THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN is a thought-provoking movie that takes a new wrinkle on the ever-present question of the importance of the nuclear family. Michelle Pfeiffer plays Beth, a yuppy mother of three who takes the brood to her high school reunion, only to promptly lose one of them in the crowd. Nine years later, when the family have moved back to Chicago, the long lost child turns up on the doorstep asking to mow the lawn.

The film is based on the best-seller by Jacquelyn Mitchard, a newspaper columnist from Milwaukee. Whittling down a weighty tome can be tough, and screenwriter Stephen Schiff doesn't fare well here; the movie suffers greatly from fragmentation. Things move along quickly enough, but there seem to be gaping holes in the fabric of the plot. We first meet Whoopi Goldberg, for example, as the Detective in charge of solving the kidnapping. When the family return to Chicago 9 years later, Whoopi has become a family friend, while other chums, who seem so important in the beginning, just get dropped from the scene altogether. Even Pfeiffer's in-laws, who live in Chicago, weren't included in the huge homecoming event for their grandchild.

Perhaps the choppiness of the movie is most apparent in the title, which is never explained in the film. It stems from a conversation between mother and son where she reassures her child that she would never let the ocean snatch him away. Which is actually pretty dopey, really, because that's exactly what she does. But once the movie goes under close scrutiny, it doesn't hold water. No mother with half a brain would leave her kids sitting unattended in a crowded hotel lobby while she wanders off to do some unnecessary errand.

But watching the film is quite engaging. Michelle Pfeiffer is very fine, and after all, since her production company bought the novel and made the film, she means to look impressive here. But the movie is almost stolen by Jonathon Jackson as Vincent, the older brother of the lost child. Poor Vincent has all manner of burdens to bear in this emotionally trauma episode, but he doesn't over act the part, just tries to give some honesty to the problems. And if there is one quality the movie tries to sustain, it's honesty. The issue at hand is complex and there's no easy answer, regardless of the glib final scene.

"The Deep End of the Ocean" is not overwhelmingly impressive, but it certainly offers fodder for thought.