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Mae Whitman, a bad actress? Even at that age, I found her convincing.

LOL I thought she was annoying too

I wasn't pleased with Bernice either.but HATE??? That is a bit extreme. I would say she is a typical bratty kdbut you don't hate her. You realize she needs a few years to mature and inderstand how things in life work. HATE? No.If you do, I would recommend not having kids,FreeFall. Or maybe just do some growing up yourself.

I wanted to slap that child several times. She was so annoying.

"She deserved what her father did to her."
That's the least sympathetic remark on this unsympathetic thread. The kid is EIGHT. There is absolutely no way she is emotionally mature enough to handle what's happening. Her parents are divorcing because of infidelity, her father has abandoned her, she's been uprooted from her former life and moved to a totally different town in a totally different state these are things that emotionally cripple children. And you
hate
this little girl because she lashes out? Wow. I hope you never have children.
GK:
Every show is your last show. That's my philosophy.
Rhonda:
Thank you, Plato.

In that scene, I actually felt sorry for the little brat. But she deserved what her father did to her.
Ood Sigma: We will sing to you Doctor. The universe will sing you to your sleep.

"I watched this movie last night again and I watched Bernice intently. Yes she is a fantastic actor and I like her for most of the movie, but I just don't understand the animosity that she feels for her mother before the 'father driving away and leaving her screaming' scene. It was interesting that Birdie just let it happen so that Bernice could see what a scoundrel her father was. I thought that was really good."
That's what I thought Birdie was doing! Showing the girl what a scoundrel her father was!
"I know that she is mostly a nice little girl and slightly mistrustful, and protective of her mother (regarding Justin) but I just didn't like those scenes where she hurt Birdie and tried to make out as if it was Birdie's fault. Surely Bernice would know, young as she is, that her father ran off and betrayed her mother with some tart."
I know! She was in the audience when all was revealed.
It made me angry when she said "don't you ruin anything!" before going outside, as if it was her mother's fault her father cheated.
That said, I know she's grievingand I'm certainly not "trying to be a psychologist". I'm just sharing my reaction to this movie, which I saw again for the first time in years yesterday evening.
-Amanda
"She will remember your heart when men are fairy tales in storybooks written by rabbits"

re-watching this film, i have to give Mae Whitman kudos for benice. she did play a little brat to good lenghts. and was one of those characters you either hated or loved. personally i hated her character, but she was there to give the audince the representaion of her father. as they are both as self centured individual. she was a constsant reminder of bill temperment.
Thunderbirds Aren't Slow

Hello? She was SUPPOSED to be playing a little brat. She blames her mother for the divorce, some children do blame the parent who they are with. I love how so many in these threads about this character think they are psychologists and know how every single child who has gone through their parents divorcing knows how it feels. Even if it happened to you and you reacted one way, it doesn't mean that's the way it always happens.
Mae Whitman was brilliant acting as a little beep in this role as well as yearning for her father and feeling the hurt of his rejection.

i understand that her parents were divorcing, but, she was too mean to her mom. when my parents were going through hard times, meaning, she kicked him out of the house, i blamed my mom, supposedly, thats what my mom tells me, i don't remember blaming her, i kinda blocked out those years. but she says that i did, anyway, i didn't treat my mom with that kind of animosity that i remember. i just think bernice was a spoiled brat. since discipline is not allowed anymore. only "time outs" which hardly work.
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Bernice was in the audience during the TV show when the affair was revealed. She knew her father cheated.

Well, I thought it was a pain that the mother never bothered explaining anything about how her father wasn't faithful to her and that's why they left, or defend herself when she saw that she was blaming her. So it makes sense that she would think it was her mother's fault, especially when her father left her that note of condolence and kept in touch.

Bernice is a child who went through a traumatic experience- her parents divorce, a change in school, having to leave her friends behind, her father's infidelity with a trusted family friend, AND all of this was on television. I'd like to see how you would have acted in that situation. Of course Bernice is going to blame her mom in that situation, it's natural. She didn't understand the magnitude of her words. Birdie knows that, that's why she doesn't take it to heart and ignores her daughters comments. The fact that so many of you couldn't realize this is a little disappointing.
ANguyen3, I agree with #1 and 3, I think that it was better of Birdie to move in with her mother, rather than find an apartment of her own, following the divorce. That way, Bernice would be taken care of and have a maternal figure in her life, when she couldn't be one. Her decision to move in with her mother is a much better one than to have moved to another apartment, where Bernice would have been emotionally neglected and made to take care of herself. Regarding point 4, Bernice had lots of potential to be good looking, she was a cute kid, she jsut ha a geeky sense of style. She has a cute face and complexion, it's just that her clothing and big glasses were unbecoming. At that age, Bernice would not have felt jealousy toward Birdie. Maybe when she was a teenager, but not as a child. Bernice would admire her mother's beauty. Regarding point 5, I think that Birdie didn't have a chance to develop any skills, because Bill didn't like her working and preferred for her to stay home. Bill and Birdie were high school sweethearts and lived together right after graduation, marrying shortly after.

I've read several people bashing Bernice, but what about Birdie?
I like Birdie because she is great looking and she has an extremely likeable personality. But she does have flaws, especially when it comes to being a mother. Let me explain:

1. She is depressed for most of the movie and doesn't spend enough quality time with Bernice.
2. She let's grandma take care of Bernice because she is still depressed. Grandma cooks and watches her and talks to her more than Birdie.
3. Bernice doesn't like her new school yet we don't see Birdie giving her much support. Why does everyone want the 8 year old to support the mom instead of the other way around?
4. Birdie is beautiful and Bernice is geeky. Maybe there is a bit of jealousy there? Birdie has been blessed with good lucks so she doesn't have much to complain about.
5. Birdie doesn't have any skills. She can't have a respectable job and doesn't appear to be much of a homemaker. She's just good at being a trophy wife. (Granted, they portray her as a talented photographer)
   So my point is that I have more patience and understanding for Bernice's bad attitude than I have for Birdie's depression. Birdie can have just about any guy she wants. Bernice, on the other hand, is the new dorky girl in town. Bernice will have more trouble finding friends and boyfriends.

I have to agree to a point Especially in this same scene where she's leaving the house to go outside and she looks at her mother (Sandra Bullock) and says, "Don't you ruin anything!!" I wanted to reach through the TV and slap her silly! I thought, "What a little brat!" But I think she's a good actress for making people hate her character

I went through the exact same thing Bernice did, but I never talked back to my mom about it like she did. Bernice was just a brat, plain and simple. She obviously took after her father.

She annoys me.
I know she's grieving and needs an outlet, but she was completely disrespectful to her mom. So much that she needed some discipline at times.
Cursing is a crutch for the communicationally-challenged.

That scene where she is screaming out for her dad gave me chills because she was trembling which made it so believable. And yes, while the character of Bernice was a bit of a brat with an attitude, I just wanted to hug her and calm her down when her father drove away. Very few moments where I am moved by a child's acting, and this was one of them.

yeah wellyou're an idiot

Divorce or no divorce had my child acted like that she would have been slapped upside the head. I wasn't saddened by the final scene, I wanted to smack her because they had made her SO very unappealing.
There is also this sentiment we have that somehow all children are precious little wonders. Hitler was a child once

I don't hate Bernice, it's only natural for a child to blame someone, anyone - even if its the closest person to you in your life. They need someone to lash out at, even if it was the parent who did nothing wrong. And Mae Whitman did a fantastic job! How a 10year old actress can do the scene where her dad is driving away from her for the last time is beyond me. She did that scene perfectly, and it even made me weep a little. And I rarely cry in films.
10/10 this film wasSANDRA BULLOCK was amazing! As was Harry Connick Jr.

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