While she says she grew up “in a very funny family,” Roseanne describes her father as someone who could be physically and emotionally abusive, but was also a powerful influence on her development. He loved to watch the popular television comics of the day, like Lenny Bruce, whom her family considered a “god.” Her father would critique them for young Roseanne, who loved being the center of attention herself.
The film takes us through Roseanne’s struggles as a teenager. She suffered a head injury following a car accident at sixteen, which her mother said altered her personality. Her superb grades in math declined. She would abuse alcohol with friends, act out, and be committed for a time by her parents to a mental hospital. Later, she became pregnant and was sent to a home for unwed mothers to give birth to her first child.