Made in America

Exceptionally well-crafted, Made in America is the kind of picture Hollywood often aspires to but rarely succeeds in bringing off -- smart and sophisticated with a wide appeal. [28 May 1993, p.F1]

This isn't a great movie, but it sure is a nice one. Read full review

Seeming warmer and more comfortable in this antic comedy than she has before, Ms. Goldberg is helped not only by the right co-star but also by the right role. Read full review

A farce founded on a mix-up at a sperm bank, Made in America is a simplistic but amiable dip in the nation's multicultural fondue pot. Read full review

Made in America is at its best when the one-liners are thick and fast, and when comedy rules. There's a lot of staring into space that substitutes for acting when the going gets tougher, and while the ending milks all possible emotion out of an audience, there still is something heartwarming about it. [28 May 1993, p.3E]

This comedy holds few surprises, bar the realisation that Hal is Zora's father. After that it's dysfunctional family comedy all the way. But this proves to be no bad thing. Goldberg and Danson handle the material with their usual panache, while a young Smith gives a steady post-Fresh Prince supporting role. Read full review

Made in America, from 1993, is essentially an extended episode of a lame, cheesy US sitcom from the late 80s/early 90s – more My Two Dads or Perfect Strangers than Frasier or Seinfeld. It's awesome. Read full review

Uniformly predictable complications ensue. Read full review

The humor is spotty, character development is so- so, and there are number of significant plot problems. There's no overriding reason why anyone would want to see Made in America unless they're a fan of Danson or Goldberg. Read full review

After the first half sets up intriguing racial/political/biological conundrums, the second simply lets them go hang. Energetically directed with a fair smattering of funny lines. Read full review

Made in America has the distinction of being better than the last movie involving a sperm bank, Frozen Assets, though at times the humor - overplayed to nearly shrill levels - seems to come from the same test tube. Read full review

Made in America, for the most part, is surprisingly inept -- badly shot, badly lit and badly edited. It's the actors alone, Danson especially, who save it from total disaster. [28 May 1993, p.C1]

Made In America is yet another half-hour sitcom padded to accommodate a major star - in this case, the highly bankable, post-Sister Act Whoopi Goldberg - and a 110-minute running time. [28 May 1993, p.27]

Made In America is not the humanist triumph it wants to be, but, thanks to Goldberg and Danson, it's a Pyrrhic victory at least - the movie marks the dubious ascendancy of acting over writing, the talent emphasizing the mediocrity in the very process of vanquishing it. [28 May 1993]

Director Richard Benjamin and screenwriter Holly Goldberg Sloan use a single comic device throughout the entire movie. In scene after scene, two things are made to happen simultaneously with supposedly hilarious results. [11 Jun 1993, p.22]

Sloan and director Richard Benjamin (My Favorite Year) are content to drift along on the star power of Goldberg and Danson, who are certainly appealing actors, but push every wisecrack and doubletake into bad dinner theater territory. [28 May 1993, p.6B]

Overall, the quality of the film has that made in America feel -- sturdy enough to last through the initial warranty period but not designed as a long-term durable good. Read full review

The scripting is painfully thin in all aspects of character relationships, patched together consistently with low-level goonery (outlandish driving, drunkenness, stereotypical fringe characters). The forced hilarity of the proceedings leads one to believe that neither the story team nor the scripter have natural senses of humor. [27 May 1993]

Made in America has a deficit problem - it's a comedy with woefully few good jokes, a leading man and woman with a serious lack of chemistry, and a plot that has as much credibility as a campaign promise. [27 May 1993]

Its optimism has a certain naive charm, though it also seems one step removed from a clinical condition. [28 May 1993, p.C]

The only admirable aspect of the comedy is its insistence on the stupidity of racial prejudice. American moviegoers must be desperate to hear that message if they're willing to sit through so much ridiculous horseplay in order to receive it. [01 Jul 1993, p.12]