You are here:

Home at Last

Name: Home at Last
Director: David DeVries
Released: 1988
Duration: 58 min

Representation Score

1.9/10

Minimal

1988

Director

David DeVries

Runtime

58 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

Home at Last is a conventional period drama that prioritizes the preservation of traditional social structures. While it offers some ethnic specificity through its Swedish-American setting, the story ultimately centers on assimilation and the reinforcement of established domestic hierarchies. The film relies on sentimentalism and the affirmation of foundational Western institutions, functioning as a standard television movie of its era, focusing on emotional cohesion through a traditional family lens.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does Home at Last have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film does not include any LGBTQ+ characters or narratives that question the assumption that everyone is straight or cisgender. Instead, it focuses on a traditional adoptive family structure.

How does Home at Last portray gender?

Limited

The story follows a traditional patriarchal framework where the male head of the household holds the primary authority. Female characters have undefined roles, reinforcing traditional domesticity.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Home at Last?

Fair

The film introduces Swedish heritage through an immigrant family in the American West. However, the plot focuses on assimilation into a settled, agrarian lifestyle without challenging racial homogeneity.

How does Home at Last represent religion and culture?

Limited

The film celebrates traditional Western values and the sanctity of the family unit. It emphasizes community belonging and the virtues of an agrarian lifestyle without questioning institutional norms.

Does Home at Last include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no mention of characters with physical impairments or neurodivergence. No visible or invisible disabilities are present in the narrative.

Present on Screen

Offers ethnic specificity through the depiction of a Swedish immigrant family in the American West.

Limited or Absent

Does not include LGBTQ+ identities or non-assuming gender matches what was assigned at birth gender expressions.
Reinforces patriarchal authority and traditional gendered power dynamics.
Does not include characters with visible or invisible disabilities.
Adheres strictly to conventional social hierarchies and straight-centered domesticity.

Official Synopsis

Billy, a streetwise kid from New York City, is sent to Nebraska and is taken in by a Swedish farm family, the Andersons. Initially fearful and resentful, Billy doesn’t fit in, and he clashes with his new family and adoptive father (Frank Converse). Not until a terrible crisis occurs does Billy realize that, for the first time in his life, he truly belongs and is Home At Last.

How are these scores produced? →