The Other Sister

Movie stars trying to play mentally handicapped characters (Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump) love the juicy roles and chance to steal an Oscar, while many viewers clearly eat up the feel-good stories. However, The Other Sister is a ghastly exercise for many reasons, starting with star Juliette Lewis herself, who plays a young woman with a slight mental handicap, struggling for independence from her over-protective mother (Diane Keaton) and a chance at romance with a similarly handicapped man (Giovanni Ribisi). Watching Lewis screw up her face and slur her dialogue is like watching a white actor play a character in blackface--not just a case of miscasting, but wrong on a gut level. It doesn't exactly help either that the script draws nearly every laugh from the goofy behavior of the mentally handicapped. Director Garry Marshall takes a promising premise and treats it to the same narrative mess as his Dear God, and gives it the same candy-coating he gave prostitution in Pretty Woman. Not recommended. (S. Renshaw)