| Sherrybaby | 
 enlarge | Director: Laurie Collyer
Actors: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ryan Simpkins, Sam Bottoms, Michelle Hurst, Sandra Rodriguez
Studio: IFC Films
Category: DVD
List Price: $27.98
Buy New: $2.96
You Save: $25.02 (89%)
New (51) Used (52) from $2.49
Avg. Customer Rating:  54 reviews
Sales Rank: 11287
Format: Ac-3, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 96
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: MCAD33436D
UPC: 025193343628
EAN: 0025193343628
ASIN: B000JBXXYK
Theatrical Release Date: 2006
Release Date: January 23, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: ******BRAND NEW****** ** Over 1.5 million orders shipped worldwide and more than 500 000 items in stock, BUY FROM A TRUSTED SOURCE, ESTABLISHED SINCE 1998 - INETVIDEO ~~~
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
A disturbing film about a recovering drug addict trying to regain control of her life, Sherrybaby succinctly depicts what can happen when want and desire aren't offset by control. In this bleak indie film, Sherry Swanson (Maggie Gyllenhaal, Stranger Than Fiction, Secretary) has just been released from a three-year stint in prison. Dressed in her inappropriate uniform of a halter top and oh-so-high platform heels, she goes to brother's house to see her 5-year-old daughter, Lexie (Ryan Simpkins). Sherry is determined to be a mother to her child, but without a home, job, or any other form of stability, she grows frustrated and jealous of her brother and sister-in-law's roles in Lexie's life. Tall and willowy, Gyllenhaal brings a sad desperation and simmering sexuality to the role. Sherry's middle-class childhood was a blur of sex and drugs, and she seems incapable of breaking out of that destructive trap. While the script by first-time feature film director Laurie Collyer isn't wholly original, the picture moves at a good pace, giving insight as to why Sherry's resigned to using sex to get what she wants. While the family secret doesn't come as a complete surprise, it is somewhat perplexing that no one addresses it. Ultimately, it's Gyllenhaal who makes you care about a character that most people would've given up on. --Jae-Ha Kim
Product Description
Sherry is a young woman with a history of drug abuse & emotional turmoil. Just out of prison she finds herself struggling against all odds to reconnect with her estranged 5-year-old daughter while trying to readjust to the outside world. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 01/23/2007 Starring: Maggie Gyllenhaal Brad William Henke Run time: 96 minutes Rating: R
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| Customer Reviews: Read 49 more reviews...
 a satisfying tale September 24, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Sherry is a troubled woman who just got out of prison for drug related charges. While she was incarcerated, her brother and his wife help take care of her young daughter and are more or less like parents to her. The story focuses on Sherry changing her life so that she can be a mother to her daughter. Later in the film we see that Sherry is far from recovered... she relapses and she continues to make bad decisions.
It seemed a little cruel with how Sherry's brother and his wife told the child to call her mother "Sherry" instead of mom, but what happens later in the film makes it all the more understandable. We see that Sherry is mostly a child herself emotionally and came from a dysfunctional environment where she had been molested by her father.
The film was sad, but these kinds of stories are played out everyday in real life.
Satisfying, but in a "let's discuss" kind of way September 15, 2008
The intelligent, engaging "Sherrybaby" probably reveals more about the people who watch it than it ultimately does about its own characters. As seen in many of these reviews, some viewers will empathize with Sherry, feeling bad that her kid is essentially being taken from her by her brother and his wife. Others will recognize and appreciate the sacrifice Sherry's brother and his wife are doing in raising a little girl who'd otherwise be subject to an unstable mother.
I related to both views. Sherry has a good heart and is a strong woman in many ways, but she's in a damaged emotional state that makes it all too easy for her to weaken and turn again to drugs. Sherry's brother Bobby and his wife just want Sherry's daughter to have a decent upbringing, but they can often be needlessly insensitive when discussing the little girl with her mother. In other words, these characters are genuinely complex and make for an interesting, thoughtful film. But you'll have to be open to a film that doesn't offer easy answers.
Myself, I saw a ray of hope at the end for these characters' futures. In the unlikely event that there's a "Sherrybaby II" (for better or worse, small, interesting art house movies generally don't get sequels), I like to think that we'd see that these characters had eventually reached a situation or accommodation among themselves where everyone has gained a little peace and a sense of being fairly treated.
"Sherrybaby" features an anamorphic widescreen image that looks great on a flatscreen TV, and the movie sounds great, too. There are no extras to speak of, except for a trailer that goes a little over-the-top in its praise of Maggie Gyllenhaal's admittedly excellent portrayal: the trailer actually uses the phrase "Oscar bait!" like those classic movie-parody skits on the old SCTV show. But don't let a few goofy moments in the trailer put you off. "Sherrybaby" is definitely worth a look.
Excellent and understated movie with a powerful message May 16, 2008
This was a fascinating movie, with a first-rate performance by actress Maggie Gyllenhaal as an ex-con on parole, a woman trying to pick up the pieces of her life, including a daughter who has been raised in her absence by her brother and sister-in-law.
The beauty of this movie is in the subtle and greatly understated moments. One scene in particular - during the reunion between Sherry and her father, has little dialogue, but watch the way she tries to get his attention; it's sad and disturbing. The viewer sees the entire reason why Sherry turned into an ex-con and a drug addict, in one moment.
The story itself is very emotional and thought-provoking. Sherry rolls into her daughter's life after being in prison. In her absence, her daughter was raised by her brother and his wife, and instead of being grateful, Sherry is angry and belligerent. The stark realism of the movie tells a sad and painful truth - most of the time, in real life, this is exactly the way things happen.
I really enjoyed this movie, even though watching it was a painful and emotionally draining experience. Rarely does a film have the ability to leave you a changed person, even in a small way, or provide some kind of mirror into the demons lurking inside your own soul. Very powerful movie.
"Tell me you love me..." February 11, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Sherrybaby starring the extraordinary Maggie Gyllenhaal is difficult to watch but it made a lasting impression on me. Gyllenhaal's fearless and childlike performance is what makes this film worth seeing, she plays Sherry who has been released from prison and is trying to rebuild her relationship with her young daughter. Her daughter is living with her brother Bobby and his wife and Sherry wants to do right for her daughter but obstacles and old habits creep back up again. This film isn't perfect and the ending isn't cut and dry but Sherrybaby doesn't sugarcoat or preach, it's raw and seething.
Gyllenhaal is astounding December 29, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Sherrybaby, starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, is a good film, but prepare to be rather depressed for a bit after seeing it. When we first meet Sherry Swanson (Gyllenhaal), she has recently been released from jail, where she served time for a drug-related robbery. Once she's released, she contacts her brother, Bobby, who has been keeping her child (Alexis) for her while she's been in the clink. The movie then follows Sherry as she tries to stay clean and put her life back together post-prison.
Gyllenhaal is AMAZING in this film. Really amazing. (I am a fan since The Secretary, but this cements it.) If anyone has any doubts as to whether she can act, this should answer them. The storyline is a downer, though, as nothing seems to go right for Sherry. The tension between her and her brother over the fate of the child, the vestiges of an abusive relationship with her father, her struggles with addiction, her desperate need to be loved - it all adds up to rather morose entertainment.
But it is charged with meaning and blessed with good performances, making it worth seeing in my book. FYI - there is LOTS of language and nudity.
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