Inventing the Abbotts is a 1997 movie directed by Pat OConnor, about two families in rural Illinois in the 1950s, Jacey (Billy Crudup) and Doug Holt (Joaquin Phoenix), and the beautiful daughters of their fathers former business partner, Llloyd Abbott (Will Patton), Alice (Joanna Going), Eleanor (Jennifer Connelly), and Pamela (Liv Tyler). The Holt brothers lost their father as a result of a bet he made with Lloyd Abbott, who ended up wealthy and successful, and because of a misunderstanding about the circumstances, Jacey vows to exact revenge on the Abbott family by seducing the three daughters. Doug, initially in awe of his brothers lifestyle, eventually comes to realize that his brothers way isnt the only way, and falls in love with Pamela, who teaches him to appreciate and respect her, not just what she can offer him. Lloyd Abbott, the father of the girls, is frustrated by the magnetism between his daughters and the Holt brothers, and sends Eleanor away to a mental institute to keep her and Jacey apart. Family loyalties are tested in this poignant story of 1950s small town life and love.moreless