Changing Habits
Changing Habits
R | 20 May 1997 (USA)
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An aspiring artist runs from men as a result of an early life problem that has left her relationship with her father strained. She decides to move into a convent where troubled women receive cheap lodging in exchange for work. She finds a dirty area in the basement where she paints a mural that deals with all of her psychological problems. While some find it gaudy, others such as the mother superior realizes its potential to save the convent which is to be closed. During all this the artist starts a relationship with a man who owns an art supply shop where she shop-lifts her supplies. Written by John Sacksteder

Reviews
Desertman84

Changing Habits stars Moira Kelly together with Christopher Lloyd,Terri Garr and Shelley Duvall.This is about a female aspiring artist that is running away from men as a result of a traumatic strained relationship that she had with her father and decides to stay in a convent where troubled women are accommodated for a cheap rental.Lynn Roth directed the film.Susan "Soosh" Teagarden is an aspiring artist with plenty of emotional baggage as she felt distant from her alcoholic father who wasn't able to show his love for her while her mother died at while she was very young.Soosh was kicked out of her apartment after she was caught shoplifting.Then she decided to stay in a convent where she was allowed to stay for a cheap rental.Unfortunately,she has had problems working with the nuns.But nevertheless,the Mother Superior helps her to put her life back together again.Any film having Moira Kelly is really worth watching.She is a very talented actress.Too bad that her career did not go as successful as an A-list actress similar to Julia Roberts but nevertheless I still would enjoy watching her in any film that she is involved in.Too bad that this film is basically all about Moira's great acting.She definitely presented Soosh as a troubled character.It was just unfortunate that her acting alone cannot overcome the numerous flaws this movie have.The script was obviously written all over the place as it was hard to categorize as it did not focus on Soosh's coming- of-age story with too many things of her life being brought up.It would have been a better movie if that wasn't the case.

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Amy Adler

Sush (Moira Kelly) works in a theatrical costume shop by day and is an aspiring painter by night. She gets her talent naturally, being the daughter of a somewhat famous artist named Theo (Christopher Lloyd). As a skinflint personified, Sush sets her mind on finding a small apartment in a large convent run by a worldly nun (Eileen Brennan). Telling the sister that she was abandoned by her boyfriend and suffered a painful miscarriage, too, Sush gets her apartment all right. Considering that the rent is $25 a week, Sush would be hard pressed to find anything as cheap in the city of Los Angeles. Of course, she must do some chores for the convent and look over an elderly resident during the night hours. One night, she finds a basement area that is never visited by the convent's inhabitants. She decides to paint a large mural on one of the walls. Paint costs money, however, and Sush is a world class shoplifter. Nevertheless, the art supply store manager, Felix (Dylan Walsh) catches her in the act. Since he is young and handsome and Sush is a pretty lady, he declares that he will let her have the tubes of paint if she has dinner with him. She agrees, reluctantly. In truth, Sush has a lot of issues, from a painful estrangement with her father to a general mistrust of the male population. Will Sush be willing to engage in a romance and a possible reconciliation with her dad? This is an interesting little movie, far off the beaten path. The principal actors, including Kelly, Walsh, Lloyd, Brennan, Teri Garr, and Shelley Duvall are a total delight and add greatly to the film's enjoyment. The Los Angeles setting is diverse and beautiful, from the lovely old convent to the seedy costume shop to the waterfront, where Felix lives in a tugboat. Then, too, the costumes have been nicely selected and the look of the production is fine. The script has imagination and zest but also sports a bit of raw language. In summary, you could change your movie viewing habits considerably if you track down this movie for an evening's pleasure. Far from being formulaic, this film has enough surprises, ingenuity, and romance to turn the tables on more mundane entertainment choices.

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smatysia

I guess this film never found a distributor, since I never heard of it until it hit cable. A lot of familiar names in the cast, who all did creditable performances. Moira Kelly did well with her role, which contained considerable character development. Christopher Lloyd played his role refreshingly low-key. A better film than I expected.

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Lucky-47

The movie is about a girl named Susan who is trying to live her life independently from her father. She has a lot of animosity for her father because she blames him for the abject memories of her childhood. Moira Kelly plays Susan who steals and lies to get what she desires. She deceived her way into a convent after she was evicted from her apartment. She shop lifts paint supplies from a local art store. She justifies her actions by the moral standard she learned from her parents. Then she meets a guy named Felix who looks past these moral flaws and helps her face the past. She learns a lot from Felix and over time she decides to face her past and learns that her father isn't the person who is to blame for her wretched childhood.Susan carries a lot of emotional baggage from her past like resentment, anger and hatred. I got a chance to witness another side to Moira's acting abilities that I haven't seen in a previous film. Moira displays these emotions very vividly and her mannerisms add another dimension to her character. I also liked Christopher Lloyd who has starred in the Back To The Future trilogy. His character is in turmoil over Susan's past and how he desperately wants to be a part of her present life.I neither liked nor disliked this movie. I am indifferent. This movie can be somber or uplifting and humorous. It just depends on how you interpret the subject matter. Moira and Christopher are very good and I only wish other actors and actresses could take lessons from them. The memories that Susan and her father share is the reason why I think this movie is very sad.

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