'Grownups' is great

Blythe Danner's presence in a TV movie almost guarantees it's something to see. Danner starring in a "Hallmark Hall of Fame" production is a can't-miss proposition.

And seeing Danner in "Back When We Were Grownups" (Sunday, 8 p.m., Ch. 2) is a delight.

She stars as Rebecca Davitch, the matriarch — or, perhaps, step-matriarch — of a large, rambunctious and unusual family. She married young and was widowed at 26, left to raise her husband's three daughters from a previous marriage as well as the one daughter they had together. Now, decades later, she's still running the family's catering/event-planning business, caring for her husband's 99-year-old uncle (Jack Palance), planning her step-daughter's wedding, putting up with a visit by her husband's first wife (Faye Dunaway) and feeling unappreciated.

She reluctantly reconnects with her rather odd first boyfriend (Peter Fonda) as she tries to figure out whether her life has meaning. And whether it was her life she was living.

Based on Anne Tyler's novel, "Grownups" is full of wonderful characters, great performances (the cast also includes Peter Riegert, Nina Foch, Betsy Brandt, Stacy Edwards, Blake Lindsley, Ione Skye) and excellent, understated direction from Ron Underwood. It will make you laugh, make you think and maybe make you cry.

And makes you wish it was longer so you could spend more time with these characters.

AMERICAN DREAMS (Sunday, 7 p.m., Ch. 5) is a really good show that not much of anybody is watching. Which is a shame.

This week's episode (shown without commercial interruption) finds the Pryors gradually accepting the fact that JJ won't be coming back from Vietnam. They're unaware that he's still alive — but may not be for long.

Beth's estranged father tries to visit, but she throws him out. And she's furious when Helen lets the man visit the grandson he wanted to have aborted. And Meg finds herself in a dangerous situation with Chris and his anti-war friends.

"Dreams" is one of the better family dramas on TV. Through the filter of the '60s setting, it still seems current as it catches you in its storylines.

Airing a Christmas episode a month early is not a good sign for the show's future. Fans won't want to miss it, though, and even first-time viewers will catch the spirit.

---

E-mail: pierce@desnews.com