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*What Makes a Family*
What Makes a Family
	Film poster
Genre	Drama
Written by	Robert L. Freedman
Directed by	Maggie Greenwald
Starring	Brooke Shields; Cherry Jones; Anne Meara; Al Waxman; Whoopi Goldberg;
Music by	David Mansfield
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Barbra Streisand; Cis Corman; Craig Zadan; Neil Meron; Whoopi Goldberg;
Producer	Wendy Grean
Production location	Toronto
Cinematography	Rhett Morita
Editor	Keith Reamer
Running time	120 minutes
Production companies	Barwood Films; Columbia TriStar Television; Storyline Entertainment; Whoop Inc.;
Original release
Network	Lifetime
Release	January 22, 2001

What Makes a Family is a 2001 American drama television film directed by Maggie Greenwald, written by Robert L. Freedman, and starring Brooke Shields, Cherry Jones, Anne Meara, Al Waxman, and Whoopi Goldberg. The film premiered on Lifetime on January 22, 2001.^[1]

Plot

Based on a true story, the film involves a lesbian couple living in Florida who choose to have a child. Janine Nielsen and her partner, Sandy Cataldi, elect to conceive a baby via artificial insemination with Sandy as the biological mother. After the birth of their daughter Heather, Sandy is diagnosed with systemic lupus when she collapses at the baby's christening. The couple handles the disease for several years until Sandy dies. Following her death, Sandy's parents sue to gain custody of the child. Addressing moral, legal and ethical issues, Janine's lawyer, Terry Harrison, wins the custody battle after a video tape surfaces in which Sandy expressed her love for both Janine and Heather and her wish for them to stay together.

Cast

Brooke Shields as Janine Nielssen
Cherry Jones as Sandy Cataldi
Anne Meara as Evelyn Cataldi
Al Waxman as Frank Cataldi
Whoopi Goldberg as Terry Harrison
Jordy Benattar as Heather Cataldi
Melanie Nicholls-King as Nora
Dean McDermott as O'Brien
Sean McCann as Judge Black
Jayne Eastwood as Judge Shales

Production

The film was directed by Maggie Greenwald and written by Robert L. Freedman. The executive producers were Barbra Streisand, Whoopi Goldberg, Cis Corman, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron.^[2] Filming took place in Toronto.^[1]

Reception

Ron Wertheimer of The New York Times praised several aspects of movie and stated: "Dripping with good intentions but enriched by performances of genuine depth, What Makes a Family, tonight on Lifetime, rises several notches above the usual based-on-a-true-story television movie."^[3] Andy Webb of The Movie Scene gave the film three out of five stars, concluding: "What this all boils down to is that "What Makes a Family" was not the movie I expected and in some ways a far better one. Instead of being the legal drama about rights what you get is this pleasant drama about being a family and it works."^[4]

What Makes a Family won one GLAAD Media Award in the category of "Outstanding Television Movie". The film was also nominated for one Humanitas Prize in the category of "90 Minute or Longer Cable Category".^[5]