http://www.azstarnet.com/public/dnews/uk6580.html

Friday, 16 April 1999
By Kinney Littlefield

The Orange County Register

Cool city. Premiering tonight, new Showtime telefilm "Freak City" (8 p.m. Sunday)features fine acting, hip characters and edgy storytelling. Beneath its smart-mouthed surface, this story of five people struggling with disabilities has a whole lotta heart. And quirky humor too. Samantha Mathis stars as Ruth Ellison, a foulmouthed young spitfire who has multiple sclerosis. Institutionalized in Lewellyn Care Center - nicknamed Freak City - she meets a quartet of life-changing friends. And her spunk sparks their will to live.

"Freak City's" ensemble cast is a treat. Mathis sizzles. Natalie Cole is a knockout as a brain-damaged ex-singer. John Silverman is super as a blind man firmly under his protective mother's thumb. Marlee Matlin is funny, sad and winning as developmentally challenged Cass. And Peter Sarsgaard is the show's heartthrob - a handsome but bitter quadriplegic who romances Ruth and fights his own fears.