If you can make it through the first 45" of whining, you should be ok. It does get revisited towards the end, but resolves shortly. The adult relationship has some merit, and the boy is wonderful. A truly despicable character tends to be almost clownlike, the father seems emotionless, fake tears and all. Sally Struthers is absolutely perfect in her part. The quotas are all met, of course. Where would we be without the quotas? I'm not sure why I continued down this massively flawed movie, but I did to the finish. When there is a character as unlikeable as the heroine, it is masterful to like her at the end.