With ‘From Scratch,’ Netflix cooks up its version of a Lifetime weepie
For the first time, Netflix has the rights to a classic Lifetime movie — and it’s making quite a stab at it. Based on the original play by Lynn Nottage, “Gone Too Long” chronicles the story of a father (Fred Clausen) who, like Christopher Reeves’ character in the 1996 thriller “The Lost Boys,” has been separated from his family for too long. At first, his two sons aren’t sure the father should bother to bring them together again. But in the end, they discover their father and each other, as Clausen finally admits his true feelings for his sons.
To get started, Netflix enlisted the help of composer and longtime Lifetime fan Dan Klores (whom we’ve already featured on the network in the past), who wrote an original score based on the original book and screenplay. While Clausen and his sons don’t appear in the video that’s streaming to members of the Netflix Movie Club, the video uses footage from the film — which includes never-before-seen clips from the movie — as an introduction to the film, which Netflix has released to mark the film’s 20th anniversary.
If you thought “Gone Too Long” was just a Lifetime-type drama, think again. Netflix’s version is much different than the original movie, which has been criticized as a sentimental, preachy melodrama that trivializes mental illness. The trailer suggests that Netflix has done a more thoughtful job of adapting the film to its streaming platform, not just making it a Lifetime movie, but creating a modern, contemporary drama.
Netflix’s “Gone Too Long,” adapted by Lynn Nottage, is the story of a father (Fred Clausen) who, like Christopher Reeves’ character in the 1996 thriller “The Lost Boys,” has been separated from his family for too long.
Netflix
The film is set in the present day, and, like some Lifetime movies, does have one or two throwaway moments that don’t add much