Rich in Love (1993)

73% of critics liked it
(11 reviews)
42% of users liked it
(89 ratings)

The final installment of what might be called Bruce Beresford's southern trilogy (the other films being Crimes of the Heart and Driving Miss Daisy) examines a disintegrating Southern family. The Odom family live in an elegant mansion, where Warren (Albert Finney) is retired and spends the days… More The final installment of what might be called Bruce Beresford's southern trilogy (the other films being Crimes of the Heart and Driving Miss Daisy) examines a disintegrating Southern family. The Odom family live in an elegant mansion, where Warren (Albert Finney) is retired and spends the days puttering around the house. One day, his daughter, a high school honor student named Lucille (Kathryn Erbe) finds a letter written by her mother Helen (Jill Clayburgh) declaring her intentions of leaving the family. Quickly re-writing the letter to remove the harsh words, she finishes it just in time for Warren to read it. Warren is crestfallen at the news of Helen's departure, telling her, "Lucille, I feel knocked off my perch about this." Warren descents into a depression as she and Warren await the return of Helen. After it becomes apparent Helen is not returning, Lucille drops out of high school to care for the home and her father, while Warren strikes up a relationship with available widow Vera Delmage (Piper Laurie). But then Lucille's no-nonsense older sister, Rae (Suzy Amis) arrives with her husband Billy McQueen (Kyle MacLachlan). Rae is pregnant and announces her intention of staying for awhile. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 45 min.
Directed By: Bruce Beresford
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: Mar 5, 1993 Wide
On DVD: Jul 1, 1993

Critic Reviews

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
A satisfying screen version of Josephine Humphrey's 1978 novel about the education of a young woman's sentiments about love and marriage.
Clint Morris, Moviehole
A rewarding drama
Dan Lybarger, Lawrence Journal-World
Good performances help prevent this once from overdoing its quirkiness.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Overlooked, underrated.
Chris Hicks, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
This is a rich ensemble, offering unexpected pleasures throughout the majority of the film.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Nicki M

Not a bad little movie, but I don't know about the overall message. Especially with the older sister, sticking with that guy after the two awful things he did (the second she had not found out about by the end of the film). I couldn't help but think there was definitely… More
Not a bad little movie, but I don't know about the overall message. Especially with the older sister, sticking with that guy after the two awful things he did (the second she had not found out about by the end of the film). I couldn't help but think there was definitely another installment to this story that didn't have a happy ending! I liked the main character, but she didn't appear to have a lot of substance, only really there for the stronger characters to bounce off, and you don't really get a good sense of what makes her tick. Perhaps she doesn't really fit in there, I thought the ending was good for her. I guess at face value it is a nice little story about finding yourself in a small town, (particularly in the case of the mother), but there were a few things that bothered me about it. Maybe I read too much into it!
Lady D

The title seems to vary in meaning throughout the family focussed on in this film, the sense of family and love all exist through the main character who seems to be the bond holding everything together. One of those sort of films that you find watchable, yet has no real structure… More
The title seems to vary in meaning throughout the family focussed on in this film, the sense of family and love all exist through the main character who seems to be the bond holding everything together. One of those sort of films that you find watchable, yet has no real structure to it.