BETTER LIVING

Year: 1998
Cast: Olympia Dukakis, Roy Scheider, Edward Herrmann, Catherine Corpeny, Deborah Hedwall, Wendy Hoopes, James Villemaire
Director: Max Mayer
Country: USA
USA: 95 mins
USA Release Date: 4 August 2000 (Limited Release - Los Angeles and New York)

Synopsis

Better Living is the story of a family living in New York suburbs struggling to stay together in the absence of the father, Tom, who disappeared fifteen years earlier without a trace. The lives of Nora, Tom's wife, and their three very unique, headstrong daughters are suddenly interrupted and all are shocked when Tom returns home unannounced one evening and declares that he is back to save the family.

Tom proceeds to sell off most of the family assets and organizes all of them into a highly disciplined unit with an ambitious underground construction project. His intentions are good, but he takes his plans too far, bringing the family to the verge of splitting apart, not to mention the house. Nora's brother jack is the only one who can save the family from Tom.

Better Living is a comedy about families, the elements that bind them together, and about hope in the face of hardship.