# The Other Sister

The Other Sister is a 1999 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Garry Marshall and stars Juliette Lewis, Giovanni Ribisi, Diane Keaton and Tom Skerritt. The film was written by Marshall and Bob Brunner. Malia Scotch Marmo did uncredited rewrites to the script.

## Plot

After receiving a well-earned certification from a sheltered boarding school, Carla Tate, an ambitious young woman with a mild intellectual disability, returns home to her overprotective and slightly snobby mother Elizabeth. Elizabeth seems to behave as if she is embarrassed about her youngest daughter's disability. During family discussions, Elizabeth adopts an uneasy attitude because her daughter was bullied as a child. Carla's father Radley is a dentist and recovering alcoholic. Carla's ambition is to seek more independence from her family by earning a diploma from a polytechnic school. When Carla meets Danny McMahon, another student who also has a developmental disability, they become friends and soon fall in love together. Envying Danny's freedom, Carla convinces her parents she is capable of living on her own and moves into her own apartment. After a time, Carla and Danny become sexually active together.
Danny's independence is financially compromised when his wealthy and emotionally detached father abruptly stops sending subsistence money due to Danny flunking his classes. Danny begins to realize that the independence he enjoyed comes with a staggering cost. Danny gets drunk, then seeks solace and insight (and a joyride in a vintage Ford Mustang convertible) from his landlord and friend, Ernie.
During a Christmas party at the country club, nervous about his personal lot, Danny drinks too much to build up his courage to declare his love for Carla. He also tells everyone about their first time making love. A humiliated Carla bursts into tears, screaming at everyone to stop laughing at her. Although Danny did not intend to embarrass Carla, she nonetheless refuses to see him anymore. Over time, Carla realizes she still loves Danny and wants to see him again despite her mother's advising her otherwise. At her older sister Caroline's wedding, Danny surprises Carla by showing up at the church and asks her to marry him, in a scene mimicking The Graduate, the couple's favorite film, to which she accepts.
Everyone supports their wishes except Elizabeth, who is unsure Danny can take care of himself, let alone Carla. Carla angrily tells her mother that she is sick of her combination of three behaviors: dominance, negativity and doubt. Also, Carla is sick of her mother constantly treating her like two things at once: an embarrassment and a handicap. Radley and her sisters, Heather and Caroline, support her decision, and the wedding is planned. At first, Elizabeth is determined not to attend, but Radley admonishes her. He said that he will walk Carla down the aisle. Finally, after realizing how selfish she has been behaving, Elizabeth relents. Outside the church, Danny surprises Carla with their school's marching band playing "76 Trombones" from The Music Man, and they are chauffeured away to their honeymoon in Ernie's prized Mustang.

## Cast

* Juliette Lewis as Carla Tate
** Kendra Krull as Young Carla
* Diane Keaton as Elizabeth Tate
* Tom Skerritt as Dr. Radley Tate
* Giovanni Ribisi as Daniel "Danny" McMahon
* Poppy Montgomery as Caroline Tate
** Brooke Garrett as Young Caroline
* Sarah Paulson as Heather Tate
** Brighton McCloskey as Young Heather
* Linda Thorson as Drew Evanson
* Joe Flanigan as Jeff Reed
* Juliet Mills as Winnie the Housekeeper
* Hector Elizondo as Ernie
* Tracy Reiner as Michelle
* Giuseppe Andrews as Tough Guy Trevor
* Jim Meskimen as Carla's Minister
* Shannon Wilcox as Danny's Mom Ruthie
* Frank Campanella as Guest William
* Richard Stahl as Train Ticket Seller
* Shiri Appleby as Free Sample Girl

## Production

In January 1996, it was announced Garry Marshall would direct The Other Sister, the story of a "semi-retarded teenager who moves into an apartment of her own and falls in love with a semi-retarded classmate", for Disney. In August 1997, it was announced Diane Keaton would play Elizabeth Tate. The following month, it was reported that Juliette Lewis was cast as Carla Tate opposite Keaton.

## Soundtrack

Professional ratings :
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
The Other Sister: Music from the Motion Picture was released on February 23, 1999. The lead song for the soundtrack was "The Animal Song" by Savage Garden. The music video for the song featured scenes from the film. It peaked at #109 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

### Track listing

All track information and credits were taken from the CD liner notes.

## Release
### Box office

The Other Sister opened at #3 at the North American box office making $6.6 million in its opening weekend behind Payback and 8mm, which opened at the top spot. It ultimately grossed $27.8 million in the United States and Canada, failing to recoup its $35 million budget, becoming a box office bomb.

### Critical reception

The film received negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film maintains a 29% rating, based on 49 reviews, with an average rating of 4.7/10. The site's consensus: "Made-for-tv drama evokes anything but real emotion." Metacritic reports a 28 out of 100 rating, based on 21 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".
Roger Ebert rated the film at one out of four possible stars, and said the film was "shameless in its use of mental retardation as a gimmick, a prop and a plot device."

### Accolades

Lewis was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress for her performance, where she lost to Denise Richards for The World Is Not Enough.