First biographical film where I have hated the main character.

I wouldn't say I hated him, but he really didn't come off looking very good in the film. I'd call him more sinned against than sinning, but definitely not blameless. It seems like Mrs. Potter extended quite a few olive branches, and while it's hard to quite blame the small Nigel for rejecting them, he might have tried to soften his stance later on.

The father might have saved them all a lot of heartache if he'd only been honest with Nigel from the beginning. He does seem like a very emotionally clumsy man, though not at heart a bad one.

Who knows what Mrs. Potter was running from. It might have been very bad indeed, so you can hardly blame her for seeking something better. And anyone who makes that much effort to take care of others, with all that cooking and cleaning deserves some real credit in my book, and anyone who doesn't think so ought to try it for themselves and see how easy it is.

I'd like to read Slater's book. I am a fan of his, he gives wonderful tv. From what I've read, his stepsisters (not portrayed in the movie) are on the outs with him over his portrayal of their mother.

I felt sorry for the boy. At the very beginning of the film, Nigel tells us that his mother's sweetness made up for the fact that all she could cook was toast. Her death was so devastating to Nigel because he felt like his father didn't love him. With his mother gone, Nigel felt completely alone and unloved. That's why he was so obsessed with gaining his dad's approval and attention. It was all for nothing though, because Mr. Slater just didn't know how to deal with a child. He had no patience at all, blamed everything on Nigel and utterly failed to fulfill Nigel's emotional needs.

If Nigel was a brat, perhaps that's because Mr. Slater and Mrs. Potter were not good role models for him. Sometimes their behavior was very childish, like when Mr. Slater grabbed Nigel's plate and dumped his food into the sand while they were picnicking on the beach. The cooking competition between Nigel and Mrs. Potter was very childish, but Nigel was still a kid and Mrs. Potter was not. If she had been smarter, she could have used her skill as a cook to become great friends with Nigel, but her low self-esteem and lack of patience with Nigel got in the way. She did try to make friends with him a few times, but quickly turned nasty on him when he did not accept her right away. Nigel was a kid who was still in the process of growing up. It would have been nice if the adults responsible for him had simply given him the love that he needed. Fortunately, some people manage to turn out OK without it.