(this is just for a chuckle. Minor things like this shouldn't bother us)
When the power went out - yes, land line phones still work. They run on a different line. BUT - answering machines wouldn't work. They use 120v house current.
Of course, the power may have been on at the house he called. My suburban house sometimes loses power while my immediate neighbor may still have his. We're at the end of different lines.
Ha, answering machines went out over a decade ago. Everybody I know has a voice mailbox at the service provider (that's land lines as well as cell phones).
No doubt there are a few folks still using answering machines - the last 0.1% - but there is no reason to suppose the caregiver was one of those.
This movie was set in 1988, which is when answering machines were common.
shareMight not necessarily be a goof if he's got one like mine.
I still have the same answering machine today that I used in 1988 and it still works great. It has a backup battery source. It even has a little let that comes on when it's time to change the batteries.