After receiving a well-earned certification from a sheltered boarding school, Carla Tate, an ambitious and mildly mentally disabledyoung woman, returns home to her over-protective and slightly snobby mother Elizabeth. Elizabeth seems to act as if she is embarrassed about her youngest daughter's disability. During family discussions, Elizabeth adopts an uneasy attitude. Carla's father Radley is a dentist and recovering alcoholic. Carla's ambition is to seek more independence from her family by earning a diploma from a trade school. When Carla meets another mentally disabled student, Daniel McMann , they become friends and soon fall in love together. Envying Danny's freedom, Carla convinces her parents she is capable of living on her own and moves into her own apartment. After a time, Carla and Danny become sexually active together. Danny's independence is financially compromised when his wealthy and emotionally detached father abruptly stops sending subsistence money. Danny begins to realize that the independence he enjoyed comes with a staggering cost. Danny gets drunk, then seeks solace and insight from his landlord and friend, Ernie. During a Christmas party at the country club, Danny, nervous about his personal lot, drinks too much to build up his courage to declare his love for Carla. He is also telling everyone about their first time making love. A humiliated Carla bursts into tears, screaming at everyone to stop laughing at her. Although Daniel did not intend to embarrass Carla, she nonetheless refuses to see him. Over time, Carla realizes she still loves Danny and wants to see him again despite her mother's advising her otherwise. At her older sister Caroline's wedding, Danny surprises Carla by showing up at the church. Also, he is asking Carla to marry him, in a scene mimicking The Graduate, the couple's favorite film. Everyone supports their wishes except Elizabeth, who is unsure Danny can take care of himself, let alone Carla. Carla angrily tells her mother off that she is sick of her combination of three behaviors: dominance, negativity, and doubt. Also, Carla is sick of her mother constantly treating her like two things at once: an embarrassment and a handicap. Radley and her sisters Heather and Caroline support her decision, and the wedding is planned. At first, Elizabeth is determined not to attend, but Radley admonishes her. He said that he will walk Carla down the aisle. Finally, after realizing how selfish she has been acting, Elizabeth relents. Outside the church, Danny surprises Carla with a marching band playing a song from The Music Man... and they are chauffeured away to their honeymoon in Ernie's prized Mustang.
All track information and credits were taken from the CD liner notes.
Release
Box office
The Other Sister opened at #3 at the North American box office making $6.6 million in its opening weekend behind Payback and 8mm, which opened at the top spot. It ultimately grossed $27.8 million in the United States and Canada, failing to recoup its $35 million budget, becoming a box office bomb.
Critical reception
The film received negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film maintains a 29% rating, based on 48 reviews, with an average rating of 4.7/10. The site's consensus: "Made-for-tv drama evokes anything but real emotion." Metacritic reports a 28 out of 100 rating, based on 21 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Roger Ebert rated the film at one out of four possible stars, and said the film was "shameless in its use of mental retardation as a gimmick, a prop and a plot device."
