The Facts of Life Reunion was a 2001 American made-for-television comedy film; the third and last of three movies to feature the characters from "The Facts of Life." It originally aired on ABC as a presentation of "The Wonderful World of Disney," occuring thirteen years after the last episode of the series, reaching a Nielsen ratings of 11.5 million viewers with a 7.1 rating, 11 share and ranked #51 out of about 123 shows.
Summary[]
It's been thirteen years, and Edna Garrett is now a widow. With the passing of her husband, she is heading back to America on a cruise ship to reunite with "her girls" for Thanksgiving, all of whom have grown into successful, independent women.
In the years since, Blair Warner has become a lawyer and started running a hotel empire under the Warner Enterprises brand with her husband, Tad Warner. Neither of them have any children, and Mrs. Garrett's son, Raymond Garrett has left accounting in order to manage for her.
Tootie has since given up her childhood nick-name, but she is still trying to get Natalie to get used to it. Now preferring to be called Dorothy, she has stopped acting to be a morning talk show host in Los Angeles, but she still desires to start acting again. Her husband, Jeff Williams, has passed, leaving her to raise their ten-year-old daughter, Tisha Ramsey on her own with help from her mother.
Natalie Green has become a television news producer at CNN. Despite her job, she has an active love life and a frenetic work schedule that takes her all over the world with two of her beaus, Jonathan Monroe and Robert James trying to win her heart in marriage.
Jo Polniaczek has shifted her career into becoming police detective. Since breaking up with Eddie Brennan, she has married Rick Bonner and become the mother of a twelve-year-old daughter named Jaime Bonner. Unfortunately, she is currently protecting and transporting a Federal witness and can't reunite with the others.
Natalie has talked Mrs. Garrett and all the girls into spending the Thanksgiving holiday together back in Peekskill, New York. Rick and Jamie instead arrive in her absence. Meanwhile, Johnathan and Robert also unexpectedly show up at the reunion to woo Natalie. The girls decide to help solve Natalie's predicament, and over the course of the holiday, the girls reveal to one another the personal troubles they face in their adult years and discover that, despite the time that has passed, they need each other's friendship more than ever.
Cast[]
- Charlotte Rae as Edna Garrett
- Lisa Whelchel as Blair Warner
- Mindy Cohn as Natalie Green
- Kim Fields as Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey
- Joel Brooks as Raymond Garrett
- Carl Marotte as Rick Bonner (Jo's husband)
- Mallory Margel as Jaime Bonner (Jo's daughter)
- Kevin Jubinville as Tad Warner (Blair's husband)
- Alexandra Johnson as Tisha Ramsey (Tootie's daughter)
- Jeffrey Ray as Jonathan Monroe
- Barclay Hope as Robert James
- Mark Lutz as Harper Jason
- Joe Dinicol as Sam
Trivia[]
- Nancy McKeon was unable to reprise her role as Jo Polniaczek for the movie due to a scheduling conflict with her role in the television series "The Division." She had even met with the reunion's producers early on and jokingly offered to direct the movie if the plot revolved around Jo's death.
- The reunion was filmed between September 10, 2001 to October 8, 2001 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. All the outdoor scenes in Peekskill and the train station were filmed at the same as the September 11, 2001 attack in New York City.
- In addition to Jo, several series regulars and recurring characters from the series do not appear in the movie. Although brief mentions are made to George Burnett, Roy and Mr. Parker, no reference is made about Beverly Ann Stickle, Andy Moffett, Pippa McKenna or any of the girls from the first season.
- When Jaime arrives at the hotel, she practically mirrors Nancy McKeon's first appearance from the series, even as far as getting confused as a boy.
Quotes[]
- Coming Up