Just watched the Facts of Life Reunion Movie today and can say it was a major disappointment. I know I'll probably *tick off* some die-hard FOL fans by saying this, but it was, hands-down, one of the worst Reunion shows I've seen. The story/plot was pathetic. Like 2 hot, suave, sexy Chippendales are gonna fight over Natalie, YEAH RIGHT. If they were going to pick 2 guys to fight over Natalie, they should've chosen John Goodman and Jerry Lewis--that would've made more sense. Then we have the POOR cinematography. Who filmed this anyway? A first semester film student at NYU?? I got a headache watching the camera ZOOM from one scene to the next. Then we have the jumbeled up soap-opera like story switching from "Dorothy's " acting/passion for theater, then we switch over to Blair's posssibly, tenative failing marriage that ends up just being SECRET charity work for disadvantaged kids (Awwwwwww :D), THEN we've got Pierce Brosnan and Patrick Swayze fighting over Mindy Cohen, not to mention some frugal gourmet getting hot pants over watching Mrs. G's @$$ shake in the kitchen!!:eek:
The ending is what really did it for me though. I must say I am embarassed for the cast while viewing this. They bump up Thanksgiving a day early because the hot, lucious, too hot to trot, I'm too sexy for my Slim Fast, Natalie has to work in PAKISTAN. So let's all up and change the course of history for Natalie! Let's all sit down to a fabulous gourmet cuisine prepared by Mrs. G and a couple of 12 year old girls and have the usual cheesy, all too perfect sermon by Mrs. Garrett. NOW, we'll all dance. Yeah, you heard me DANCE! To the Pointer Sisters and Devo!! Yee Haw! (Incidently, I'm writing this at almost 1 a.m. I'm finding it difficult to sleep after watching Charlotte Rae dance to Devo's "Whip It")

Altogether, this movie should've been postponed until a more entertaining and respectable script was written--for the sake of the casts' reputation's and for the fan's that have been waiting for this for over 10 years. Also, you cannot have a Facts of Life reunion without Nancy McKeon--she was JO for Christ's Sake!! You don't make cake without flour do you?? The Facts of Life Reunion was a flop; downright stupid jokes, too many inconsistencies, generic filming, ludicrous plot, no Nancy McKeon (instead we get Jo Jr. the electric guitar playing virtuoso), and lastly I thought we could've done without the Bugs Bunny type cartoon sound effects.

So there you go. One critical review of what could've been an otherwise entertaining and heart-warming reunion movie.

So much for that.
:rolleyes:

Originally posted by Homerun Helen
Like 2 hot, suave, sexy Chippendales are gonna fight over Natalie, YEAH RIGHT. If they were going to pick 2 guys to fight over Natalie, they should've chosen John Goodman and Jerry Lewis--that would've made more sense.

Natalie had a great personality and an awesome sense of humor. Who cares if she's a little on the chubby side? I happened to think that Natalie looked beautiful, despite what some people said about her haircut, I thought it was great! They saw Natalie for what she was on the INSIDE, not on the OUTSIDE. That's what I hate about people like you, you always judge people by how hot they look or how thin they are. Well all that's fake, cause it's what inside that counts.

I am glad to see someone else that did not love the ill fated and poorly made FOL reunion. Having been an original viewer back in the 80's I was looking forward to the often postponed reunion and was glad they didn't continue with the idea of killing off Jo but was gravely disappointed after watching the film.

To me the reunion was full of slapstick foolishness (and full of "other" things) that did not belong in a fol movie and the storyline was atrocious to say the least. While it was great to see the fol stars again it was a disgrace to see the manner in which their famous roles were portrayed. The movie did not feel like "Facts of Life" to me and in my opinion that is the key ingredient in a successful reunion film; it has to recapture the "essence" of the tv show upon which the movie is based. Sadly this is not the case in many reunions with one of the lone exceptions being "Return to Mayberry." I felt that the reunion only had its moments during this travesty such as the somewhat faithful recreation of the Eastland cafeteria and the initial moments when characters reconnected. I am surprised that the writers did not resort to placing Charlotte Rae into a bikini and having her sing "Hot Stuff."

Hey the way in which this telefilm was scripted anything was possible.........

Yeah, what's inside is what matters. We've all heard this and adhere to it with all of our will. But lets get serious here. This IS two guys like Pierce Brosnan and Patrick Swayze. So unless these hommes are like "Shallow Hal", I just don't see this scenario happening. Then again, this *is* TV. And FOL. I suppose this mix could lend itself to two Greek Gods fawning after good ol' Mindy.

Feh... they should've gone after Pippa! She's the real gem! w000t!!!

Oh, and my hats off to Nancy McKeon for not committing career suicide by starring in this ... uhh... movie ... disaster... whatever you wanna call it.

Hmm... someone should have a Brady Bunch VS FOL Reuinion!! Yeah, that would rock pretty hard. Eve Plumb could stand up to Tootie any day! And what about Ms. G and Alice!! It'd be a Brawl for All at Eastland!

Dude, Pippa owns me.:loveya:

I liked it despite you all said, except for Chris.

I'd have to agree with what some of you said, I also was disappointed in the script. Granted, I was absolutely THRILLED that they even had a FOL reunion in the first place (also being a fan and viewer of the series when it originally ran).

And to me the biggest disappointment by far was not having Nancy Mckeon reprise her role as Jo in the movie. Seems like they could've held out while they BEGGED, PLEADED, GROVELLED to Nancy to join and then made the reunion 8)

But i'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, even though it wasn't one of the greatest series reunion movies, at least they HAD one, yknow?

edit: added the Jo part

Originally posted by Hot4Pippa
Yeah, what's inside is what matters. We've all heard this and adhere to it with all of our will. But lets get serious here. This IS two guys like Pierce Brosnan and Patrick Swayze. So unless these hommes are like "Shallow Hal", I just don't see this scenario happening. Then again, this *is* TV. And FOL. I suppose this mix could lend itself to two Greek Gods fawning after good ol' Mindy.

Feh... they should've gone after Pippa! She's the real gem! w000t!!!

Oh, and my hats off to Nancy McKeon for not committing career suicide by starring in this ... uhh... movie ... disaster... whatever you wanna call it.

Hmm... someone should have a Brady Bunch VS FOL Reuinion!! Yeah, that would rock pretty hard. Eve Plumb could stand up to Tootie any day! And what about Ms. G and Alice!! It'd be a Brawl for All at Eastland!

Dude, Pippa owns me.:loveya:

Why do msot of you have this weird notion that it was "wrong and "unbelievable" for two men chasing after Natalie? God all you people ever care about is looks looks looks looks looks. I bet if there were two guys after Jo (If she was in the movie at all and wasn't married) then there'd be no problem cause it's played by good ol "thin" Nancy McKeon. I swear some of the peoples obsessions (Not all of you) are getting to point where it's getting sick. Sorry for being so negative but I'm just mad because people are saying it's not natural for two guys to go after Nat.

Yeah-I think this was one of the worst reuion movies. IMO if you dont have all of the main cast back, you have no reuion movie. I think Nancy made the right choice not to contribute in this movie-yeah-she would have commited career suicide. Why would Jo's daughter go to her mothers reuion? I mean she could have went with Jo. I thought it was lame how they made Jamie an almost exact replica of her mother. This royally sucked.:o

Originally posted by Homerun Helen
Like 2 hot, suave, sexy Chippendales are gonna fight over Natalie, YEAH RIGHT.

:lol: that was fuuuuuuuuuunny!

It wasn't the best movie I've ever seen, but I didn't expect it to be.

However, I agree with Chris, lay off Natalie!








ks

That shouldn't be too difficult.....:lol:

I didn't see the re-airing of it last weekend, but I have it on tape.
I liked it, it was funny, it was cute, but I do agree that it could have been done a little better, it seemed that Blair's marital woes were not as central to the plot as they could have been. We barely saw Tad, and it could have mad a great storyline to see her more involved. (Which is why we should have had Jo.) I COULD see the part with two hunky guys going for Nat, it IS what's inside that counts. They are attracted to certain things about her personality--are any of us REALLY solely attracted to looks?? And I think as I saw it, Robert could have gone for Dorothy at the end, she was widowed and he shared in her interest in the theater.

You know what I think?.........................SEQUEL!!!!:idea: And I could even write it...You should see the FOL major motion picture script I'm working on now!!!!:typing:

Originally posted by Blair's My Cherry Pie
I didn't see the re-airing of it last weekend, but I have it on tape.
I liked it, it was funny, it was cute, but I do agree that it could have been done a little better, it seemed that Blair's marital woes were not as central to the plot as they could have been. We barely saw Tad, and it could have mad a great storyline to see her more involved. (Which is why we should have had Jo.) I COULD see the part with two hunky guys going for Nat, it IS what's inside that counts. They are attracted to certain things about her personality--are any of us REALLY solely attracted to looks?? And I think as I saw it, Robert could have gone for Dorothy at the end, she was widowed and he shared in her interest in the theater.

You know what I think?.........................SEQUEL!!!!:idea: And I could even write it...You should see the FOL major motion picture script I'm working on now!!!!:typing:

GO FOR IT!!!lol...well, you already have my opinion on that:lol::lol:


OK, WHAT IS WITH Y'ALL?!?! I mean HELLO!!! It seems like Natalie had more boyfriends than Tootie...I dunno, I'd have to go through the ep guides, but...I'm pretty sure, NATALIE had more boyfriends/dates/ whatever than Tootie did. So like, why is it so surprising that there are two guys chasing after her??
I have to admit, that the script was very...eh...odd. I mean, I could've written parts better than that. However, I don't really think it deserves all the harsh words mentioned in the first post...Like I said, I agree it could be better, but, it wasn't THAT bad!

Thank you for those people who actually can look beyond looks and to the personality. This coming from a guy who's a hell of a lot more attractive on the inside than the out.

Originally posted by Original Prankster
Thank you for those people who actually can look beyond looks and to the personality. This coming from a guy who's a hell of a lot more attractive on the inside than the out.


and that's why we love you, Chris!!!!!!!:) :lol:

Originally posted by Charlotte Rae Fan
and that's why we love you, Chris!!!!!!!:) :lol:

Well that's cause you haven't seen a pic of me. If you did, you'd have the urge to just take me out to a field and shoot me.

Originally posted by Original Prankster
Well that's cause you haven't seen a pic of me. If you did, you'd have the urge to just take me out to a field and shoot me.

No I wouldn't!! You can't look any worse than me!! That's the "beauty" (pardon the pun) of the net...we can know each other, without having to look at ugly faces!! And, the best part, is, that it doesn't matter what we look like, cause we're still hilarious!!;)

I was sick yesterday, and by chance, I catch the last half of the FOL reunion. And I was right, it was AWFUL.

And what makes it more awful is YOU know(you as in the true fans) it could of been great. Like others have said, they could of waited for a better script.

No wonder Nancy McKeon didn't want to do it. I mean, especially if she read the script! Who wrote this crap anyway?

It's depressing to know that they never take another crack at it.

For all the people that think beauty is skin deep, you need to rent the Twilight Zone episode "Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder." It just might be a good educational experience for ya.

Some people think just because a person is not the "norm" when it comes to looks that the person must be ugly. People don't realize that a person could have two kinds of beauty. One is outside beauty and the other is inner beauty. Nat has the inner beauty. She has the outer beauty, but the inner beauty is just more emphasized.

What would you want? A girl like Nat that actually had a sense of humor or a picture perfect chick that is dumb as bricks?

Originally posted by ChickenLegz
Yeah-I think this was one of the worst reuion movies. IMO if you dont have all of the main cast back, you have no reuion movie. I think Nancy made the right choice not to contribute in this movie-yeah-she would have commited career suicide. Why would Jo's daughter go to her mothers reuion? I mean she could have went with Jo. I thought it was lame how they made Jamie an almost exact replica of her mother. This royally sucked.:o

You took the words right out of my mouth!

Also, Chris, as a straight guy, I agree with you 100000 percent, it's whats inside that counts, and IMO people are shallow to only look at what's on the outside instead of the instead.

I would've liked to see Nancy back as Jo, she did add a lot to the show. I found the movie enjoyable, but a little more slapshstick than a normal episode. But it was nice to see the cast back together again.

Okay I agree with all the people who say "it's the inside that counts" but honestly...most of the media world is obsessed with what people look like and could care less if they were the nicest people, they just have to look good. The people that are posting crap about Nat are only saying that because they've probably been brainwashed by TV shows and movies and magazines saying that only pretty people that have the perfect hair, clothes, and bodies get boyfriends. In this case, yes, Natalie is a little overweight. She always has been. But there's nothing wrong with that. At least she's not beating herself up about it (note the happy magic marker quote).

I kinda went off topic a tad, but all I'm trying to say is...well..I don't know what I'm trying to say....yah.



And I can see this topic getting closed fast.

Originally posted by Dr. Lu Delgado
Okay I agree with all the people who say "it's the inside that counts" but honestly...most of the media world is obsessed with what people look like and could care less if they were the nicest people, they just have to look good. The people that are posting crap about Nat are only saying that because they've probably been brainwashed by TV shows and movies and magazines saying that only pretty people that have the perfect hair, clothes, and bodies get boyfriends. In this case, yes, Natalie is a little overweight. She always has been. But there's nothing wrong with that. At least she's not beating herself up about it (note the happy magic marker quote).

I kinda went off topic a tad, but all I'm trying to say is...well..I don't know what I'm trying to say....yah.



And I can see this topic getting closed fast.

Yeah. I agree with you. I'd say the person who posted this topic has been brainwashed about a perfect person. Let me tell ya, we don't have anybody that is perfect when it comes to looks. Oh yeah, you could have a ton of plastic surgery and the tummy tucks and all the botox injected in your face- but that doesn't count. That person had to have help to make her think she was perfect.

Nat had a good personality. That's all that counts, but I guess you are right Dr. Lu. Out in Hollywood, they pump up all the celebs egos and push the whole "norm" onto the ordinary people. Then the ordinary people probably go on crash diet after crash diet just to get into a size two blouse.

I cannot believe the level that this "post" had been elevated to. If this all gets locked/deleted/whatever then my hands are washed of it. All I did was exercise free speech ( we ARE still allowed to do that, right) I wasn't the one who turned this into an episode of "The View" :rolleyes:

FOL Reunion movie rocked. It would have been better to me had the first season girls been on it.

I think with so many characters in the movie, the plot would seem a little scattered. But I LOVED IT!!!! I want to thank TJ for sending me a copy of the movie!!!!!:D I'm sure the people who wrote the script knew that it was a challenge. So many plots and subplots to weave in. And I'm wondering if it might have been altered in any way because the creators weren't sure if Nancy was going to show up or not...that might have been something to consider...But the movie was great. I liked the thing with Jo's "lookalike" daughter. I just laughed myself silly just watching that movie over again a few months ago on tape. And it was one of the most interesting things on Lisa's journal site to hear about how they put the movie together.

I've just got to point my finger at Homerun Helen... even know I don't agree with some stuff you said, you are pretty funny.

And now I'm pointing my infamous finger at the rest of you- ok, so some people don't agree with his/her/their opinion on the reunion movie. Don't get your shirt in a twist, I mean Jesus Christ, this is a message board, not a debate. Don't go getting all huffy puffy. Controversy, no matter what, is inevitable on this board. It will come along, and it has before.

Yea, I know, but I just hate the way people assume it's unreal for Natalie to have 2 guys chase after her. I know it's her opinion, but I'm mad at people who assume you're only good if you ocme from a cookie cutter. You have to be perfect.

Originally posted by Original Prankster
Yea, I know, but I just hate the way people assume it's unreal for Natalie to have 2 guys chase after her. I know it's her opinion, but I'm mad at people who assume you're only good if you ocme from a cookie cutter. You have to be perfect.

Ahh...the cookie cutter quote...Rosa said that twice in her View interview. :D


Yah.