Pun Salad

Originally a made-for-HBO movie, Temple Grandin scored 7 Emmy awards, and was nominated for 8 others. Nevertheless, it's good! (The 8.4 IMDB rating is good enough to put it into IMDB's Top 250 movies of all time, but they don't put made-for-TV movies in there.)

So it's not just another disease-of-the-month flick. It's the as-far-as-I-know true story of autistic Temple Grandin. It describes her triumph against formidable odds: not only her autism, but also prejudice against her disability and gender. (It doesn't help that her chosen field, animal husbandry, isn't exactly a hotbed of tolerance and sensitivity.) Fortunately, she has some formidable allies too, primarily her aunt (Catherine O'Hara), her mom (Julia Ormond), and an understanding science teacher (David Strathairn).

The movie steers clear of preachiness and sentimentality. It also has some very funny scenes. (Don't blink or you'll miss Temple's reaction when she first hears the term "animal husbandry.") Claire Danes is very good in her role as Temple; this will come as no surprise to those of us who saw her subtle performance in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.

If I had one complaint, it would be that they hammered on that opening-door metaphor a trifle overmuch. If you watch it, you'll see what I mean.