A Day Late and a Dollar Short on Lifetime
Category: Television and Streaming
A star-studded cast brings best-selling author Terry McMillan’s book to the small screen. Whoopi Goldberg, Ving Rhames, Anika Noni Rose, Kimberly Elise, Mekhi Phifer, Ashanti Broomfield, Tichina Arnold, Lyriq Bent and more team up in A Day Late and a Dollar Short, a sensitive story of a family torn apart but finding their way back to each other after a lifetime of infighting, jealousies, and craziness.
To say the family is dysfunctional is an understatement. The sisters have been at odds with each other, their brother has had trouble with the law, in-laws are now causing rifts due to their transgressions, and the parents (Goldberg and Rhames) are not the most loving couple in history, to put it mildly.
This film is like a mini-soap opera. Every scene brings up a new and dramatic situation. At the heart of the story, however, is the fact that they are family. And as a family they must learn to look out for each other, protect each other, and yes, love each other.
Whoopi Goldberg plays Viola Price, the matriarch of the fractured family. She suffers from acute asthma as well as a heart problem. When she learns she doesn’t have much time left, she sets out to help her family turn their lives around and learn to be a family unit once again.
Viola starts to get her four children, grandchildren, and her now-estranged husband to see the problems in their lives and to set them right. Without giving any spoiler alerts, I can say that their problems are huge. Each one is facing a difficult personal situation, whether it is sexual, drugs, or simply learning how to step up to responsibilities. Viola desperately wants to see harmony in her family before she dies. But is that even possible with this incredibly troubled and broken family?
On a personal note, when I started watching this film I was leery about this made-for-TV movie. But the more it ran, the more intrigued I was. I couldn’t turn away. It is definitely a poignant family story.
A Day Late and a Dollar Short premiers Saturday, April 19, 2014 on Lifetime at 8 pm ET/PT.
About the Author
Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment business for 20 years. She also writes about technology and has been a travel writer for the past 12 years. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.
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