Firstborn Reviews

This flawed but interesting Freudian melodrama spends about 70 minutes making points and the last 30 minutes losing them. Teri Garr plays Wendy, a divorcee with two sons (Corey Haim and Christopher Collet). When Wendy learns that her ex-husband is about to remarry, she loses her cool. In implicit revenge, she takes an inappropriate young man (Peter Weller) as her lover. He turns out to be a sinister interloper, manipulating Wendy's insecurities, insinuating himself into the household, and setting the family at odds. Wendy, however, defends her lover against her boys' suspicions, and the rift widens. Weller is excellent as the sleazy visitor, and Garr's portrayal of a victimized neurotic is equally good. The plausible depiction of this family's angst almost compensates for the de rigeur violent chase sequence and sappy ending.