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This is a horribly disappointing treatment of Williams' great play. Paul Newman, the director, completely homogenizes the devastating undercurrents of the story, cast all the main roles way too old (except for his wife, Joanne Woodward, who gives a serviceable performance) and has no understanding of the characters, their secrets and what Williams was trying to say and express. Of course, none of the actors cast are bad actors, they are just very wrong for the roles.

Tennessee Williams did not write a sweet, romantic family story and Newman doesn't get it. Too bad, The Glass Menagerie could be a brilliant movie if it ever fell into the hands of a director who had the guts to get at the real meat in this story and within the 4 main characters.

This really would have been a terrific film if it wasn't for Sean Penn's embarrassing scenery-chewing "acting". He seems desperate to grow up and become Robert De Niro someday; but his worst mistake is that he steals all the cheap schtick that De Niro has unfortunately learned to rely on (and repeat in every recent film) and not the early honest, raw work that De Niro used to do.

Robbins is excellent, Marcia Gay Harden is heartbreaking. But the real scene-stealers here are Laura Linney who blows everyone away with her subtle, yet captivating and surprising evolution in the last scenes and an almost unrecognizable turn by former sitcom queen Jenny O'Hara as a bitter, angry mother.

A film with so much potential, ruined by a laughably miscast Barbara Streisand. This is one of a string of Streisand vanity projects that would have been better suited in other hands.

Maureen Stapleton, however, gives a bravura performance, making this film worth a watch.

La Streisand could learn a lot from the incredible Stapleton. Lesson #1: less is more.