The original film, which I call "Sarah Big & Ugly" wasn't bad, even though I wanted to clout the two whiny little rug rats in it about every ten minutes. This one, however, like most sequels, was dreck.Five second recap: Sarah and Jacob are watching the weather in Kansas get drier and drier while all their neighbors pack up and leave the prairie because their wells have dried up. The barn burns down and Sarah has an unintentionally hilarious Prozac-on-the-prairie moment when Jacob tries to shoot a coyote that's drinking from their scarce water supply. Probably thinking "I've got to get this crazy b**** out of my hair!" Jacob sends Sarah and the two whiny rug rats to stay with her relatives in Maine.Did I mention these relatives? Man, were they weird. I could see where Sarah got it from, and also why they must have been so anxious to pack her skinny ass off to Kansas the first chance they got.Through her patented Weird Old Lady telepathy abilities, Aunt Lou (who must be some sort of prehistoric bulldyke in her overalls, working at the veterinary clinic to boot) declares that Sarah's got a bun in the oven. Then Jacob shows up in a sissy city-boy ensemble to pack her and the kids home since, in fact, it has actually rained back in Kansas thanks to his skillful deployment of sitting on the porch listening to Sarah's victrola and looking mournful. And he's absolutely THRILLED to learn that the wife is knocked up. Gee, I can hardly wait for installment 3. Not.

Excellent story about a mail-order-bride, Glenn Close,(Sarah Witting),"The Shield",TV'02, who lives in CT where everything is green to the Mid-West and becomes the bride to Christopher Walken,(Jacob Witting),"Domino",'05, and a beautiful story of love becomes a very strong thing between Jacob's son and daughter. These two perfect soul mates, joined together as one flesh, have some problems which farmers do encounter through out many generations past and in the future. Many times we take for granted the things that Nature provides and when it does not appear, our very lives become a great disaster. This is a very wonderful love story and the children gave an outstanding performance. Good Clean entertainment

A Short Synopsis: Jacob and Sarah Whitting (Christopher Walken and Glenn Close) and their children are struggling through a drought on their farm in Kansas in 1912. Their friends are all giving up on the land and packing up their families. The Whittings struggle to save the home they love, though Sarah doesn't believe she truly loves it. Throughout this hard time, Sarah selfishly wishes to have a child. A series of fires destroy crops and property, and as their water supply runs down, Jacob sends Sarah and the children, Caleb and Anna, to visit Sarah's relatives in Maine. After the long train ride, Sarah is reunited with old friends and relatives. Aunt Lou recognizes that Sarah is expecting, though she hasn't told anyone, and the children enjoy their first view of the sea that Sarah had so vividly described. Time passes, and both Jacob and Sarah suffer in their separation, longing for each other. Finally, the drought ends and Jacob comes to Maine. Sarah finally tells Jacob that they will soon be parents, and upon returning to Kansas, Sarah realizes her love of the land.A Short Commentary: The first shot is of the dog, and the dog is really the only character who has not been drastically and horribly changed between the first and second movies. The writing was clichéd and the plot especially was childishly conceived and lacked complexity and sophistication. Both Christopher Walken and Glenn Close were one-dimensional, which is to be expected from Christopher and was very effective for his character in the first movie, but Glenn was equally unrealistic and unemotional. Considering that she was able to play a convincingly real Cruella DeVil, this must be chalked up to truly bad direction. Cinematographically, the film was quite poorly made: Scenes were repeatedly begun with a badly focused tracking shot, and the camera angles were less imaginative and more juvenile than the worst amateur filmmakers. The lighting, especially in the fire scenes, was atrocious. In short, it is quite bad.

Skylark was a great follow-up on Sarah, Plain and Tall. There were new conflicts to be resolved, and the cast of characters expanded to add Sarah's brother, sister-in-law, and her three aunts. Sarah and Jacob were married in the last film, but in spite of her love for her new family and her new life, Sarah still misses her old home. It doesn't help that the Kansas is now facing a drought, and there is an alarming scarcity of water. Sarah and her family watch as their friends move away, trying to find a better home, but Sarah and Jacob are determined to stay until the end. Or at least until something devestating happens, that causes Jacob to move Sarah and the children away. Sarah takes them back to Maine, and there they stay, while Jacob lives on in Kansas, trying to wait out the drought that plagues the land. I loved this film, and especially the ending, which shows that true love can span a continent, if need be. Once more, Glenn Close is superb as Sarah, and Christopher Walken is magnificent in his role as well. I highly recommend it to everyone.