''Toughlove'' is a 1985 American TV movie starring

Lee Remick Lee Ann Remick (December 14, 1935 – July 2, 1991) was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film ''Days of Wine and Roses (film), Days of Wine and Roses'' (1962), and for the 1966 ...

and directed by

Glenn Jordan Glenn Jordan (born April 5, 1936) is a retired American television director and producer. Born in San Antonio, Texas, Jordan directed multiple episodes of ''Family'' and helmed numerous television movies, several based on real persons as divers ...

Premise

High-school assistant-principal Rob Charters and his wife Jan discover that their son Gary is into alcohol and worse drugs. Gary is dating fellow addict Kristen Marsh...whose mother Darleen recommends the Toughlove organization to Rob and Jan.

Cast

as Jan Charters *

Bruce Dern Bruce MacLeish Dern (born June 4, 1936) is an American actor. He has often played supporting villainous characters of unstable natures. He has received several accolades, including the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor and the Silver B ...

as Rob Charters *

Jason Patric Jason Patric (born June 17, 1966) is an American film, television and stage actor. He is known for his roles in films such as ''The Lost Boys'', ''Rush'', ''Sleepers'', '' Geronimo: An American Legend'', ''Your Friends & Neighbors'', '' Narc'', ...

as Gary Charters *

Dedee Pfeiffer Dorothy Diane "Dedee" Pfeiffer (born January 1, 1964) is an American actress, the younger sister of Michelle Pfeiffer. She began her career appearing in films include ''Vamp (film), Vamp'' (1986), ''The Allnighter (film), The Allnighter'' (1987) ...

as Kristen Marsh *

Piper Laurie Piper Laurie (born Rosetta Jacobs; January 22, 1932) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in the films ''The Hustler'' (1961), '' Carrie'' (1976), and '' Children of a Lesser God'' (1986), all of which brought her Academy Award no ...

as Darlene Marsh *

Dana Elcar Ibsen Dana Elcar (October 10, 1927 – June 6, 2005) was an American television and film character actor. He appeared in about 40 films as well as on the 1980s and 1990s television series ''MacGyver'' as Peter Thornton, MacGyver's immediate ...

as Max Wiley * Jim Haynie as Lloyd * Cyndi James Gossett as Ms. Hobart

Production

Toughlove was an organization founded in 1981 by family therapists Phyllis and David York. When the film was made, it claimed it had 1,500 chapters in the United States and 500,000 members worldwide. Lee Remick was approached to do it by Glenn Jordan. "The piece interested me on its merits as a drama and I found the subject matter to have a great deal of power," she said. "It has an emotional impact. It's a subject I think will touch an awful lot of people, which is a sad commentary on our society and kids."TOUGHLOVE' DRAMA DEPICTS GROUP'S SELF-HELP CONCEPT: UN-SENTINEL EditionBuck, Jerry. Sun Sentinel 10 Oct 1985: 8.E. The film was controversial because it was seen to embrace a movement that urged parents to get tough with abusive teenagers. The screenwriter, Karen Hall, based the script in part on incidents from real life Toughlove meetings.

Reception

The ''New York Times'' critic said the film "is only sporadically as powerful as it obviously intended to be. One problem is that it has the look of the typical TV movie, a kind of sanitized version of reality. Problems are reviewed but not forcefully conveyed." He also felt it was compromised by the need to have a happy ending, adding "The time is long past due, it would seem, for someone to get tough with the networks about the abuse of tired formulas." Movie historian

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...

described the picture as "A promising drama, helped greatly by sincere performances, but undermined by a manipulative script...Mostly a suburban update of ''

Hud Hud or HUD may refer to: Entertainment * ''Hud'' (1963 film), a 1963 film starring Paul Newman * ''Hud'' (1986 film), a 1986 Norwegian film * ''HUD'' (TV program), or ''Heads Up Daily'', a Canadian e-sports television program Places * Hud, Fa ...

''; in which Patric and Pfeiffer share the

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three ...

role, Dern and Laurie share

Melvyn Douglas Melvyn Douglas (born Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg, April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981) was an American actor. Douglas came to prominence in the 1930s as a suave leading man, perhaps best typified by his performance in the romantic comedy ''Ninotchka ...

's, Remick has

Patricia Neal Patricia Neal (born Patsy Louise Neal, January 20, 1926 – August 8, 2010) was an American actress of stage and screen. A major star of the 1950s and 1960s, she was the recipient of an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, and two ...

's, and Eric Schiff is in

Brandon deWilde Andre Brandon deWilde (April 9, 1942 – July 6, 1972) was an American theater, film, and television actor. Born into a theatrical family in Brooklyn, he debuted on Broadway at the age of seven and became a national phenomenon by the time he comp ...

's."Maltin's TV, Movie, & Video Guide

References

External links

* 1985 television films 1985 films American Broadcasting Company original films Films directed by Glenn Jordan American drama television films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films {{US-tv-drama-film-stub