Kathleen Turner Comes to Morristown

When the movie concluded and credits rolled, the lights came up in Theater 5 at in Morristown, and a screen legend walked to a waiting chair in the front of the room.

Suddenly, audience members burst into applause for actress Kathleen Turner.

"I guess I don't need to introduce her," film critic Peter Travers said.

Turner, along with director Anne Renton, joined Travers Wednesday night for a Q&A session following a showing of Turner's latest movie, "The Perfect Family," at the , hosted by father and son duo Ira and Mark Ehrenkranz.

The movie is about a devoutly religious woman, played by Turner, who is up for the coveted "Catholic Woman of the Year" award. That award would be given to the winner by the Archbishop of Dublin and would include the absolution of one's sins. The problem, at least for Turner's "Eileen Cleary," is that her family is far from perfect. It also stars Emily Deschanel, Jason Ritter and Richard Chamberlain, as the priest of their Chester, NJ, church.

Interestingly enough, while "The Perfect Family" is set just miles from where it was shown in Morristown, it was entirely filmed–in just 19 days–in California, for cost-saving reasons.

"Damn, he noticed," Turner said to a burst of laughter from the audience when one attendee called the film out on its deception. "We were cheating for the East Coast."

Renton, an Australian, said the original script had been set in New Jersey and noted a stronger Catholic presence on this side of the country lead to the decision to keep it here.

The movie, which premiered at last year's Tribeca Film Festival, focuses on the rigidity of right vs. wrong, as Turner's character learns of her daughter's (Deschanel) lesbianism and impending marriage to her girlfriend of several years. 

Though her character is devoutly Catholic, Turner said, "I don't think we do any Catholic bashing.

"This applies to any orthodox religion," she said.

Several self-identified Catholics in the audience didn't seem to mind. "I grew up with a lot of people just like that," one person said.

Later, an audience member from the balcony got one of the biggest laughs of the night. "Did you interview my mom for this role?"

While the independent movie was shot in just a little under three weeks–leaving little room for error–the 57-year-old Turner said there were no problems, and everyone got along. "I'm too old to work with a**holes anymore," she said.

When asked what some of her favorite roles had been over her 30-plus year career, Turner—famous for her 1981 film debut "Body Heat" and later for such films as "Romancing the Stone", "Peggy Sue Got Married" and "War of the Roses"—said she has pretty much enjoyed everything she has done, because "I don't think I've ever settled in one type.

"I instinctively look for an opposite," she said. "What interests me always is what I don't know."

But, ultimately, Turner said it was her performance as "Martha" on stage in Edward Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," in 2005, that she called "the epitomy of what I've accomplished thus far."

Turner praised independent film and the advancements in technology that have allowed productions like "The Perfect Family" to be created. "We can produce a film today of this quality without that burden [of very expensive equipment]," she said. "It opens up a whole new realm of possibilities."

Travers, who first met Turner when he joined Rolling Stone magazine in 1989, said after the event that she still has the spirit he saw in her all those years ago.

"She keeps working," he said. "It's full-on."

"Acting isn't that planned," Turner said. "So when I see something that takes me right back to the feeling of that moment, I'm very pleased."