The Prince of Tides (1991)

  This is another recommendation, this time from my friend Tamyka.  Despite the goofy poster, I actually enjoyed the movie.

This is the second movie directed by Barbara Streisand that I've seen.  The other one was a personal favorite, The Mirror Has Two Faces.  I liked it because I could really identify with the protagonist in not feeling attractive.  I'm sure everyone has felt ugly or undesirable at some point in their life.  I liked this movie because it reminded me of what it means to be Southern.

Make no mistake, this is a Southern film.  It may be set half in New York City but it is a quintessentially Southern movie.  The main character, Tom, comes to NY to talk to his suicidal sister's psychologist (say that three times fast) and help her unravel some of the repressed memories that cause the sister to try and kill herself over and over.  Doing this also helps Tom put his shattered life back in order through the magical twin powers of therapy and adultery.

There's some subplot about teaching the therapist's kid football but frankly, I tried not to pay attention through those parts.

Tom grew up in a dysfunctional family in South Carolina, the son of an abusive shrimp fisherman and a passive aggressive social climber.  Both of these are well-known Southern tropes.  So is the constant air of secrecy, of never showing anything in public but perfection, and an eventual hatred of your mother.   You learn to push pain away with humor and then, later, with alcohol.  It's hard to describe what it means to be Southern to someone who's not without sounding like you're describing the worst thing ever.  There are wonderful things about the South, once you get past the xenophobia and suspicion.  They'll give you the shirt off their backs, as long as you don't mind them talking about it to everyone they know about how you've fallen on hard times, bless your heart.

So Tom is scarred by his upbringing, including one life-shattering incident he had managed to bury.  Why two people can go through the same situation and one be able to cope and the other (a twin, no less) make multiple suicide attempts will remain one of those neurological quirks for therapists to talk about at their conventions.

But to hell with all that!  This movie has George Carlin playing a gay neighbor and not as a comedian playing gay, but as an actor playing a gay character.  (They call it playing straight when you do a role without trying to be funny, but I thought that might get a little confusing.)  You should watch it just for that.