The story is, basically, a suburban-based update of "Hud" for the 1980s...well-written, but much too pro-conformity. Essentially, Jason Patric and DeeDee Pfeiffer share the Paul Newman role; Bruce Dern and Piper Laurie share Melvyn Douglas's role; Lee Remick has Patricia Neal's; and Eric Schiff is in Brandon De Wilde's. The biggest differences between "Hud" and "Toughlove" are as follows: the latter's happy ending seems somehow forced and thus phony; Patric and Pfeiffer pop pills in addition to getting drunk and joy-riding. The worst aspect of "Toughlove" is that, like the similar "Not My Kid," the script makes the mistake of treating drug addiction like a moral weakness...rather than like a disease, which it actually is.
