The War at Home (1979)

Sue McShan
A beautiful dvd. My brother-in-law requested this dvd to watch again since I seem to keep him abreast of the dvds regarding wars in Viet Nam. He had served there and I knew that interested him. He had seen this dvd at my house several years ago. I bought him a copy this year since this Christmas he asked me the name of this dvd, etc. and said he would enjoy watching/buying it IF he knew the name of it. Thanks so much for having the dvd for him.

Underwhelming as it gets.
I am amazed at the great reviews this film has received. I thought it was quite underwhelming. As I see it, there were two problems. The first is that the family portrayed in the film would drive anyone crazy. Estevez didn't have to be a Vietnam veteran to have problems with the parents. Even "The Graduate" (Dustin Hoffman's first lead role) would have been driven out. I would have joined the army just to get away from them, war or no war. This dilutes the impact of the plot. It would have a more poignant film had the parents been understanding people without the idiosyncrasies of the parent characters. It would have focused more on the actual problems of a returning veteran. The film "The Best Years of our Lives" was far more powerful, even if it was about returning WWII vets. "Born on the 4th of July" was a far better film too, even though it was an anti-Vietnam film with political motives.

The second problem is the main protagonist. The character is a cliché Vietnam veteran, not a real one, even though many real ones had problems. He is more of a political device than a real veteran. Jeremy resents his father for not giving him the money to go to Canada. While in Vietnam, his commander orders him to shoot a prisoner, which is the source of his psychological problems. There is little portrayal of the horrors of war. The event that caused the psychological problem is the only scene that explains it. The plot is thin. This is exacerbated by what I consider a poor performance by Estevez who, in my opinion, has problems playing serious dramatic roles. His behavior isn't convincing. Tom Cruise played his part in "Born on the 4th of July" far more poignantly. Jeremy was a flat character with little substance.

Perhaps this is why used copies of the film are so cheap. I think that I will pass on "Bobby".

Brilliant
I just watched this movie on TV and all I can say is wow. The characters all play out like real family members. Kathy Bates is just brilliant in her role as the mother. I think there are many families who can relate to these people. I don't know how anybody can watch this movie and not think about our troops coming home from Iraq.