Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Blistering performances.

I was at a low point in my life when I saw this movie on TV. I had been having many suicidal thoughts and was in therapy for Depression. This movie convinced me NEVER to attempt suicide! Many scenes in this movie have stayed vividly in my mind. Although it's a sad movie, it also contains hope, especially for families who have been affected by someone's suicide. For me, seeing this movie might have been one of the MOST important influences that has resulted in me being alive today! When I talk to suicidal people, I tell them how much this movie impressed me and kept me from attempting suicide. If you have a family member or friend who is depressed or has talked of suicide, please watch this movie with him/her. Although it may make evoke some painful feelings in the person, it will also give them many insights on why suicide is not the answer. I recommend being with the depressed person when they watch it, and also staying with them afterwards to talk about the many feelings it brings up. Therapists - This is an excellent movie - try to obtain it and watch it! I have gone on in my life to major in Psychology and this movie very accurately portrays the many emotions...both in suicidal people and in their families. I hope this movie may prevent someone else from committing suicide. Bless you. Karen

I didn't think my senior year of school could get any better, that is until my health teacher announced that we would spend the next few classes watching a made for TV movie that she referred to as "Rick and Lonnie." Those classes soon became the best of my high school career. Now, the entire movie is utterly fantastic, but the far and away best scene was Rick running through the park after witnessing something absolutely traumatizing. River Pheonix has a stint in this film and his acting was seriously overlooked. He really made the viewers feel his pain throughout the movie, tear. This is some superb acting folks and you'd be a fool to not want to watch this film.

Like "Ordinary People," this film deals with the problems faced by a seemingly perfect family when that illusion is shattered. This film, however, adopts a more straightforward, and less lyrical approach. The result is a film which is less powerful, but still memorable.Unlike "Ordinary People," this film deals with two families. The Brogans are the seemingly ideal family. Headed by David (Len Cariou), a successful doctor, and Tina (Ellen Burstyn), a stay-at-home mom who teaches piano in her spare time, they have three seemingly happy, healthy children, the eldest of whom, Rick (Zach Galligan), is about to enter his senior year in high school. David is pushing Rick to follow in his footsteps, as well as doing a lot of preaching about honor. For his part, Rick takes all of this good naturedly to start with. Among the Brogans' best friends are Harvey (Paul Sorvino) and Lois (Marsha Mason), who apparently never got last names in this film - at least I don't remember what they were - and they're not listed here, who run a successful T-shirt company. They have one child, a troubled girl named Lonnie (Molly Ringwald), who has just been released from a mental institution after attempting suicide.The story is told in two parts. The first part deals with the events that lead Rick and Lonnie to commit suicide - Rick's discovery of his father's hypocrisy, and withdrawal from everyone but Lonnie, who is ill equipped to provide him with the support he needs since she is having trouble readapting to life outside the institution. The second part deals with the aftermath of the double suicide - the attempts of the survivors to cope with the tragedy and their overwhelming grief in the face of it, and the subsequent tragedies that come out of the main one.While the writing occasionally veers into the melodramatic, for the most part it is straightforward, letting the events, actions, and reactions speak for themselves.The acting occasionally goes over the top from the mothers' characters, but for the most part it is pretty solid. Galligan and Ringwald breathe an authenticity into their characters that helps the viewer understand why they feel that their final choice is their only choice. Watch for a young River Phoenix who gives an emotional performance as the surviving younger brother. Len Cariou gives his usual solid performance as David, and while I'm no fan of Paul Sorvino, he gives a competent rendering of Harvey. Ellen Burstyn does a wonderful job as Tina, who shuts down, only to be brought back to functioning through several painful shocks. And Marsha Mason is wonderful as always as a woman whose only way to cope with the tragedy is to find someone who will talk about it with her when her friends and husband will not.This is a thought provoking film, and one that is well worth watching.

I remember watching this movie, I was about 10 at the time and I didn't really understand. Than a few years later I saw it again and this time... I was moved. This movie taught me how hard a family takes a suicide. When you've become so depressed that you can no longer live, you often forget about those who love you... this movie helps someone remember. I would still to this day... almost 30 years later, suggest that every teenager watch this movie. The acting is in good taste and everyone involved gave a great performance. A+ all the way. Does anyone know where is can be bought?