Good start, but then it gets ruined

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

If you give a bad review of this reunion, the whole TV reunion wasn't meant for you in the first place. It's for previous fans of Growing Pains, who loved the show and had fond memories of it. It's just pure fun to watch them back together again, 8 years later. I did like the whole story line too. The only gripe is the Ben Seaver plothole which I guess they edited out a drinking problem, which makes everything in the movie make a heck of a lot more sense. But nonetheless, it's also fun just to tune it to see how they've all changed. And what about Chrissy!? They show this movie every now and again, so catch it if you're a Growing Pains fan.

When I saw the preview for this movie, I thought it would just be another reunion movie from an 80's television show. But when I saw this movie, I was greatly surprised. It was a great reunion of the Seaver Family. All of the original cast were great in their roles, and the plot in which Maggie runs for Congress was great. This was a great movie.

I admit I'm a bit biased in two ways, first I love TV reunion movies and second I loved Growing Pains. This was a pretty good TV movie and gave us a chance to see how our favorite characters have grown and in some cases stayed the same. While there aren't any really memorable moments, there were some great scenes and just seeing the whole gang together again was worth it.The movie begins with a summary of where everyone is given humorously by Jason Seaver (Alan Thicke). Events quickly happen to gather the family together when Maggie Malone Seaver (Joanna Kearns) gets fired and when the family unites for the elder Seaver's anniversary, announces she's going to run against her former boss in the upcoming primary. Carol Seaver (Tracey Gold) falls in love with Maggie's former boss' campaign manager and everyone ends up fighting and eventually coming together.All in all it was a good reunion movie with a few great moments. A must for fans of the original series. Oh and for those "fans" who only watched the show when Leonoardo DiCaprio was on, no he does not make an appearance. But Alan Thicke does have a line where he references the real life Leo, though not by name.

As with any reunion show, you usually tune in just for nostalgia sake, to see the cast back together and to see how they've changed. On that level, this tele-pic works, but as far as plot goes, expect the usual chaotic heavy handedness associated with sitcoms. But right there is one of the film's problems, it's a sitcom in movie form. Without that laugh track and no one customary setting (like when they lived in the house) things just seem out of place. It all concerns Kerns political race with her former boss, who sacks her in the opening. The rest of the family gathers to help her campaign back on Long Island, the family's former home. Everyone basically looks the same, with the exception of Johnson, who was 9 when the show ended in 92, and has turned into quite a looker. Thicke still has Jason down pat, Kerns and Gold have held up well, despite shorter haircuts, Cameron looks only slightly older as Mike and Miller still resembles Ben, though with a goatee and long locks, which are sheered early on. The only other return is Noble, Cameron's real life wife, also playing her here. I was hoping at least "Boner", Mike's dimwitted friend would pop up (pun intended, hehe) as one of the old guest stars, but no such luck. And that includes Decaprio, who some fans actually wondered about. Got a feeling he's just a wee bit too big to catch up with his old friends, the Seavers. The core of the film went mostly to Gold, as her would be romance dominates a lot of the time, which disappointed me, seeing how I always felt Cameron was the real star of the show during its original run. Only two or three chuckles through the whole thing, with an expected finale, some of which is too dopey for words. Look out for the in-your-face direction as well, as Metter, who years ago helmed real movies like "Back to School", to only three years later be calling the shots on "Police Academy 7", loves to use tight shots too much. The cast is right up in your eyes most of the time, giving you a crowded kind of feeling. And forget about going down memory lane, as there is no return trip to the old Burbank studio set for some much needed sentiment. Odd that they decided to bring them back together after 8 years instead of 10. I assume its because of the popularity of the reruns on the Disney Channel, which of course is owned by ABC. A stroke of marketing genius for Disney, who ran a marathon of old episodes on the Disney Channel right up until airtime of the movie over on the mother ship, ABC. It all came out ok, but nothing special. Maybe better results on the next reunion?