Tiger Eyes

Filmmaker Lawrence Blume's Tiger Eyes marks the first feature-film adaptation of mother Judy Blume's work (although other novels, such as Forever, have been filmed for television). Published in 1981, the story revolves around a teenager's recovery from a devastating loss. After 17-year-old Davey (Willa Holland) loses her sandwich shop proprietor father in a violent incident, depressed pill-popping mother Gwen (Amy Jo Johnson) moves Davey and younger brother Jason (Lucien Dale) from Atlantic City to Los Alamos to stay with Gwen's sister, Bitsy (Cynthia Stevenson), who works as a museum tour guide, and her husband, Walter (Forrest Fyre), who is engaged in weapons research (which Davey finds fairly reprehensible). Davey quickly finds friends in insecure classmate Jane (Elise Eberle), and Wolf (Tatanka Means), a college student who becomes a hiking companion (Davey tells him her name is Tiger). Through Jane, Davey lands a job as a candy striper, where she meets Wolf's father, Mr. Ortiz (the late Russell Means), who is dying from cancer. As Gwen emerges from her pharmaceutical funk, she takes up with a family friend, a move that makes Davey uncomfortable, but other challenges lie ahead, including Jane's drinking problem. Some of these complications are resolved by the end, but Tiger Eyes doesn't completely satisfy, since many plot developments fail to receive the attention they deserve. Still, given Blume's popularity, this should be considered a strong optional purchase. (K. Fennessy)