Filling in the Blanks

An interesting story overshadowed by terrible narration. The tone and manner in which the storyteller speaks automatically makes it sound like he's mocking the situation. That, combined with his arrogance, and lack of compassion and understanding made this cringeworthy. How about putting yourself in your parents' shoes for 5 seconds or imagining what it was like for your father to be infertile in a time when that wasn't spoken about? It's not like he was born yesterday. He was born in a time when artificial insemination was barely existent. Maybe he should be grateful for the life he was given. I just can't with this guy, he's not likeable. The story should have been told by one of his half siblings. Literally anyone else but him.

This is the personal journey of a filmmaker that happens to be in a pickle with his parents. For this reason, the movie fails to be objective without accepting the bias interpretation from its source. On the surface, the subject matter of DNA and the truth is at its core. However, the delivery of the filmmaker is questionable and at times arrogant in his conclusions. Knowing that there are millions of unwanted children in the world, it is hard to feel anything for anyone in their 60's that is questioning their identity when finding out their father is not his biological parent. The point that is missed for most of the rant is that these kids were "wanted" and were given life when others were not. The un-biological Father gave them a home, food, comfort, a name and most importantly love. Besides giving them life, the somewhat petty answer of finding out the truth does not hold up to the fact that the father he always knew was in fact his true Father on Earth. The wall these kids build around them is real and important but also false. The tradition of their feelings outweighs the simple fact that they were loved, kept, given a place and, above all, a home. In the end, I agree with the mother when she says, "it's none of your business."

I accidentally hit the button and realized I could actually leave a review. I nearly turned this off and decided to see what the storyline was. This guy seemed shallow to begin with. Then when it was revealed it was dna. I am Familiar with lots of research , so I watched. The more he continued I also thought the son was a horrible, unempathic, ridiculous person. Whether his cadence and tone was for the purpose of a documentary or not, his complete perspective is utterly disgusting. His lack of respect or gratitude for his parents is beyond cringy. His last brother was the only human of the 3. He seemed very sheltered and immature without any real emotional intelligence.

This is a wonderful film; and I highly recommend it. It's eye-opening to follow Jon Baime's story which will completely hold your attention as he shares his experience of learning he was conceived by artificial insemination from a sperm donor. I am also donor conceived and didn't find out until I was in my mid-60s long after my parents had died. In my head I understood that it didn't really change anything about my life, but in my heart it was earth shattering! It's hard to process finding out that everything you believed about your origins was a lie. DNA genealogy testing has made it possible for new people every day to find out that one or both of the parents who raised them are not their genetic parents. And, the numbers are growing! Whether it was due to donor conception, adoption, or an affair, the experience of learning your parents aren't who you thought they were is incredibly shocking. Friends and extended family members cannot understand the feelings these revelations cause. It's an identity crisis that is difficult to resolve. This movie helps those who are going through this to know that they are not alone; that there are other people who know what they are feeling. It will also help our friends and family to somewhat understand what we are going through. Thank you Jon for sharing your story in this interesting and entertaining documentary!

You can tell this is a man who hasn't had a tough life , in part due to his Church we are in our 50s what are you thinking parents , and yet , he has such little empathy for either of them. Maybe it's his overly pandering , childish way of telling his story rather than just telling it. It's as if he feels like unless he gives us cues we won't pick up on the nuances. Unless you were adopted or found something similar out in your own life, I can't see or find anything insightful or new or interesting about this rendering. It comes across as pandering and childish . The most interesting thing for me was seeing Johnny Carson before the tonight show. The way they speak of and try and trap their 93 yr old father is unbelievable. These boys have never had a day of real heart ache in their lives.

With the advances in genetic testing, the list of people receiving "DNA suprises" from places like 23andMe and Ancestry keeps growing. Everyone's story is different, but the outcome remains the same: what would you do if you suddenly found out you were not genetically related to your father? Jon's experience is an interesting one and he tells it with refreshing candor and a lack of sensationalism. Some of the vintage footage is great, and there are many surprisingly intimate moments captured on camera. I won't spoil any of the revelations, but if you are curious about DNA and the intersection of science and personal experience, you will enjoy this film. Similar docs include THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS and OUR FATHER.

First, the positives: You can't help but sympathize with the guy's situation. Finding out your dad is not your dad is going to be disorienting at least. Finding out he's an anonymous sperm donor and that you have other half siblings, well, yeah, I get it. People are going to react in different ways and I wouldn't pass judgment on someone's initial emotional reaction. Now the bad stuff: Beyond that initial reaction, how about a little human sympathy and understanding? He has none for his parents. He's angry at them and borderline vindictive. The idea that he is even debating telling his dying father that he knows the painful secret he obviously wanted to keep is astonishing. He refers to his dad as "asterisk" and even puts the asterisk on his gravestone. Sorry, but that is a putz move by a big baby. Some of his other half siblings have more interesting, grownup reactions. They talk about the deep shame that men were conditioned to feel at the time (late 50s - early 60s) about being infertile. Some of these men must have been motivated by love of their wives who clearly wanted to be mothers. They agreed to something far outside the norm for people at the time. (Similarly, many people concealed adoptions from their children back then.) This guy shows zero interest in seeing any of this through his father's eyes and emotions. He's angry at a man for...what? Agreeing to let him be born through his mother? For giving him life, raising him, and providing for him? For agreeing to bring his siblings into the world too? It's natural to be interested in the biological connection to a stranger and to half siblings. I'm happy for him that he got to expand his family in this way. Toward his own parents, he's a vindictive clown - and he's totally unaware of it. He actually thinks sticking an ill-tempered, self-absorbed letter to his parents in the wailing wall - a site his mother held sacred - is supposed to be an emotionally uplifting ending. I almost never post negative reviews. Making a film or writing a book is hard. Revealing your life story is hard. But I got angrier and angrier at him as the film went on. I would much rather have spent that time with his half-sisters who clearly have more mature insight into their situation.

As "Filling In the Blanks" (2023 release; 95 min), we are introduced to Jon Baime, 54 yo, as he is getting ready to take a DNA test. We then go back in time as we get archival footage from the 1960s of Jon and his family (mom and dad, and 2 older brothers) growing up in the New Jersey suburbs. Turns out that dad is quite moody... At this point we are 10 minutes into the documentary. Couple of comments: this movie is the labor of love by Jon Baime, as narrator, writer, producer and director of this (and, oh yea, he stars as well). Baime makes an unexpected discovery of a deeply held family secret, and once he finds out, the question is what he does with that information. I won't divulge anything more. The documentary could've gone in several ways but in the end, Baime, a very likable "Joe Sixpack" kinda guy, turns this into an uplifting story about unexpected family secrets. As such, the movie flies by in non time. "Filling In the Blanks" recently started streaming on Amazon Prime, where I caught it a few days ago. If you are in the mood for an uplifting documentary, I'd readily suggest you check it out and draw your own conclusion.

Extremely well written and produced. This true story will have you sitting on the edge of your seat wanting to know more. Information revealed from the 50's and 60's is shared that was a complete shock to me. This was a look into a deep secret past that only todays DNA tests brought to life. Well done Jon Baime. Thank you so much for sharing from your heart the incredible amount of time and effort you put into uncovering your start in life and the effect it had on you into adulthood. Hopefully this will give the courage and confidence many others need to take that first step to uncover their truth!

Jon Baime does an amazing job with this documentary about his journey of self-discovery due to his father's off-hand comment leading him to have a DNA test secretly. His ability to tell this story has you on the edge of your seat, fully engrossed. I felt like I was involved, part of the family, and I wanted to know more. It is an interesting insight into the world of popular DNA tests and what the results might lead to. You go into it thinking you want to know more about your ancestry but end up finding out that nothing has been what it seemed and the family has had a secret you were not privy to. I highly recommend this documentary.