Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Lifetime Movies, Five cancer stories

A series of short films about women and their families dealing with cancer is really excellent. I was surprised by some of the "big names" doing the directing , like Jennifer Aniston, Demi Moore and Alicia Keyes.
The story lines of Five
Directed by Jennifer Aniston, written by Wendy West and told in a series of humorous and dramatic flashbacks, Mia is a survivor’s tale that highlights all of the highs and lows of Mia’s (Patricia Clarkson) two-year journey from diagnosis with breast cancer. During this time, she gives away all of her worldly possessions, holds a hilarious mock funeral while still alive and enters into a second marriage to Mitch (Tony Shalhoub), the new love of her life. Mia also features Kathy Najimy as Mia’s friend Rocky.

Lili, directed by Alicia Keys and written by Jill Gordon, follows Lili, a fiercely independent, career-minded woman (Rosario Dawson), who recruits her sister (Tracee Ellis Ross) to help tell their hard-nosed mother (Jenifer Lewis) that she has breast cancer. As they work through their past issues, Lili’s mother and sister ultimately become her strongest allies when she needs her family the most. Lili also stars Jeffrey Tambor as a male patient diagnosed with breast cancer.

In Cheyanne, directed by Penelope Spheeris and written by Howard Morris, sexy young stripper Cheyanne (Lyndsy Fonseca) and her handsome newlywed husband Tommy (Taylor Kinney) struggle to redefine their passionate relationship, as well as who they are as individuals, when Cheyenne is shocked with a breast cancer diagnosis. Looking at a severe prognosis, Cheyanne’s aggressive treatment ultimately results in the removal of both of her breasts, which have defined her life physically, financially and emotionally.

Directed by Demi Moore and written by Stephen Godchaux, “Five’s” opening film, Charlotte, takes place the night in July 1969 when man first walks on the moon, and when a young Pearl (Ava Acres) is more concerned about why her family is not letting her see her mother, Charlotte (Ginnifer Goodwin), who lies in her bedroom dying from breast cancer.

In Pearl, directed by Patty Jenkins and written by Deirdre O’Connor, Pearl (Jeanne Tripplehorn), the successful oncologist we have followed from childhood, suddenly finds herself in the patient’s seat when she is diagnosed with breast cancer. Through this process, she finally understands what her parents experienced that night in 1969 and finds the strength to tell her young daughter that everything is going to be OK … something she never heard as a child.

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