Movie Review: "My Sister's Keeper" (2002)

Synopsis: Judith (Elizabeth Perkins) and Christine (Kathy Bates) are two very different sisters.  Chrissy has Schizo-Affective Disorder, which causes her to hear voices and experience all sorts of mental trauma, even being checked into a mental hospital at a young age.  When they become adults, Judy tries to live her own life...but, Chrissy's neediness gets in the way, especially after the death of their mother (Lynn Redgrave).  Will the two sisters ever be able to get along?
Also features Hallee Hirsh (Flight 29 Down) and Kimberly J. Brown (Halloweentown).

The Good: The performances in this movie are great; the two Disney actresses do a wonderful job as young Judy and Chrissy, and they're portrayed just as amazingly when they're older.  This film does a fabulous job of portraying a real-life disorder, and shows what a family goes through when one member suffers from such a thing.  The content is mostly as clean as you'd expect from a Hallmark Hall of Fame telefilm, except...

The Bad: Two sexual references pop up: one about the size of the sister's chests, another about an illicit relationship.  However, the main problem is with the ending; it's far too pat, and leaves too much unresolved.

Conclusion: A week or two ago, I watched the old-school Hallmark Hall of Fame telefilm The Promise, which, ironically, is also about schizophrenia.  This film is much better: cleaner content, a better portrayal, characters who are much more likable, etc.  Still, on its own, it's not very good; the ending ruined things for me, even though the beginning was fabulous.  Unless you're fanatical about anything with the Gold Crown stamped on it, I suggest watching something else.

Score: 2.5/5