Based on a novel by Colleen McCullough (
The Thorn Birds), this "May-December romance" stars
Piper Laurie as Mary Horton, a lonely middle-aged American career woman who hires a handsome, mildly retarded young handyman named Tim (played by 22-year-old
Mel Gibson in his third screen role). At first keeping her distance, Mary is drawn closer to Tim as the days pass. When Tim's mother dies, Mary becomes his surrogate mother, a relationship that deepens into romantic love. Tim's older sister Dawn (Deborah Kennedy) resents Mary's "intrusion" into their lives, but Tim's dad Ron (Alwyn Kurts) blesses the relationship, realizing that it is beneficial to both parties. Director
Michael Pate avoids all opportunities to cheapen or sensationalize the material; while Tim and Mary do end up in bed, it is a sweet moment, not a prurient one. Tim was produced for Australian television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide