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After her husband's unexpected death and subsequent financial woes, suburban mom Nancy Botwin (Parker) embraces a new profession: the neighborhood pot dealer. As it seems like everyone secretly wants what she's selling -- even city councilman Doug Wilson (Nealon) -- Nancy is faced with keeping her family life in check and her enterprise a secret from her neighbor/pseudo-friend/PTA president, Celia Hodes (Perkins).
When her husband, Judah, dies of a sudden heart attack while out with his ten-year-old son, Shane, Nancy Botwin finds herself in a financial crisis. With no other option available to her, she turns to Conrad Shepard and his family to sell cannabis, using a fake bakery to move the goods. Aided by her wayward black-sheep brother-in-law, Andy (Judah's younger brother), she struggles to keep her new means of bill-solving secret from suspicious PTA members and her nosy neighbors as well as from her children, Shane and his teenage brother, Silas. Coping without Judah as the patriarch of the family reflects in the Botwins, especially Shane, who is going through the painful process of growing up without his dad, with Andy as the reluctant and rather poor substitute for father-and-son topics that go with growing up. Watch "Weeds"
more . . .
Mary Louise Parker plays a widowed suburban housewife forced to create
new ways to generate enough income to support the lifestyle she and her
family had become accustomed before her husband departed. Parker and
Elizabeth Perkins are excellent representations of housewives dealing
with serious problems in this unrealistic yet frighteningly realistic
comedy about living in the suburbs. Unrealistic because it is doubtful
that this scenario could actually take place but realistic because the
actors portray real suburban characters that you might meet anywhere in
the US. The PTA scenes are a scream to any mom that has attended these
mundane meetings. Kevin Nealon is great as the always high accountant
looking to score and Justin Kirk accurately plays Parkers outrageously
screwed up brother-in-law that can't seem to stay out of trouble. Even
though this is a comedy, it also examines important aspects of suburban
life. Drug abuse, race relations, cancer, homosexuality, mortality and
morality are all explored in a real life yet unreal setting. It kind of
makes you think while you are laughing at the superb dialog.
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