Redford, addressing death in the family, suicide, and general dysfunction. 8/10.

I missed this movie when it came out and just bought the DVD. I thought it was pretty good, all things considered, but there was something I had a problem with. Andy is Matt's best friend since childhood, but we are also expected to believe Matt had a three-year relationship with Kyle. And Andy didn't know Matt was gay? I don't think so. Being in love is a hard thing to hide, especially from your best friend. Didn't Andy ever wonder who Matt was seeing? Didn't he ever see them together? Did Andy know Kyle? This was a plot element that was not very well thought out. For that matter, how did Allison manage to miss Kyle? Where was she when Matt was seeing Kyle? Where was Kyle when Matt was seeing Allison?

After viewing this film several times, it can really hit home. The whole cast was outstanding. Jim Carrey would not had made it in this film acting out another goofy comedy role. One of the special qualities of this film is the deliberate hit home tone of family values director Ken Olin puts out. It contains true drama. William (Billy) McNamara has always had great potential as a actor, and really comes out of the closet in this one. It's within my collection~ Great film.

This was a made for television film that ranks among the top 10 of made for television films. It's a well directed drama about an "all American" family that looks normal on the outside, but has all of the nasty little problems everyone else in the world has to share and bare.

What is most noticeable about the film is the casting. And as many reviewers already point out, here is a dramatic performance by Jim Carrey that shows he can be a serious dramatic actor, His part was that of the alcoholic son, and he played that part with heart, depth and believability.

"Doing Time on Maple Drive" is a candid look into "the perfect" family that has been breaking down for years but to all outward appearance look just fine. The father is an authoritative dictator. The mother is cold and likes to hide in the ruse of the perfection she's created. The older son is a smart, bright and under the pressure is an alcoholic. The daughter is married with a wonderful husband but he isn't perfect enough for dad and mom and she is torn between being herself and not wanting to be like her mother. And the handsome, preppy younger son - well, he's coming home with his very pretty, socially well connected fiancé looking like the perfect couple - except he's hiding the secret that he is gay. This is the focus of the film and where all the secrets and lies come to roost.

An excellent TV drama swinging wide open the doors of the old saying "the grass may NOT be greener on the other side".