[1] Ten-year-old Chris Marino returns home after a brief stay with relatives, which was necessitated by the condition of his mother, Mary, who suffers from schizophrenia.

When Mary is institutionalized after the failure of her medication, Chris is left with his father, John, who has retreated into building a boat in the family driveway.

When his classmates admire the patch, Chris claims he made it himself, leading him to begin making t-shirts for his fellow students as his form of coping.

[10] Writing for Variety, John Anderson said Greco "has constructed a story that works both as a domestic drama and an allegory about mental illness and art.

"[12] Harden and Pantoliano's performances received much praise, with Jason Anderson of the Toronto Star writing of the latter in particular: "Best known for playing fork-tongued dirtbags in Memento and The Matrix, he proves to be far more appealing in the quieter role of a man who is fundamentally decent but unsure how to relate to his troubled wife and bewildered son.

"[13] Variety commented Pantoliano gives a "cliche-demolishing performance as a sensitive family man who loves his wife no matter how paranoid, delusional or destructive she becomes.