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Cynthia Jurado

Introduction to Special Education 203-2002

Movie Critique- The Other Sister

Wednesday, September 8, 2021

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In the 1999 romantic comedy, The Other Sister, Juliette Lewis stars as a mentally

disabled young woman named Carla Tate. Carla was sent away at a young age to a private

boarding school and returned home many years later as a young woman. She is full of desire for

independence, freedom, and being seen as more than her disability by her overly protective

mother. Carla pushes the envelope to go to college, live in her apartment, and fall in love. By the

end of the movie, Carla has passed her first college course, lives independently in her apartment,

and is married to Danny McMahon, also mentally disabled.

Carla is portrayed in the film as a mentally disabled child, with many obstacles, early in

the movie but growing into an independent adult who is ready to overcome any obstacle once she

has her independence. Young Carla cannot cope with change, cannot correctly feed herself, and

has trouble fitting in with other children. She is the youngest of three daughters and is the only

sheltered daughter by her mother. Carla's mother, who has the most challenging time dealing

with her disability, takes a backseat to caregiving once she cannot control her daughter, while the

housemaid is visibly well-loved by Carla for her patience and kindness. This backseat caregiving

results in the mother feeling guilty about her lack of responsibility and overwhelmed with her

guilt for placing her daughter in a boarding school. Both Carla's sister and father accept and

understand her disability and do not change their relationship with her because of it. Carla does

not let her disability hold her back from her desires. She fights to be seen as anything other than

her disability. At one point, Carla screams at her mother, "Can't you see me? You never look at

me." At this point in the movie, Carla is fully aware of her disability and the limitations placed

on her by others, such as her mother. Her mother cannot look past the disability and see a

growing thriving adult.

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In the movie, The Other Sister, society is portrayed as being understanding and accepting.

However, this portrayal is not how our society is. We, as a society, can improve in aiding people

with disabilities by being more inclusive, learning about different disabilities, and recognizing

those limits placed on people. We can discover how we can help them overcome those limits.

Discovering how we can help will help erase prejudices and stigmas.

I appreciated the movie, The Other Sister. The movie evoked emotions about children I

have worked with within my past. I anticipate more movies featuring people with disabilities

coming out in the future. I am excited for the potential those movies will have in bringing

awareness and erasing ignorance about people with disabilities.

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References

The Other Sister. Directed by Garry Marshall, performances by Juliette Lewis, Diane Keaton,

Giovanni Ribisi and Tom Skerritt, Mandeville Films and Touchstone Pictures, 1999.