Deep End of the Ocean

Had I read Jacquelyn Mitchard's bestselling, Oprah-blessed, critically-kudo-ed book, I'm sure Deep End of the Ocean--the movie--would have been an even greater disappointment. Landing in theaters with a relative thud ($13.4 million boxoffice), Ulu Grosbard's plodding weepie wannabe stars Michelle Pfeiffer (not so much out of her depth here, as out of place in what is essentially a TV-movie without the mawkishness), as Beth Cappadora, a Wisconsin wife, mother, and professional photographer, who heads off to Chicago--with her three kids--to attend a 15-year high school reunion. While checking in to the hosting hotel, she leaves 3-year-old Ben under the not-so-watchful eye of 7-year-old Vincent, and returns to a parent's worst nightmare: Ben is missing. What follows is a predictable turn of events, as an initial massive search quickly dwindles down to a party of one--Beth--who (quite realistically) refuses to give up hope of being re-united with her son. Since I can't see any way of talking about the second half of the film, without revealing a major plot point, I'll just pop up the standard "WARNING!" sign here. Beth Cappadora is really a guy. (I'm kidding!) But now I really am going to reveal the film's secret--and before I do, just let me say me this--the tidbit in question is printed right on the back of the video jacket. To wit: Nine years after the disappearance, Beth finds Ben and tries to re-integrate her now teen-aged son into the family, with decidedly mixed results. The problems with Deep End of the Ocean are several: it feels like two separate films (Losing Ben and Finding Ben), sports secondary characters who are ciphers (Whoopi Goldberg, who plays the investigating detective, appears briefly in the first half of the film, and then shows up nearly a decade later as a friend of the family? Husband Treat Williams--a guy who plays with bird houses in his garage--establishes a notable Italian restaurant in Chicago?), and plays so emotionally close to the vest that viewers aren't even afforded the bonus of a cheap cry. I'm sorry, but Deep End of the Ocean never manages to wade out of the shallow end of the pool. Not a necessary purchase. (R. Pitman)