Taken from a play by Scott McPherson, "Marvin's Room" at first seems like it might be a dreary tear jerker of a drama. But wait, there is a dream cast involved and somewhat maudlin scenarios turn out to be sheer delights. Imagine a film with Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton, Robert DeNiro, Leonard DiCaprio and Hugh Cronyn and you cannot go wrong. Keaton is taking care of her long failing father (Cronyn) when she discovers she has leukemia. She contacts her long estranged 'beauty school graduate' sister (Streep) and pyromaniac nephew (DiCaprio) as possible donors. When the families unite in Florida, it's a flurry of funny, hard-nosed and real life dialogue. All cast members are at their best and Streep and Keaton juxtaposed as sisters is amazing. DeNiro plays Keaton's scatter-brained doctor and he is priceless. There's strong warmth and reality in this film and despite the occasional tear, the ultimate feeling is happiness. This movie is a keeper.

This movie is based on Scott McPherson's off - Broadway play. It has been turned into a wonderful little movie. A movie that is sort of one of those lost gems. Meryl Streep heads an impeccable all star cast as a woman who comes back in contact with her long estranged sister, played by Diane Keaton. Keaton's character has been taking care of her and Streep's very old and very ill father(played so realistically by Hume Cronyn). Keaton's character then finds out that she has leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant. The only donors that can help are Meryl and her wayward kids(headed by the solid Leonardo DiCaprio). Meryl and the kids head down to Florida where Keaton is and, well, they bring along some of their own little dysfunction. The movie is sad, but not in the ball your eyes out way. It avoids the usual scenes of death beds and a huge dying scene. None of that is here. The movie is about the family, and the two estranged sisters coming together. Not to mention Meryl's character coming to terms with her son Hank(Leo). The film definitley hits some emotional highs, but it's not, as I've said above, the usual way we've seen it a hundred times before. Robert De Niro appears in a fairly small role as Keaton's character. He also co-produced the film. Our main stars here all shine brightly. Keaton is great, as always. Meryl and Leo makes their characters believeable, if not very sympathetic. In the end, it's Keaton who shines the brightest. Marvin's Room is a nice family drama that was horribly overlooked and forgotten by most people. Give it a chance.

Kindly Bessie (Diane Keaton) has devoted her life to caring for her ailing father with no help from her estranged sister, Lee (Meryl Streep), the black sheep of the family. But now, Bessie is gravely ill and needs Lee's help.

I usually don't care for Diane Keaton's acting, but I did like her in this role. She plays an utterly selfless woman who could easily have been cloying, but was instead, quite sympathetic and noble. Streep does her usual expert job, playing a woman who won't win any Mother of the Year awards. And DiCaprio, looking very young a year before Titanic, steals all his scenes as a dangerous teen who hates his mother so much he burns down the house.

This is a poignant look at illness and dying through the eyes of three very different characters. I was sorry it ended so abruptly without resolving the story, but that makes it feel even more real. This is a movie I'll want to watch again when I'm feeling blue; it will help me keep things in perspective and remind me what's really important.