Barbara McDonald

Went to a friend's for Christmas 2023. After eating and opening gifts, we decided to watch this movie. I am familiar with "A Prairie Home Companion" radio show as I've lived in the Twin Cities for the past 50 years. In fact, in the late 80s I had a second job working as an usher at what was then known as The World Theater, later renamed The Fitzgerald Theater. Some of my ushering jobs included "A Prairie Home Companion" radio show. Although there are a lot of big names in the movie, I found it disappointing. The concept of showing a radio show as it was airing alongside the back stage doings was an interesting idea that fell flat. The lady in white really didn't add anything. Partway through the movie, it was apparent the lady in white was an angel/spirt as only certain people were able to see her.

I never watched this show when it was originally aired although I knew it was quite popular. Reruns are shown daily on a couple stations here so I started watching it within the last month. The characters seem to be well cast but most are unlikable--Marie, well played by Doris Roberts, is the mother-in-law from hell; Debra is a shrew (presumably most of that is because of Ray and Marie); and Ray, the lead character and Debra's husband, is lazy when it comes to helping around the house and with the kids and also in standing up to his domineering mother. Frank and Robert, in my opinion, are the two most likeable characters--Frank, Marie's husband, seems to take all of Marie's demands and shenanigans in stride; and Robert, Ray's brother, is often (for reasons I still don't know) overlooked. I do get a kick out of Robert's undisguised glee when Ray gets himself in a jam. Although I only recently started watching this, I've become rather turned off with every show having at least one screaming match between two (or more) of the characters. If one is looking for a show where the focus is a very dysfunctional family, then "Everybody Loves Raymond" would be the one to watch. I started watching "Home Improvement" a couple months back. Never watched it when it originally aired (1991-1999). While the main characters ("Jill" and "Tim") may sometimes have disagreements, they seem pretty tame compared to what is a regular part of "Everybody Loves Raymond."