The Weisman’s struggle through several more conflict, which include the following: Dad using bowel movements combined with crossword puzzles to avoid caring for Peter jocks at school having full knowledge about the inner-workings of Peter’s wheelchair and applying the dual-levered brake Dad earning Peter’s love by insisting he sit in his wheelchair in the aisle while enjoying the opera Peter going away to camp, followed by Dad telling Liza how much he’s going to make love to her while Peter’s gone and finally, Peter breaking his hip at camp. Because of the Muscular Dystrophy, he has to learn to use a motorized wheelchair and is almost fully reliant on his family for help.
That goes nowhere, much like the husband’s promise to help, and so the movie moves forward two years. Eventually things reach a head and Larry agrees to try to be a more involved parent, which leads to the family heading to Paris to see a faith healer. This results in marital strife with her husband Larry, and conflict with the other sibling, Adam.
So Liza beats herself up and feels like she’s responsible for her son’s illness, and as a result she coddles the shit out of him and prevents anyone else from getting close to him. Remember when you rented Scotty’s X-Rated Adventure on VHS? Remember when you could still rent pornos? Remember how the terrible video store that would rent you and your drunk friends disgusting pornos was also trying to be a kid-oriented “fun zone,” complete with arcade games and toys?
You may remember Scott from such 80s fare as The Toy, Kidco, and A Christmas Story, or from the pornos Scotty’s X-Rated Adventure and The Wrong Snatch. Scott Schwartz, former child actor and former adult film actor, as his older brother Adam Weisman. Haim does a good job of physically portraying the disease, but is a little too slack-jawed when trying to convey illness and depression. It’s mildly distracting, but certainly not as distracting as:Ĭorey Haim, who plays the terminally-ill Peter Weisman. She’s does a great job, but she may be too much of a personality for a quiet made-for-television movie about terminal illness.
This was Liza Minnelli’s first TV appearance and she won a Golden Globe for her performance. Summary: So Liza Minnelli stars as Mary-Lou Weisman. Weisman went on to write less dramatic, more humorous books, including a book about MAD illustrator Al Jaffee. The film and book tell the true story of the struggle to raise her son Peter, who had Muscular Dystrophy. Social Context: A Time To Live is a dramatization based on the book Intensive Care by Mary-Lou Weisman. Interesting Dated References: Those fluffy, oversized sweaters women used to wear in the 80s Corey Haim being considered a viable actor.īest Line: Said by a teenage son to his mother - “Dad’s in the shower guess I’ll join him.” It’s a weird song, and there’s no credit given in the film.Ī “music by” credit is given to Georges Delerue, but I think that’s in reference to the outpouring of sappy violins, which appear throughout the movie. This song appears as Liza Minnelli’s character tries to appease her terminally-ill son with drum lessons.