Mary and Rhoda

Rating:
Summary: They Made It After All!
Review: "Mary and Rhoda" is an excellent example of how classic TV ages over time. "Mary and Rhoda" was mostly well-recieved and was the top-rated TV movie ... . It chronicles the life of Mary and Rhoda after almost 25 years of seperation. They are reunited in New York and their bon[d] becomes closer than ever after the death of Mary's husband and Rhoda's divorce. The Mary and Rhoda in this movie are the same Mary and Rhoda you knew 30 years ago, but they have evolved, which is what makes this movie so interesting, it's a very entertaining film with a good moral:
Good friends keep you strong.

Rating:
Summary: Moore Mary and Rhoda is Needed in the World!
Review: I've loved the freindship between Mary Richards and Rhoda Morgenstern since the 70's. I am a huge fan of both "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Rhoda." And I was looking forward to the ABC TV series that was going to bring these gals back together again in a 1/2 hr. situation comedy, since that never happend, a reunion took place in a 2 hr. TV Movie instead. I loved it! It was great to catch up with both of their lives and I was surprised to discover they had a falling out and hadn't spoken to each other in years. Due to the recent events in their lifes, both Mary and Rhoda were in need of each others company and by chance run into each other in New York City. I thought the writing and storyline was done very well. The scenes filmed around NYC were very appropriate and the humor was right on. I was not disappointed but rather overjoyed to see these two beautiful characters back in action--and looking very well I might add. An added bonus was seeing that Mary and Rhoda each have college aged daughters and the four of them meet for the first time. I'd love to see more of them together and I think the TV series would have worked. If you haven't seen this movie it is worth the purchase price. I just hope more seasons of the MTM show will be released on DVD to satisfy my Mary & Rhoda hungar. Keep them coming!

Rating:
Summary: It's great to see Mary and Rhoda back together again
Review: Its great to see Mary Richards (Mary Tyler Moore) and Rhoda Morgenstern (Valerie Harper) back together again and to see Rhoda get her spirit back like she was in The Mary Tyler Moore show where she was confident and full of wisecracks not like she was when she had her own series Rhoda and after she got married to Joe and became insecure. It was a lot of fun and great memories of how close these characters and actress really are. Please Please FOX Bring out the remaining seasons of the Mary Tyler Moore show to DVD.

Rating:
Summary: If You Love Mary, Don't Even Think of Watching This
Review: Let me start by saying that Mary Tyler Moore was my first crush. Oh, why can't all moms look and act like Laura Petrie from the Dick Van Dyke Show?, I thought. Younger than most moms, curvy, with big brown eyes, a rarity on TV. Keep starchy
Mrs. Cleaver, her pleated dress and her earrings, I adored Mary Tyler Moore. And when Mary got her own show, I was in TV heaven every Saturday night. Mary was just as perky and cute on her own as she was with Dick Van Dyke, but now funnier, more hip, and her own comedic flair brought out the best in her supporting cast. But that was then, this is now.

I'll digress a moment. Henry Fonda, a national institution for the Grapes of Wrath, The Oxbow Incident and Advise and Consent, among many other great films, once explained why he made the 1960s stinker "Sex and the Single Girl." He said an actor needs to do SOMETHING periodically to keep in the public eye so people don't forget. Very true, the public does have a tiny little memory. Come to think of it, why did we invade Iraq again?

This rationale must be the explanation why Mary Tyler Moore made the Godawful "Mary and Rhoda" - she was afraid if she didn't do something the public would desert her faster than you can say Pinky Toscadero.

The thin plot of the show is not even worth mentioning, but I'll report that the most shocking thing about "Mary and Rhoda" is not what you'll find out about Mary Richards. It is what you'll find out about Mary Tyler Moore. She has no sense of humor. The first time around, under the the supervision of her then-husband and former NBC exec Grant Tinker, plus James (Terms of
Endearment) Brooks at the helm, she was in the right place at the right time. Lacking these compuses of intelligence and taste, poor Mary has no internal sense of quality to call her own to save her. The result is absolute disaster in every area, starting with the writing. Barnet Kellman, Candice Bergen's "Murphy Brown" director cannot salvage the tainted material. There is no joy to be had from viewing, but only unintentional pathos. Ms. Moore, aside from obvious facial plastic surgery, shows off in a tight outfit a pair of cantaloupe-sized boobs she never possessed before, or, more accurately, never purchased before. Sad, sad, SAD. So you are warned: if you are a Mary-file like myself, just be happy to remember her as she was.



Rating:
Summary: Valerie Harper Could Spit in a Jar and Get Four Stars
Review: Personally, I think that "Rhoda" is an even better than "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," so this reunion special was my chance to see Rhoda, from the "Rhoda" show, back after her series ended in 1978.

Now, I was disappointed in how Rhoda married some French jerk despite Mary's advice not to. Anybody who loves the "Rhoda" show knows that Rhoda got to a place in 1978 where she did not need to marry just any man, certainly not a player that she should be able to see a mile away. The character had grown to enjoy her own company, and now she needed a man, and I mean any man, all over again. It just was not honest, and it was a slap in the face to "Rhoda" show fans. Now, I love Mary Tyler Moore, but the more interesting reunion would have been between Valerie Harper and Julie Kavner. Obviously, they were even more magical together. Still, all in all, both Harper and Moore were very entertaining and I do love these women together. Harper was her wonderful offbeat self with her crazy cheese dinner and wild religion search, and that Mare sure has spunk.

Rating:
Summary: Love Mary, Rhoda, Lou, Murray, SueAnn, Georgette & All
Review: This movie aired in February 2000 on ABC. Mary Tyler Moore and Valerie Harper were reunited in their roles from the 1970's sitcom of Mary Tyler Moore (MTM).

As a child, I wanted to grow up to be MTM ... strong, independent, just a very good person. I wanted to have friends who kept me entertained like Rhoda! While I didn't grow up to be Mary, I do have terrific "Rhodas" in my life.

It was really nice go back in time to a place with Mary and Rhoda, yet seeing that they too have the same problems in life that the rest of us do.

The one thing that was disappointing to me about this movie was: What was Lou now doing - was he still into news broadcasting? Where was Murray - Did he write that book? How was Georgette's life going since Ted passed away? Did Sue Ann ever find a man? "What ever happened to Phyllis and her daughter?

No one spends that much time of their life with mutual friends and not talk about them. Remember this? Remember that?? Why don't either of them ever ask about the others?

Instead, the movie focuses on Mary Richards' return to TV news and Rhoda's attempts of a new career as a photographer's assistant.

Much like sports teams and your job, there are main characters (Mary and Rhoda), but you have terrific team mates and support staff that complete you. Wish they would have remembered the whole cast was what made the show such a terrific success!

I hope they will release more seasons of the MTM on DVD. There is an abundance of people out there who would love to have this series on DVD!


Rating:
Summary: Bare Bones Treatment, But Still Very Acceptable
Review: This TV movie, produced in 1999 and aired on ABC in February of 2000, began as an idea for a situation comedy series reuniting Mary Tyler Moore and Valerie Harper in their roles from Moore's 1970-77 sitcom. Thanks to disagreements over how to approach that kind of project, the idea evolved into just a two-hour movie. THANK GOODNESS, because as nice as it was to see these two ladies back in character, it was also somewhat disappointing as I kept asking myself during those two hours, "What ever happened to Phyllis, Lou, Murray, Ida, Brenda, Georgette, Ted and SueAnne? And WHY AREN'T THEY ASKING EACHOTHER THIS QUESTION??" The movie also spent considerably more time focusing on Mary Richards' return to TV news than on Rhoda's attempts to carve out her new career as a photographer's assistant.

That's the plight of any reunion: fans of the original will always find some kind of fault with the effort. Sadly, I am no different.

But I'm glad this DVD was released because now I can ditch my homemade VHS copy (which, incidentally, sat on my shelf with the other tapes untouched since the night it aired).

As far as the DVD packaging itself, there's nothing to get excited about as there are no extras whatsoever. Just a main menu giving you the option of scene selections or just hitting "play movie." The sound and picture quality are very good, however, so there's nothing here with which to find any fault.

I wound up finding a new copy of this for sale at one of the major retail chains FOR LESS THAN THE AMAZON SALE PRICE, so I snapped it up right away. Did some investigating and found out that the MSRP was dropped to ten dollars, so for that price this DVD is a good deal.

Now if we can only get Fox to continue releasing season sets of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" ...!!!