man who essentially worked his way up from nothing, feels guilty about his wealth. Jerry provides him with an opportunity to do something for, in Dave's mind, the underprivileged and lower class. When he saves Jerry's life, he feels responsible for him and tries to rehabilitate him into mainstream society. Dave's feelings of responsibility run deep so he continually seeks to help Jerry in every way even though Jerry at first refuses help and then offers very little gratitude.
Jerry moves into the Whiteman household, a hodge-podge of quirky and distinctive people whose lives Jerry disrupts, each in a different way. First, there is Barbara Whiteman (Bette Midler), Dave's clothes- and nail-conscious wife, who is interested in helping the underprivileged, yet wants nothing to do with Jerry personally. She has done her part. She volunteers at the Clinic and seems to do as much work in the kitchen as the maid. She is a woman who relies on gurus for advice and dog psychiatrists to get her finicky dog to eat. While her psychoanalytical and guru-ish approach to reality tells her to accept Jerry, her class-consciousness gets in the way.
Max Whiteman (Evan Richards) is Dave and Barbara's teenage son, a boy incessantly roving about with a video camera, and a closet transvestite. Like many teenagers, Max has difficulty communicating with his parents, especially about his confusion over his sexuality. As a result, he uses his video camera as a means of communication, which seems only to baffle Dave and Barbara.
Jenny Whiteman (Tracy Nelson), the oldest Whiteman child, is 19, attends college in New England and visits on holidays. Her pre-anorexic state prevents her from eating and causes a great deal of concern for Dave. Her major in psychology allows her to comment on the effect of Jerry on the family in an objective way, in some ways thus verbalizing the audience's point-of-view.
An honorable mention should be given to th...