Jo & Bethie Kaufman were born into a world of promise. Growing up in 1950s Detroit, they live in a perfect “Dick and Jane” house, where their roles in the family are clearly defined. Jo is the tomboy, the bookish rebel with a passion to make the world more fair; Bethie is the pretty, feminine good girl, a would-be star who enjoys the power her beauty confers & dreams of a traditional life.
But the truth ends up looking different from what the girls imagined. Jo & Bethie survive traumas & tragedies. As their lives unfold against the background of free love & Viet Nam, Woodstock & woman’s lib, Bethie becomes an adventure-loving wild child who dives headlong into the counter-culture & is up for anything (except for settling down). Meanwhile, Jo becomes a proper young mother in Connecticut, a witness to the changing world instead of a participant. Neither woman inhabits the world she dreams of, nor has a life she feels authentic or brings her joy. Is it too late for the women to finally stake a claim on happily ever after?
GPL: F Weiner