Sibling Rivalry (1990)

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

There are times when I just need mental popcorn, so If you are looking for a silly movie, this is it. I love this movie - it's got some great lines and Sam Elliott. This amazing cast is a trivia lover's dream: Rebecca from Cheers, Princess Leia, Beckett from Quantum Leap, Al Bundy, Muffy from Square Pegs, the husband from Maude and more. Bill Pullman is a great supporting actor.I want Sam Elliott's voice to make love to me. To this day, there are times I remember that line "It wasn't sex, it was GOOD!"I give it 8 out of 10 stars for it's genre: chick flick romantic comedy.

This is not a profound film, nor is it intended to be. The story starts off simply: a housewife, Marjorie, is married to a doctor, Harry. Harry is part of a family of doctors that is so close-knit that there should have been adhesions among its members. Marjorie is such a dedicated wife that she stifles her inclinations to be a writer to help bring harmony to her husband's family, particularly when they have "family meetings." Marjory has a younger sister who is something of a free spirit, and she tells Marjorie that the best thing for a marriage like hers would be if she had an affair.Harry's older brother, also a doctor, to be sure, is returning to the United States after acting as a missionary-style physician in a third-world country. Naturally, the family wants to hold a welcome-home party, and, naturally, Marjorie is supposed to take care of preparing it. When she's in a market making arrangements for the party, she's picked up by a man who is very sympathetic with her stifled life, and in time, they take a hotel room and have sex multiple times.Spoilers follow.After their last encounter, Marjorie discovers that her bedmate has died. Flustered, she gets dressed and leaves the room with haste, bumping into a salesman. The salesman has been unsuccessful in selling window appointments, and is determined to make a sale to the hotel. Naturally, he sneaks into the room where the corpse is, and after trying to trim a window, thinks that his actions have caused the man to die. Previously, he found Marjorie's identification, and contacts her. She speeds back to the hotel to pick up the incriminating evidence, not realizing that the salesman thinks he was the agent of the victim's demise.As the picture progresses, like any good comedy, the harder people try to rectify things, the further enmeshed they become.There are some fine lines in the picture, and a few plot twists as good as anything from the screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s, even though this film wouldn't have passed the Hayes office back then.It's not a great film, but it is a lot of gentle fun.

Starring Kirstie Alley at her funniest, this comedy has what it takes to be a future classic. The cast alone makes this a perfect comedy which includes Scott Bakula, Ed O'Neill, Bill Pullman, Sam Elliott and Carrie Fisher. Not your typical female "chick flick" movie, Sibling Rivalry is the story about a housewife who has an unlikely affair with her husbands brother. Sounds like a Greek tragedy, but it is not. Sibling Rivalry plays on the coincidence factor and does it successfully. The cast of characters are as funny a the lines they say. Taking place in a small community, the events all take place in a number of days and in a small number of locations. With the feel of an independent, low budget movie, Sibling Rivalry is also a typical Carl Reiner film where everything blends together by the end. Not your typical romantic comedy like When Harry Met Sally, this is one of Carl's classic and it is just as good if not better.

I saw Sibling Rivalry when it was showing at the local theatre. It was the only time in my entire life that I have ever fallen asleep in a movie theatre. And, believe me, it wasn't because the seats were really comfortable. This movie is dull. Worse than watching paint dry. I would rather read a telephone directory than watch this film again.