While some may think a white child with a black parent is a rare occurrence, a recent story revealed that the mother of six of Thomas Jefferson's children was a black slave by the name of Sally Hemming. Richard Pearce's A Family Thing is a modern day fictional example of such racial mixing. The film is a comedy but has serious overtones in its thoughtful look at America's racial divide. When 60-year-old Earl Pilcher's elderly mother Carrie dies, she leaves him a letter that the local pastor (Nathan Lee Lewis) delivers to him after her death. The Arkansas equipment rental manager is shocked to read in the letter that his real mother was Willa Mae (Patrice Pittman Quinn), an African-American who was impregnated by his father (James N. Harrell)."Nobody knew," the letter says, "because you came up white. Willie Mae died having you. I was right there." Needless to say, this piece of information does not sit well with Earl who was raised by the Pilchers and never questioned his heritage. To compound Earl's confusion and disbelief, he also finds out that he has an African-American brother, Ray Murdoch (James Earl Jones), who lives in Chicago. When Mrs. Pilcher implores Earl to find his brother, Piclher suddenly takes off to Chicago in his old pickup truck without telling his family the reason for his departure. In Chicago, he discovers that his brother Ray is a cop who works in the office of Chicago's mayor, that he knows all about him, and is not happy about seeing his brother again, blaming him for his mother's death.Finding himself in a dangerous part of town, Earl is held up, mugged, and has his truck stolen. After getting out of the hospital and needing a place to stay, he is reluctantly put up by his brother who lives in a flat with his son Virgil (Michael Beach) and his elderly, blind Aunt T (Irma P. Hall) who brought him up. Even though Ray tries to convince her that Pilcher is an old Army friend, the wise old woman isn't buying. "Stop BS-ing me," she says "Earl Pilcher -- I know all about your sorry half-black a -- ." Once they get over the shock of recognition, the plot unfolds in a predictable but highly entertaining manner as the brothers discover they have more in common than they thought.Earl gets drunk and winds up sleeping under a bridge. Virgil reveals that he had a serious leg injury that curtailed a promising football career and listens to some upbeat suggestions from his uncle. There is also a wonderful scene with Earl and his blind aunt shopping at a supermarket where she has memorized the inventory, and a moving flashback to Earl's birth. Though both Duvall and Jones are accomplished veteran actors, Hall steals the show and makes the film special. Old Aunt T. sums up the film's message when she says, "I don't have the blessing of being able to separate people out by looking at them no more." That kind of colorblindness is a blessing more people ought to have.

Robert Duvall plays an aging Southerner who discovers he has a half-brother -- and worse, their mother was black! He journeys to Chicago to meet his half-brother (James Earl Jones), who is as shaken as he to discover their connection. The blind Aunt T. (Irma Hall), who lives with Jones, helps the two men sort out their differences. A familiar TV face, Michael Beach, plays Jones' grown son, who is dealing with personal problems and not exactly overjoyed to have a white man -- worse, a bona fide cracker -- in the family. Duvall walks away with this one. He is amazing. At one point, after having been carjacked and beaten and wandering off from Jones in anger and hurt feelings, he finds himself in a bar where he drunkenly invites himself to join a table of folks celebrating one of the ladies' birthdays. They're black, and his redneck, incorrect way of talking to them becomes painful to hear. He is that convincing. The last shot of the movie, which is absolutely precious, has Aunt T. walking away from the camera, headed for the market. Veteran movie and TV director Richard Pearce made this from a script cowritten by Billy Bob Thornton. A must-see.

I feel some of the best movies are those that depict human drama... Movies that 'could really happen' and this is one of them. "A Family Thing" is a story about an aging southern white man who learns at his mother's deathbed that not only was he adopted, but that his birth mother was black. This Robert Duvall / James Earl Jones pairing is superb! Aunt T (Irma P Hall) ties the movie together with her love for a dead sister's child deep enough to bridge any racial barrier. Her character uses homespun wisdom to enlighten 'the boys' with heartwarming honesty. Scenes include arguments/wrestling matches just like two natural siblings would participate in.. and of course there are moments when Aunt T's wisdom coaxes two half brothers into being whole ones... All in all A Good Watch....

This movie stars Robert Duval and James Earl Jones as sons of the same mother. Robert Duval's character is not legally adopted, but he is raised to believe that someone who is not his mother is his mother. This movie seems more interested in exploring racial issues, but not even that overtly. It makes certain that the pain of the mother is avoided as subject matter. It would be nice if all family members separated by adoption were able to accept each other this quickly and painlessly.