Meant to be used with a workbook that outlines 17 or 18 "vows" important to romantic relationships--maintaining physical health, taking time to enjoy life, communicating openly and freely, striving for mutual goals, keeping finances in order, etc.--Forever Friends touches on the typical discussion areas commonly raised in premarital or intramarital counseling. However, its format is so bad, its superficiality so painful, and its production values so lacking, I had anything but a "loving relationship" during the review process. The mediator on the tape reads the vows and their corresponding bullets of discussion directly from the workbook (not sent with the review tape), asks her two on-screen couples to fill out the pages, directs viewers to "stop the tape" and also fill out the pages, then comes back on screen and asks us, "How did you do? Good? Let's go on to vow no. 2." There are no instructions on how to go about discussing these tremendously complex issues, or how to handle conflict or differing ideas, and the on-screen couples never speak, except to assure the mediator that they were, in fact, doing "good." In other words, this tape contains absolutely no counseling, mediation, instruction, or real help of any kind. Couples do need to think about the issues raised here, but this tape isn't the vehicle for starting that discussion. Aud: P. (K. Glaser)
Forever Friends: The Interactive Guide to Lasting Agreements and Loving Relationships
(1999) 28 min. $14.95 ($24.95 w/workbook). BE Corp. (dist. by Tapeworm Video). PPR. Color cover. ISBN: 0-9677651-1-0. Vol. 15, Issue 5
Forever Friends: The Interactive Guide to Lasting Agreements and Loving Relationships
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