Molly Singer (Tina Majorino) lost the will to speak after the death of her mother. Her father Manny (Ray Liotta) is helpless. He hires sassy nanny Corrina Washington (Whoopi Goldberg). She's educated and aspires to write for magazines. The interview doesn't go well but Molly seems to interact with her. Molly slowly opens up to Corrina. Manny is an atheist and so was his wife. Corrina comforts Molly by telling her that her mom is in heaven. His co-workers set him with Jenny Davis (Wendy Crewson) with her own two boys. Molly is being bullied at school and she doesn't want to go to school. It's the last 50s. Manny and Corrina develop a relationship and many people aren't happy about it.
I do have a problem with Liotta and Goldberg pairing. Goldberg has never been the romantic type and I don't see her with any sexual chemistry. That makes the relationship problematic for a mainstream movie. There seems to be a few other general problems in this movie. Writer/director Jessie Nelson sets up a lot of stuff but they all seem to be left unresolved. She sets up the religious angle and nothing really happens. There is the racial angle but it never heats up to a point of danger. That doesn't accentuate the drama. It's almost as if the movie is more scared of the material than the audience. Tina Majorino is adorable. She keeps the heart in this story. This could have been a much better movie.
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