The Story Lady

The moral of "The Story Lady" is something along the lines of the dangers associated with commercialization. Which makes it ironic, in a way, that the story arc of the film itself makes very nearly the same mistakes it warns against. The most powerful passages of this film revolve around the first scenes of Grace McQueen (Jessica Tandy) at the public access cable studio. Tandy has by far the superior acting capability to carry a film based solely on this premise. Somewhat unfortunately, then, does Robert Zeschin's script take a much more unnecessarily complex route.

But such are the dangers of low-ambition TV movies. Jessica Tandy is this film. She is the reason it exists, and why it is so much worth watching. Everything else (save for a wonderful performance from young Lisa Jakub) is par for the course. In spite of that, there's no reason not to like, even love "The Story Lady". Tandy creates a character of wondrous depth and reality. There's nothing remotely false or off about her performance. I very much encourage you to see this film.