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Letting Go

Name: Letting Go
Director: Jack Bender
Released: 1985
Duration: 104 min

Representation Score

6.0/10

Fair

1985

Director

Jack Bender

Runtime

104 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Letting Go serves as a character-driven social satire that questions the authority of mid-century psychological norms. It employs a screwball comedy framework to dissect the emerging self-help industry of the 1980s. While the film offers a nuanced critique of institutionalized behavioral standards, it remains constrained by the era's casting practices. The absence of diverse representation in race and LGBTQ+ identity keeps the overall score moderate.

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Category Breakdown

Does Letting Go have LGBTQ+ representation?

Limited

The story centers on a heterosexual relationship between a widower and an unmarried woman. There are no visible LGBTQ+ narratives or non-straight identities in the main plot.

How does Letting Go portray gender?

Fair

The film highlights emotional vulnerability by challenging traditional masculine toughness. It avoids typical patriarchal clichés by focusing on the shared complexities of grief and social readjustment.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Letting Go?

Limited

The show maintains a uniform cast typical of 1980s television. There is no indication of significant racial diversity or non-Anglo-Saxon majority representation.

How does Letting Go represent religion and culture?

Good

The narrative presents a critical view of Western psychological institutions. It mocks the era's self-help industry and the clinical authority of behavior modification theories.

Does Letting Go include disability representation?

Fair

Themes of mental health and emotional struggle are explored through group therapy settings. However, characters with neurodivergence or physical disabilities have limited influence over their storylines.

Present on Screen

Highlights male vulnerability through a comedic lens, subverting traditional masculine toughness.
Offers a sophisticated satirical critique of contemporary psychological and social engineering trends.
Avoids typical patriarchal clichés by emphasizing the shared emotional journey of its main characters.

Limited or Absent

Lacks significant racial diversity or non-Anglo-Saxon majority casting.
Does not include any representation of LGBTQ+ identities or queer narratives.
Characters with neurodivergence or physical disabilities have limited influence over their storylines.

Official Synopsis

Letting Go stars John Ritter as a widower and Sharon Gless as a lonely unmarried woman. They meet during a group-therapy session. Romance is inevitable, but the road to true happiness is pockmarked by a series of comic complications. Advertised as a straight romantic drama, Letting Go is actually more akin to the screwball comedies of the 1930s, with a strong satirical bent regarding "behavior modification" theories. The made-for-TV film debuted May 11, 1985.

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