''Fine Things'', also known as ''Danielle Steel's Fine Things'', is a

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

romantic

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

directed by Tom Moore. The film is based upon the 1987 novel of the same name written by

Danielle Steel Danielle Fernandes Dominique Schuelein-Steel (born August 14, 1947) is an American writer, best known for her romance novels. She is the bestselling author alive and the fourth-bestselling fiction author of all time, with over 800 million ...

Plot

Bernard "Bernie" Fine is a highly successful businessman who moves from New York City to San Francisco for his work at the west coast Wolff's department store. One day, he meets Jane, a little girl who is lost while shopping at the store. Bernie approaches her, and helps her by paging her. They enjoy an ice cream sundae in his office while waiting for her mother, Liz O'Reilly, a single mother. Jane and her mom reunite shortly after, and she invites Bernie to join the two of them for lunch at their friend's beachhouse at Stinson. After a lengthy time of dating, Bernie and Liz decide to marry. Although his mother Ruth, a proud Jew, is not enthusiastic about Liz's religious background, she eventually comes to accept Liz as her new daughter-in-law. Soon, Liz becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son, Alexander. Life is looking great for the couple. Everything changes when Chandler Scott comes back into their lives. Liz, fearing he will be a part of Jane's life, offers him $25,000 to leave without ever returning. This is despite their lawyer's strong advice not to offer him money, explaining it is illegal. Meanwhile, after Alexander is born, Liz is diagnosed with bone cancer. She refuses chemotherapy until Bernie encourages her it's the right thing to do, although Liz tells Bernie she will continue her job teaching at elementary school and finish out the school year. But as Liz begins to lose her hair, Ruth turns around and buys a wig for her, and apologizes to Liz for not giving her a chance. As her health continues to deteriorate, Liz decides to give up on chemotherapy, explaining she does not want to spend her final days on medicine. Finally after an emotional farewell, she dies in bed. Soon after, Bernie buys a vacation cottage in Napa Valley, and hopes to start a new life with Jane and Alexander. Tragedy strikes again when Jane is kidnapped by Chandler. Bernie is furious and desperate to save her. Frustrated by the police's incapability to search for her, he uses the help of private detectives to locate her himself and secretly brings her back home. While Bernie is handling all his current problems, he falls in love with a single doctor, Molly, who lives in Napa. As they become closer, Jane fears she may lose Bernie's love, until Ruth talks with her about how Bernie will never lose love for her, even if he marries somebody new. After Bernie and Molly have been going out for some time, Bernie ultimately decides on staying and starting a new life in Napa, including opening a new store in an old schoolhouse, which he later names "Fine Things," after all the fine things that have come into Bernie's life. After a long time of no communication, Chandler sets a trial date to demand full custody of Jane. Chandler is about to win the case, until evidence is leaked Chandler was involved with a cocaine smuggle. Bernie wins official custody of Jane and they happily live ever after with Molly, Bernie's new girlfriend. Jane initially disapproves, but learns to like her. The movie closes with Bernie and Molly taking Jane and Alexander to see his new store, and he surprises Jane with a new dog. Knowing how much she means to Bernie, Jane feels she can finally accept a new life, and chooses to call Bernie daddy.

Cast

* D.W. Moffett as Bernard Stephen 'Bernie' Fine *

Tracy Pollan Tracy Jo Pollan (born June 22, 1960), is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Ellen Reed on the sitcom ''Family Ties'' (1985–1987). Early life Pollan was born on Long Island, New York, the daughter of Corinne Elaine "Corky ...

as Elizabeth Kathleen 'Liz' O'Reilly * Noley Thornton as Jane O'Reilly *

Cloris Leachman Cloris Leachman (April 30, 1926 – January 27, 2021) was an American actress and comedian whose career spanned nearly eight decades. She won many accolades, including eight Primetime Emmy Awards from 22 nominations, making her the most nomin ...

as Ruth Fine * Judith Hoag as Molly *Darrell Larson as Chandler Scott *

G. W. Bailey George William Bailey (born August 27, 1944) is an American actor. Although he appeared in many dramatic roles, he may be best remembered for his "crusty" comedic characters such as Staff Sergeant Luther Rizzo in ''M*A*S*H'' (TV series 1979–19 ...

as Grossman *

George Coe George Coe (born George Julian Cohen; May 10, 1929 – July 18, 2015) was an American actor. He was a cast member for the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'' and voiced the character of Woodhouse in ''Archer''. Early life Coe was born in ...

as Paul Berman *Duncan Ballard & Emily Ballard as Alexander *

Scott Jaeck Scott Jaeck (born October 29, 1954 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American actor. He attended New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois, graduating in 1973. He attended the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. He was married to actress Mariann M ...

as Doctor Finn (oncologist)

References

External links

*
Picks and Pans Review: Danielle Steel's ''Fine Things''

Danielle Steel's ''Fine Things''
(''EW'' review)
''Fine Things'' is just OK as unrefined melodrama
(Review)
Danielle Steel's ''Fine Things''
(Review) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fine Things (Film) 1990 television films 1990 films 1990 romantic drama films American romantic drama films Films based on American novels NBC Productions films NBC network original films Films based on works by Danielle Steel Films directed by Tom Moore Films scored by Lee Holdridge American drama television films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films English-language romantic drama films