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Books and Movies Featuring Care Givers
Okay, you can search high and low on eBay or Toys-'R'-Us and you won't find a single Care Givers action figure! But that doesn't mean care givers are not a part of our popular culture. The fact of the matter is that care givers are featured in many of yesterday and today's popular books and films. Summertime is here and I usually take that time of year to catch up on my reading and film-watching; I thought I'd share with you a few of my favorite books and films in which care givers play prominent roles!
Scent of a Woman (1992)
True Confessions: None of my care givers at CARE GIVERS NW look like a young Chris O'Donnell; furthermore, few of our clients look like a 1990's Al Pacino as a dashing Lieutenant Colonel. Despite this bit of harsh reality, Scent of a Woman is a charming story about Charlie (Chris O'Donnell), a young prep school student enlisted to provide respite care for Frank (Al Pacino), a blind, cynical, cantankerous ex-army officer.
The film quickly sets itself firmly on the path of a "coming of age" story, but Martin Brest's clever direction and Al Pacino's brilliant performance allows the film to transcend the genre. Charlie hasn't begun to settle into a long weekend of care-giving for Frank when he is whisked to New York City, accompanying Frank on an agenda of his own.
Charlie is on hand to witness and sometimes assist Frank as he drinks copiously, flirts smoothly, tango dances in a style worthy of the finals on "Dancing with the Stars", takes a Ferrari on a wild ride and battles to emerge from the other side of a serious crisis of faith. Charlie's help in allowing Frank to reach an epiphany of sorts, along with Frank's ultimate decision to help Charlie out of a jam in school is familiar stuff. ("Finding Forrester" comes immediately to mind.) But the on-screen chemistry between Pacino and O'Donnell combined with Pacino's snappy dialog and powerful acting make this a film well worth seeing. If you've seen it already, watch Scent of a Woman again. You'll be glad you did!
Read Sandra's Other Reviews!
Rear Window • The Savages • "T" is for Trespass • A Man in Full
