Rotten Tomatoes

Movies / TV

    Celebrity

      No Results Found

       View All       Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

      What Makes a Family

      TV-14 2001 2 hr. 0 min. Drama List
      Reviews 56% 100+ Ratings Audience Score Lesbian partners Janine Nielssen (Brooke Shields) and Sandy Cataldi (Cherry Jones) decide to have a baby through artificial insemination. Sandy opts to be the biological mother, and she gives birth to a baby girl. Sadly, Sandy develops severe lupus, and dies a few years later. While Janine is intent on raising her daughter, Sandy's parents attempt to gain custody of the child. Determined not to give up custody, Janine seeks legal aid to help her case. Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

      View All (13) audience reviews
      Audience Member For me is a very nice heartbreaking story , many people have to learn from this Movie ! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Great story about child custody and gay parenting! Very interesting! Woohoo for another film with Whoopi Goldberg! :) Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Audience Member Great movie, very sad though. The law is so upsetting in it's standardized harsh choices which do no always apply to each individual which are enforced all the same, regardless of situation. A good true story of justice, love and unconventional relationships. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member Hurried like a screenplay that was supposed to be a book. No time to really start caring about the characters before they're pitifully falling all over themselves. Just annoying in the end, unfortunately. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member I know this is based on a true story and is about gay rights but it was not done well it was predictable and uninteresting where it had serious potential. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Such a sad story, very compelling. Two thumbs up! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

      Cast & Crew

      Show Less Cast & Crew Show More Cast & Crew

      More Like This

      View All Best Movies to Stream at Home
      Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

      Photos

      View All What Makes a Family photos

      What Makes a Family

      What Makes a Family (2001) What Makes a Family (2001) What Makes a Family (2001) What Makes a Family (2001) View more photos

      Critics Reviews

      View All (1) Critics Reviews
      Steven Oxman Variety Lifetime's What Makes a Family certainly doesn't break, or even strain, any molds, and it's not particularly nuanced in presenting legal argument, but it's well-executed all around and makes its emotional point effectively. Oct 20, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Lesbian partners Janine Nielssen (Brooke Shields) and Sandy Cataldi (Cherry Jones) decide to have a baby through artificial insemination. Sandy opts to be the biological mother, and she gives birth to a baby girl. Sadly, Sandy develops severe lupus, and dies a few years later. While Janine is intent on raising her daughter, Sandy's parents attempt to gain custody of the child. Determined not to give up custody, Janine seeks legal aid to help her case.
      Director
      Maggie Greenwald
      Executive Producer
      Barbra Streisand, Cis Corman, Whoopi Goldberg, Craig Zadan, Neil Meron
      Screenwriter
      Robert L. Freedman
      Production Co
      Whoop Inc., Barwood Films, Storyline Entertainment, Columbia TriStar Television
      Rating
      TV-14 (D)
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      English