Remember Rosie O'Donnell? She was the Queen of Nice. She had that daytime talk show where she ruled the roost as a funny,
gracious, enthusiastic hostess, and all America just loved her. And then, at some point, she became strident and loud, an activist too serious about her causes to be fun anymore. Now she's shrill and militant and instead of smiling when her name is brought up, people roll their eyes. So the thought of spending a week on a cruise ship with her doesn't appeal to me, and "All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise" demonstrates why. This travelogue of O'Donnell's 2004 cruise for gay and lesbian families is so intent on getting its message across -- GAY PEOPLE CAN BE GOOD PARENTS, TOO!!!!! -- that it forgets to, I don't know, tell a story or have a good time. The cruise might have been enjoyable for the people on it, but the movie sure sucks the life out of it. Rosie and her partner, Kelli, wanted to sponsor a vacation for gay families -- not just gay couples, for whom there are already cruises (as depicted in the horror film "Boat Trip" ), but couples and their children, too. Gay parents don't often have a place to socialize or to be free and unjudged, the O'Donnells figured. So the cruise was born.
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