"Men Don't Leave" is an uneven affair, a film that attempts to delicately balance wry humor, stark tragedy and a sense of the human resilience that keeps people from being buried by their problems.
There are some wonderful moments here, especially in the performances of the splendid cast assembled, but considering that the film is directed by Paul Brickman ("Risky Business"), co-written by Brickman and Barbara Benedek ("The Big Chill," "Immediate Family") and "Men Don't Leave" is an uneven affair, a film that attempts to delicately balance wry humor, stark tragedy and a sense of the human resilience that keeps people from being buried by their problems.
There are some wonderful moments here, especially in the performances of the splendid cast assembled, but considering that the film is directed by Paul Brickman ("Risky Business"), co-written by Brickman and Barbara Benedek ("The Big Chill," "Immediate Family") and stars Jessica Lange, the disappointments tend to outweigh the pleasures.
Still, there's enough here to make "Men Don't Leave" worth a look if you are attracted to the story: A woman becomes a young widow with two sons and is forced by finances to abandon her life as a homemaker in a small rural Maryland town and seek employment in Baltimore.
The film begins by setting up Lange's relationship with her husband, who is loving, though somewhat neglectful, and has apparently not included her in the family finances. When he is killed in an industrial accident (off-screen) Lange is, of course, forced to get her act together, sell their property and find work and a place to live in the city.
Needless to say, this is rather upsetting to her sons, one a teenager (Chris O'Donnell) and the other an impressionable younger lad (Charlie Korsmo). But they reluctantly go along with it and uncomfortably adjust.
That adjustment includes some of the storyline's less-than-credible elements, however, as O'Donnell becomes involved with an older nurse (Joan Cusack) and Korsmo with a young thief who steals VCRs.
Eventually, O'Donnell moves in with Cusack, a real fantasy element if ever there was one, and Korsmo begins breaking into homes, stealing VCRs and using the money to buy lottery tickets.
This latter plot development is strained even further when Korsmo begins seeing his best friend's dad as a father figure and their family is shown to be well-to-do, loving, well-adjusted and downright all-American. So why is the young son a thief? And how did he develop connections to sell his booty?
I suppose it's possible, though most unlikely.
Meanwhile, Lange begins working for a catering service, run by obnoxious Kathy Bates, and meets an offbeat divorced musician (Arliss Howard). Howard tries to romance Lange, but she's not very receptive, and eventually she sinks into a five-day bedridden depression.
When that happens the film comes to a complete stop and never really recovers its momentum.
Aside from Lange, who tries very hard and often rises above the material, the other cast members make some of this tiresome plotting palatable. Howard has a delightfully offbeat sense of humor that often comes close to saving the entire movie, but never quite succeeds. Young Korsmo has a face that tells us more than reams of dialogue could and is perfect in his role. And Cusack is always an askew delight _ you may remember her as the zany secretary in "Working Girl." (Her character here seems to function as did Keanu Reeves in "Parenthood," which is not the only resemblance to that film.)
But the joys of "Men Don't Leave" come in fits and spurts, and the movie is like a car that's never quite able to warm up. And, unfortunately, once it does, it stalls _ and stalls for good.
The film is rated PG-13 for profanity. There is also some sexual innuendo.