What Makes a Family
What Makes a Family
| 22 January 2001 (USA)
What Makes a Family Trailers

Janine and Sandy are a lesbian couple who decide to have a baby, but after a few years Sandy dies. This tragedy is exploited by Sandy's parents to snatch the girl from Janine's care. But then, and despite having the laws against her, Janine decides to fight in order to regain custody of her daughter.

Reviews
Incannerax What a waste of my time!!!
GamerTab That was an excellent one.
StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.
Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.
gospidipemiloi A very heart-wrenching, powerful, and emotional movie that I highly recommend. A definite must-see for those who are interested in movies that relate to lesbian and gay topics, and the ongoing struggle for their full civil rights. If any movie makes the case for the ability of lesbians and gays to be loving, decent parents, it is this one. The acting was incredible, especially that of Anne Meara and Brooke Shields. They were such genuine characters, and my heart ached and my blood boiled to see what Shields's character had to go through and the prejudice she put up with just because she loved someone of the same gender. Nobody should have to go through what this mother did.
mischam76 what a difference a great script and direction can do to a persons acting abilities.Brooke shields was absolutely amazing.for someone of her credible stature she certainly carried this film from beginning to end with gusto.not to mention the performance from cherry Jones.why don't we see these woman in more dramatic roles. its hard to believe that this was a made for t.v film as it may well be the most entertaining one i have ever seen,so much that i purchased it off ebay. the whole film in its entirety is well paced,well written and definitely tugs at you long after you have watched it. highly recommended as a powerful movie of morals and integrity and an opportunity to see Brooke show what she is capable of.
TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews Considering that this is a made-for-TV movie, it's actually very good. A few of the actors are well-known, but most are not. They all portray the respective character believably though, I especially think that Brooke Shields & Jordy Benattar gives excellent performances; even Whoopi Goldberg did a great job. The plot is touching and interesting, and moves along at a pretty good rate. The acting is, like I mentioned a few lines up, very good, mostly. A few scenes seemed a little overly sentimental or less-than-fortunately acted, but that's only reasonably rarely, and it rarely ruins the mood. The characters were all well-written and, considering their respective personalities, they all act understandably for the entire movie. I really enjoyed the last few court scenes in the movie, and the moral questions they brought up. The entire movie presented the different moral questions very well, and really made you think. Unfortunately, it would seem that this movie, probably due to it being a TV movie, isn't very well-known, which is too bad, since it's actually very well-made for a TV movie. An excellent drama, that raises some very important questions. I recommend this to anyone who like dramas, especially dramas that pose such important moral questions. 8/10
liebchen45 This was a wonderful movie and Brooke Shields has done a fantastic job. It even brought tears to my husbands eyes as well. The little girl in the movie was beautiful and already an excellent actress. I wonder if anyone can help me. The song, I think it was called, "As long as you love me", does anyone know who sang it? I would love to have a copy of it.