Hysterical Blindness

Though it sometimes veers into the realm of caricature, playwright Laura Cahill's made-for-cable adaptation of her own play about love-hungry barflies in the 1980s is sharp and sympathetic. New Jersey office worker Deb (Uma Thurman) unwinds at night by frequenting a singles bar with her pal, Beth (Juliette Lewis). In a depleted marriage pool, finding Mr. Right is risky business, especially for a single mom like Beth, but Beth's daughter, Amber Autumn (Jolie Peters), keeps Beth from total self-centeredness, the desperate Deb maps out her future from the perspective of her barstool. Deb is so desperate to get married that she's developed hysterical blindness and when ...