Bill (1981) review

(7/10)

This TV movie tells the interesting and touching true story of a man labeled as a retard. We had to watch it in our English class, and I have to say that it wasn't half bad. It was pretty reliable and also entertaining.

PLOT:Bill Sackter (Mickey Rooney) is a simple man. He spent 46 years in the local mental institution because his mother dumped him there in desperation. Since he's been out, he's been wandering the streets and jumping from job-to-job under the care of his welfare officer, Mrs. Keating (Anna Maria Horsford). One day at the local country club, a local aspiring filmmaker named Barry Morrow (Dennis Quaid) finds Bill cleaning the kitchen and starts to become his friend. However, Barry also gets the idea to make a film about Bill. As Bill tells Barry about his life, the two start to grow closer and start to become friends. Things get disrupted, however, when Barry has to move to another job in Iowa to support his pregnant wife, Bev (Largo Woodruff). This is the true story about the life and times of Bill Sackter. It's a great plot executed very well.



ACTING:The acting in this movie is pretty good. Mickey Rooney plays a fairly respectable part as Bill Sackter, but some could also say it makes fun of him. It's kind of difficult to play someone like Bill when you come to think about it. Dennis Quaid also played a really good part as Barry Morrow, Bill's buddy and filmmaker. He did a good job. The other shiners would be Anna Maria Horsford as Mrs. Keating and Largo Woodruff as Bev Morrow.

SCORE:The score in here is pretty basic, but it's also pretty slow and touching, including a catchy song sung by Mickey Rooney and Dennis Quaid.



OTHER CONTENT:This TV movie is actually pretty good. It tells the interesting story of Bill Sackter, a real man who was committed to an institution just because he had trouble reading as a boy. After viewing the documentary about Bill and doing a little more research, I realize that this movie is all true for the most part. However, there are some details left out or changed that throw the story of just a little bit. Also, this movie has the spirit of a TV movie; there's so much more that could have been done if it had been adapted into a real theatrical film. The movie does capture a lot of the true story, however, and holds a pretty strong emotional impact.

OVERALL,a good TV movie with a great plot, pretty good acting, touching but basic score, mostly true events included in the movie, and a pretty strong emotional impact, but there are some details left out and it all seems like more could have been done.