Just, Melvin (documentary)
James Ronald Whitney's first film is a documentary about the cycle of incest and abuse in his family, a cycle started by his grandfather, Melvin Just. One admires Whitney and his family members for their bravery in telling their harrowing stories; one just wishes this were Whitney's seventh or eighth film, as "Just, Melvin" comes off as amateurish at times, often ruining what would have otherwise been emotionally gripping moments. Whitney's grandmother, Fay, married an abusive man who fathered four of her children. She divorced him and the next day married Melvin Just. Melvin immediately began molesting his step-daughters (including Whitney's mother), as well as producing two more daughters with Fay, both of whom he also molested. The only male child, Jim, grew up to be an abuser, too, as well as Fay's caretaker, though he took that calling to mean that he should let her drink as much as she wants: When she drinks 16 ounces of beer, it brings her weight up to 72 pounds, after all.
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