For the first part of this particular experiment into masochism and time-suck, I had hoped to recap what's become arguably the most famous of the After School Specials: Rob Lowe's Schoolboy Father (some would argue that Calista Flockhart's turn as a vomit-hoarding bulemic was actually the pinnacle of this genre, and I would probably agree, if I were at all able to acquire that undoubtedly glorious hour of television). Of course, of all of the disks that I could have misplaced, it would have been that one. So instead, we're left with "First Step", which aired as "She Drinks a Little." And it was utterly average. The picture I've chosen to lead with does a fairly competent job of depicting my reaction.
So let's start with the summary!
Cindy (Amanda Wyss) and her younger brother (Elliot Jaffe) have been living with the dangers and embarrassment of their alcoholic mother (Bonnie Bartlett) for many years. When Cindy wins the lead in the school play, her mother, who always wanted to be in the theater is so filled with joy, she stops drinking for four weeks and finds a job. Cindy honestly believes her mother has made a change for the better. Based on the novel by Anne Snyder.
Most of that didn't happen! Or, more precisely, the first sentence is true! And I would assume the last is also true (though I refuse to read the novel to verify it). But the middle two sentences suggest a version of events as interpreted, perhaps, by the proprietor of Cindy's mother's liquor store. Or maybe Cindy's mother herself.
But now, to the recap!
We open on a smallish boy—who we eventually learn is Cindy's brother—returning from walking a dog of some sort—which we never see again, so this detail is hardly important—only to discover that he's been locked out of his house. He wanders off to climb through a window or something. We then cut to Cindy standing in front of her bedroom mirror enjoying some of the wonderfully low-budget scenery for breakfast while "practicing" "lines" for a "play". We then cut to her mother shuffling around the kitchen and retrieving orange juice from the refrigerator, which my cynical and vodka-soaked brain leads me to assume is for her morning cocktail. This is never confirmed, but alluded to, when slightly later, as everyone gathers around the table, she indicates that her glass of juice is more than sufficient for her breakfast.
For most, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. For this family, breakfast is a time of exposition (!) through which we learn that the son is named Brat (or it is actually probably Brett, but I think he's called both with equal frequency), and Cindy pays the bills because the mother is both unreliable and uninterested and when she does show an interest, it's all Cindy can do to dissuade her. Case in point: Cindy's open house! Which such an obvious case of foreshadowing that the anvil was just kind of sitting at the breakfast table drinking a cup of coffee and smoking a cigarette.
Cindy flounces off at the sound of a car horn, as her ride has just arrived, while her mother continues to nurse her screwdriver. (Which leads me to a slight digression: the world must be a quieter place because of cell phones. Obviously, there's a lot more incessant chatter, but we don't have nearly as many car horns announcing arrivals and what not, so that must be a good thing!)
Once Cindy arrives at school in what appears to be a clown car (seriously, like seven people climb out of this compact including, it seems, the driver), this pleasant older woman informs her that the other Mothers of the Carpool have voted her mother out. Because she's sick. She even offers to call and tell her! Cindy declines the offer, and seems far less enthusiast than the pleasant older woman at the fact that they'd still like her to ride with them. Anyway, off to class!
And because academics are not endogenous to the story that Martin Tahse is telling, we're off to "auditions" for the school "play", where we learn that Cindy has inexplicably (at least to me) won the lead role, much to the dismay of someone in high-waisted pants that I assume we're supposed to dislike, but after this she never really shows up again. Cindy is happy, and so is her friend, who was anxiously eavesdropping outside the auditorium door. Apparently, nobody at this school goes to class (and I'm anticipating this is going to be a common occurrence throughout, so I will try to avoid mentioning it again).
Their excitement is short lived as Cindy's mother comes strolling through the front (?) door, powdering her nose. Cindy is displeased, but Mother refuses to leave until she's met some of the teachers. So off to Algebra we go, where Cindy's mother manages to meet Mrs. Algebra (it is impossible to figure out what precisely they're calling her because Cindy doesn't articulate, her mother slurs, Mrs. Algebra has that peculiar old lady voice, and it seems as if this episode was recorded on a cassette tape). What's important is that Mrs. Algebra is married to Mr. English-and-Drama, and that Cindy's mother is an embarrassment, in case you've somehow missed that point.
Then, Cindy's mother excuses herself because she needs to use the "little girls' room".
Uh, of course she does.
Next we meet Mr. English-and-Drama Teacher, who is manning the punch bowl.
So, Cindy's mother used to be a dancer! Until she got pregnant with Cindy. Which can be interpreted in two ways: she was a stripper who got knocked up after one of her shifts. Or! She took dance lessons in high school and got knocked up by the captain of the football team. Either way, her dreams were destroyed, she regrets her choices in life, and can find solace only in the bottom of a bottle.
Then there is some mostly uninteresting stuff about Cindy's daily life! Lunch with her friend, her mother sobbing in the night, "play" "rehearsal", "hopes", "aspirations", and "bonding" with her stage manager (Mitch, or something—he has bad hair). She really is becoming an actress!
Anyway! We cut to a scene where Mitch is walking Cindy home. They walk into Cindy's house to find this:
Cindy becomes defense, as her denial has slightly addled her brain! Mitch tries to help, but Cindy refuses and chases him and his hair away.
The next morning, Cindy's mother lets everyone know that she has a job interview! If we're to assume this is the next day, which I think we are, I have to wonder how Cindy's mother has managed to schedule an interview while passed out in a drunken stupor. It is apparently not important though! Because she has an interview! At a dime store. I don't know.
We then cut to Cindy's walk to school (apparently the car pool didn't end up working out, or there's another alcoholic mother, OR it's one of those car pools that are really far more inconvenient than they're worth because they drop you off further away from your destination than you were when you started). It gives her a chance to catch up with Mitch!
We also learn that Cindy's friend is Jewish! And Mitch is bizarrely blasé about his incredibly alcoholic parents. Or his parents were too drunk to teach him how to properly interact with people. But aww! He likes Cindy. But what a bizarre foundation for a high school romance.
Cindy arrives home to find her mother in an uncharacteristically pleasant mood (as we've learned, Mother is not a pleasant, happy drunk). She has good news! She got the job! And to celebrate, they're having meatloaf and after dinner they're going to play cards or Scrabble. Oh, okay. I'd personally consider that incredibly torturous, but then maybe the extra yards of fabric in the rise of their pants alter their perception of reality.
Regardless, their evening goes swimmingly until Mother breaks out her Dancer's Vocabulary during scrabble.
The ominous bells really make this scene perfect. And this scene makes Cindy reconsider Mitch's invitation to the Alateen meeting! (Also, what is that thing around Mother's neck? Crazy!)
The Alateen meeting is mostly unbearable and tedious with a lot of moralizing and lecturing. But look! Mrs. Algebra is their sponsor! And everybody's parents are alcoholics! Undoubtedly because the budget for this was probably $500 and they wanted to limit the number of "actors" they had to cast.
The next morning, when Cindy decides for some inexplicable reason to tell her mother about the Alateen meeting, we're introduced to the Denial Brigade, who then usher in the Calvary of Indignation.
Well, that's why they had to save money by casting fewer actors. They spent all of their budget on liquor that was just thrown into the sink! If they had been smart, they could have just picked some bottles out of a trash can.
This demonstration somehow convinces Cindy that her mother has reformed and given up the alcohol. They haven't really done much to convince us that she's smart, so, you know, I guess I can buy it.
There's more nonsense about the "play" and what's supposed to be a touching dress-fitting with Cindy and her Mother (perhaps that is what "filled with joy" in the summary is referring to, but that makes a bizarre timeline), and then it's time for the play!
Which is awful.
But Cindy's mother thinks it was fantastic!
And it seems she's also restocked.
Obviously, Cindy is devastated. But it gives Mitch an opportunity to offer a shoulder for Cindy to cry on.
The next day we find Cindy banging away at a piano that's magically found its way into their living room (I don't think it was there before). Her mother saunters down the stairs complaining about—what is to her—an inexplicable headache. Cindy has had enough! So there is a confrontation, and Cindy actualizes her way to acceptance.
Which we can tell, because she's walking pensively to an Alateen meeting. (Also, where did they film this? That sky looks both terrifyingly menacing and fake.)
When Cindy returns home, she and her brother (Brat, or whatever) discover their mother's been drinking again.
But this time Cindy knows how to deal with the problem, and explains to her brother:
Mom's an alcoholic. It doesn't mean she's bad or doesn't love us; it means she's sick. And the best way we can help her is to leave her alone. When she's drunk, we stay out of her way, and when she makes a mess, she cleans it up. And maybe that way she'll begin to see a problem, and just maybe she'll go for help.
Wanna go skating?
And so they do, leaving their mother slumped over her bed, surrounded by empties.
And I've learned that rollerskating solves everything and that alcoholism is an acceptable foundation upon which to build a relationship. Congratulations Martin Tahse, you've taught me something!
