Northern Lights is the least like the other DCOMs — and that’s okay
But it still wasn’t the best start to this series…
After I watched Northern Lights (1997), I wondered if I should even write a review for this. It actually was the reason why I had delays in my ongoing review of the DCOMS; there’s honestly not much to say about it. It’s a fairly standard 90s made-for-tv family film. The only thing that makes it stand out is its stark contrast to the rest of the Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) canon.
But what makes it so standard? Why does it not have that sparkle or campy charm that are prevalent in the subsequent films in the Disney Channel Original movie (DCOM) canon? Well, that could be attributed to the fact that this film is more like the previous live action family films by Disney. Northern Lights was the last film before the transition into the style of films so many of us (including me) grew up with.
Before DCOMs existed, there was brand called Disney Channel Premiere Films, which were made up of live action family films that aired on the Disney Channel. It mostly consisted of movies I’ve never heard of (I didn’t even grow up in the 80s, let alone have cable to watch the Disney Channel), and included things like some odd follow-up to Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer about a murder and three sequels to The Parent Trap. Really.
Northern Lights fits much better in this crowd. Not only is there an adult lead that is the center of the story, but she’s a heavy smoker and says the word ‘titty’ once. At this point, I just want to remind you that this is a family film that aired on the Disney Channel. Bless you, 1997.
I say all of this so you can understand why I haven’t talked much about the movie yet. The plot is nothing special. The lead character Roberta (Diane Keaton) is a New York City urbanite who left her small town years ago, but is returning for her brother’s funeral. She meets a friend of her brother named Ben Rubadue (Maury Chaykin) and both of them find out that they must take care of the late brother’s child Jack (Joseph Cross). The main story is fleshed out in a predictable way; Roberta doesn’t want to take care of him, but ends up liking him a lot and moves back to the town to take care of him.
With all that said, however, there’s still quite a bit to like. My favorite part of the film is Cross’s performance as Jack. His best scene was when his mother (who has some kind of mental problem that makes her unable to take care of him) appears at an event and runs into a lake, almost drowning. I was sucked into the whole scene because of how Jack was tired of his mother’s antics ruining everything. Actually, Jack was the best character in the film, a diamond in the rough of unlikable characters.
The other decent part was the song that Roberta sings with her old band. As forgettable as it is, it adds more to her character because it represents all that she abandoned; her family, her music, the culture of her town. It was one of the most personal moments in the movie.
I know this isn’t much of a ‘review,’ per se, but this one really didn’t have much going for it. It’s a mostly forgettable film with a really good child actor. The film itself is based off of the one-man stage play of the same name, which actually sounds more entertaining and engaging in that medium rather than as a made-for-TV movie.
Hopefully the next film (the first ‘real’ DCOM), will be much more fun. What’s it called? Under Wraps? And it’s about kids who reanimate a mummy on Halloween? Now that sounds more like a DCOM. On to the next film!
Originally published on my site The baustin blog, this is the first in an ongoing series on the entire Disney Channel Original Movie canon. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram to r̶e̶a̶d̶ ̶m̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶r̶a̶m̶b̶l̶i̶n̶g̶s̶ stay updated on my posts.
