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Doing Time on Maple Drive

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Director  Ken Olin
First episode date  March 16, 1992
Duration  
Country  United States
7/10 IMDb

Genre  Drama
Network  FOX
Writer  James Duff
Language  English
Doing Time on Maple Drive movie poster

Release date  March 16, 1992
Cast  Jim Carrey (Tim Carter), James Sikking (Phil Carter), Bibi Besch (Lisa Carter), William McNamara (Matt Carter)
Similar movies  That Certain Summer (1972), The Hanging Garden (1997), Dress Gray (1986), What Makes a Family (2001), In the Gloaming (1997)

Doing Time on Maple Drive is a 1992 drama television film. Written by James Duff and directed by Ken Olin, the film stars James Sikking, Bibi Besch, William McNamara, Jayne Brook, David Byron, Lori Loughlin and Jim Carrey. The tagline promoting the film was "They are living a lie called the Perfect American Family". It was shot entirely in Los Angeles.

Contents

Doing Time on Maple Drive movie scenes

Synopsis

Doing Time on Maple Drive centers on the Carter family. Phil (Sikking), the patriarch, is a successful local restaurateur, married for many years to Lisa (Besch). They have three grown children, Karen (Brook), Tim (Carrey) and Matt (McNamara). Karen is married to Tom (Byron), Tim works in his father's restaurant and Matt is a college student. Matt returns from college and introduces the family to his fiancée, Allison (Loughlin).

Matt is injured after crashing his car; he returns home to recuperate. As he recovers, the family is revealed to be almost completely dysfunctional. Tim is an alcoholic. Matt's car crash was a suicide attempt brought on by the pressure of being gay and closeted from his conservative parents and lying about Allison's breaking their engagement because of it. Lisa is in deep denial about all of the problems family members are facing.

Karen's husband Tom learns that Karen is pregnant and that she is so terrified of bringing a child into a family situation like hers that she's considering having an abortion without telling him. Tom angrily confronts his father-in-law Phil, declaring that while Phil may be destroying his own family he won't allow Phil to destroy his. Tom implores Karen not to have the abortion and moves away with her for the baby's sake to get them away from Phil's problems. Matt confronts his parents, including telling his mother that he knows she already knows he is gay after having walked in on him and another boy. Lisa continues to struggle with denial, but Phil begins to take tentative steps toward understanding and building bridges with his family.

Cast

  • James Sikking as Phil Carter
  • Bibi Besch as Lisa Carter
  • William McNamara as Matt Carter
  • Jayne Brook as Karen Carter
  • Lori Loughlin as Allison
  • Jim Carrey as Tim Carter
  • Janice Lynde as Judy
  • Bodhi Elfman as Joe
  • David Byron as Tom
  • Philip Linton as Andy (This actor died one month before this film was released.)
  • Bennett Cale as Kyle
  • Richard Israel as Student Actor
  • Mark Chaet as Nick
  • George Roth as Dr. Norman
  • Parker Whitman as Gene
  • Danielle Michonne as Cindy
  • Toni Sawyer as Millie
  • Mike Marikian as Kevin
  • Courtenay McWhinney as Clara

    • Awards and nominations

    Primetime Emmy Awards 1992

    Nominated

  • Primetime Emmy Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Miniseries or a Special  : James Duff (writer)
  • Outstanding Made for Television Movie  : Paul Lussier (executive producer)
  • Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special  : Bibi Besch

    • Online Film & Television Association 2013

    Won

  • OFTA TV Hall of Fame  : Television Programs

    • Reception

    Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an audience score of 67%.

    DVD release

    Doing Time on Maple Drive was released on Region 1 DVD on September 7, 2004.

    References

    Doing Time on Maple Drive Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA

    Doing Time on Maple Drive IMDb Doing Time on Maple Drive themoviedb.org