Product Description

Sherry is a young woman with a history of drug abuse & emotional turmoil. Just out of prison she finds herself struggling against all odds to reconnect with her estranged 5-year-old daughter while trying to readjust to the outside world. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 01/23/2007 Starring: Maggie Gyllenhaal Brad William Henke Run time: 96 minutes Rating: R

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16794 in DVD
• Brand: Universal
• Released on: 2007-01-23
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 96 minutes

Amazon.com
A disturbing film about a recovering drug addict trying to regain control of her life, Sherrybaby succinctly depicts what can happen when want and desire aren't offset by control. In this bleak indie film, Sherry Swanson (Maggie Gyllenhaal, Stranger Than Fiction, Secretary) has just been released from a three-year stint in prison. Dressed in her inappropriate uniform of a halter top and oh-so-high platform heels, she goes to brother's house to see her 5-year-old daughter, Lexie (Ryan Simpkins). Sherry is determined to be a mother to her child, but without a home, job, or any other form of stability, she grows frustrated and jealous of her brother and sister-in-law's roles in Lexie's life. Tall and willowy, Gyllenhaal brings a sad desperation and simmering sexuality to the role. Sherry's middle-class childhood was a blur of sex and drugs, and she seems incapable of breaking out of that destructive trap. While the script by first-time feature film director Laurie Collyer isn't wholly original, the picture moves at a good pace, giving insight as to why Sherry's resigned to using sex to get what she wants. While the family secret doesn't come as a complete surprise, it is somewhat perplexing that no one addresses it. Ultimately, it's Gyllenhaal who makes you care about a character that most people would've given up on. --Jae-Ha Kim

Customer Reviews

Great movie that is both gritty and realistic
This film is all too real. How many of us have know someone like Sherry at some time in our lives? There are many Sherrys walking around in the world. I feel like this film has been vastly underrated. It's funny...I read some reviews on the Rotten Tomatoes website and one male movie critic even referred to Sherry's character as a skank. I'd agree that Sherry had acquired some bad habits that proved hard to shake, and that she uses sex to get what she wants -but I wouldn't call her a skank. Sherry is a troubled young woman who has never really matured, and sadly enough, doing time in prison and then being released once you've successfully completed your prison time does not guarantee that you will live happily ever after. Old habits die hard.

This is a very honest portrayal of a young woman who has a lot of growing up to do. At the beginning of the film Sherry is returning home after doing three years in prison. She is on parole and has to abide by the rules of the parole which prove to be difficult for her later on in the film. At first she seems happy and confident that she will make it, but life is never easy all of the time. Reuniting with her young daughter who has been raised by her brother and his wife (who have obviously bonded with the child) proves to be the biggest challenge. Sherry faces many obstacles. Her sister-in-law obviously loves the child as her own and thinks that Sherry is an unfit mother. The little girl is too young to understand what is happening. She's discouraged from calling Sherry "mommy" by Sherry's sister-in-law who feels that this situation may only confuse and damage the girl. Sherry is extremely needy and pushy and she alienates the child from her even further.

Besides being needy and pushy and using sex to get what she wants, there is also another issue which is never addressed literally but is instead IMPLIED. This issue that is implied is that of a possible incestuous relationship with her father in the past. When Sherry sees her father for the first time after her release from prison, she is eager for his attention, but he only has eyes for his beautiful granddaughter. In fact, he's paying TOO much attention to the little girl. Sherry seems to almost be begging him to pay attention to her. Shortly after that when the family is sitting down together for a meal, Sherry stands up and sings an old pop song in front of everyone at the table. This was probably something that she would have done as a child or teen and would have been cute then but is no longer cute now that she's an adult. Her family almost looks uncomfortable as she is singing. A little later, when Sherry and her father are alone for a few minutes, Sherry begins to cry to him about her difficulties with her brother and his wife and reclaiming her daughter. Her father doesn't seem to really be interested in that. He takes a quick glance around, and sensing the opportunity, he fondles Sherry's breasts. At first Sherry almost seems to accept this as if it is normal behavior or perhaps she doesn't realize what's going on because she is so distraught, but she quickly gets hit with the realization of what's he's doing and she leaves. Unknown to Sherry and her father is the fact that her brother has witnessed this but has chosen to remain silent about it at that time -most likely because of shock and because it is just a difficult situation in every way imaginable.

So Sherry can no longer deal with these issues and she takes off and quickly finds some drugs and gets high, thus breaking her parole and her personal commitment to stay clean. Things start to take a turn for the worse, but with the help of a friend who is like a tough big brother who's "been around the block many times" type (a former user she met at a meeting for addicts), she gets back on the right track. Sherry turns herself in to her parole officer and confesses that she has used and reluctantly agrees to get treatment. Before she has to report for the treatment, she is allowed by her brother to take the little girl out alone for the day. After the little girl has gotten over her initial fright and not wanting to go anywhere alone with her mother, Sherry and the child begin to have fun and to bond a little. There is another incident which occurs involving Sherry losing her patience with a woman who is yelling at her child while in a public restroom and thus frightening her daughter. Sherry finally realizes that she's not quite ready to take care of her daughter by herself. She thanks her brother for raising the child -something that she acknowledges that she never asked of him before but which he lovingly and dutifully did without being asked. The movie ends with the feeling that Sherry has taken a definite step towards becoming an emotionally mature and responsible woman who (with proper treatment and guidance) may just turn out to be a productive citizen and a good mother. This movie also reminds us that the physical act of giving birth does not necessarily make someone a mother (not a good mother, anyway).

a satisfying tale
Sherry is a troubled woman who just got out of prison for drug related charges. While she was incarcerated, her brother and his wife help take care of her young daughter and are more or less like parents to her. The story focuses on Sherry changing her life so that she can be a mother to her daughter. Later in the film we see that Sherry is far from recovered... she relapses and she continues to make bad decisions.

It seemed a little cruel with how Sherry's brother and his wife told the child to call her mother "Sherry" instead of mom, but what happens later in the film makes it all the more understandable. We see that Sherry is mostly a child herself emotionally and came from a dysfunctional environment where she had been molested by her father.

The film was sad, but these kinds of stories are played out everyday in real life.

Satisfying, but in a "let's discuss" kind of way
The intelligent, engaging "Sherrybaby" probably reveals more about the people who watch it than it ultimately does about its own characters. As seen in many of these reviews, some viewers will empathize with Sherry, feeling bad that her kid is essentially being taken from her by her brother and his wife. Others will recognize and appreciate the sacrifice Sherry's brother and his wife are doing in raising a little girl who'd otherwise be subject to an unstable mother.

I related to both views. Sherry has a good heart and is a strong woman in many ways, but she's in a damaged emotional state that makes it all too easy for her to weaken and turn again to drugs. Sherry's brother Bobby and his wife just want Sherry's daughter to have a decent upbringing, but they can often be needlessly insensitive when discussing the little girl with her mother. In other words, these characters are genuinely complex and make for an interesting, thoughtful film. But you'll have to be open to a film that doesn't offer easy answers.

Myself, I saw a ray of hope at the end for these characters' futures. In the unlikely event that there's a "Sherrybaby II" (for better or worse, small, interesting art house movies generally don't get sequels), I like to think that we'd see that these characters had eventually reached a situation or accommodation among themselves where everyone has gained a little peace and a sense of being fairly treated.

"Sherrybaby" features an anamorphic widescreen image that looks great on a flatscreen TV, and the movie sounds great, too. There are no extras to speak of, except for a trailer that goes a little over-the-top in its praise of Maggie Gyllenhaal's admittedly excellent portrayal: the trailer actually uses the phrase "Oscar bait!" like those classic movie-parody skits on the old SCTV show. But don't let a few goofy moments in the trailer put you off. "Sherrybaby" is definitely worth a look.