follow the stars home
this is on first view a film mostly for women,but, i sat through it with my partner and found my self wanting to see it to the end, its a very heart warming story that most parents will under stand, the dad finds out his child is going to be born disabled, he can't take it and leaves,mother brings up child on her own but with a very suporting mother of her own and the brother in law being a doctor she rides the ups and downs of bringing up a very diabled child and finds the love that only mother and child can have together. a very nice and some times tearfull film thats good for all to watch, give it a go, you might find that magic spark with in you.
alan hydon, stoke golding.
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Formulaic tearjerker, but a heartwarming one
Follow the Stars Home, based on the book of the same name by Luanne Rice, is the story of Dianne (Kimberly Williams), a young woman in love with handsome sailor Mark McCune (Eric Close). The two begin a whirlwind courtship and marriage, but when Dianne discovers that the baby she is carrying will be born with severe neurological and physical disabilities, Mark walks out, leaving Dianne to raise Julia (Amanda and Caitlin Fein) alone, with only her mother to help her.
Mark's brother David (Campbell Scott), a doctor, offers to help Dianne raise Julia by providing medical checkups and support, and is worried about Dianne's health as sole caretaker. Meanwhile, Amy (Alexa Vega, Spy Kids) a girl from a troubled home, becomes a "mother's helper" to Dianne and her mother.
The rest of the film plays out as a more-or-less formulaic story, with the prerequisite dose of angst, guilt, hospital visits, abusive boyfriends, and self-pity thrown in, before the (anticlimactic) conclusion. However, Dianne fails to fall into the "martyred mother of a handicapped child" camp. I personally know several acquaintances who have handicapped children (one has a daughter with lissencephaly who is nonverbal, cannot sit up, crawl, or roll over, and has multiple seizures every day), and Dianne's steadfast devotion to Julia at the expense of her own health (and occasionally happiness) rings true. It takes a great deal of courage and love to be a lifetime caretaker of a severely handicapped child, and Kimberly Williams' portrayal was one of the best things about the movie.
Mark's role as the now-you-see-him, now-you-don't ex was less successful; his limited dialogue doesn't really allow much in the way of character development, and his subsequent appearances felt forced and unnecessary. David fares better as the loyal "fifth wheel" whose feelings for Dianne are largely ignored throughout most of the movie, yet he still gives his time to help Julia. Stage actress Blair Brown as Hannah, Dianne's mother, brought a degree of strength and wisdom that served as a direct counterpoint to Amy's drunken mother Tess (Roxanne Hart).
Follow the Stars Home is generally family-friendly, with the exception of Tess's physically abusive boyfriend (there is a scene involving animal cruelty as well as physical violence towards a child). However, the slow pace and adult plot will likely bore younger audiences.
Overall, this was a decent enough love story about mothers and daughters, second chances, and learning to trust that should appeal to fans of the original novel, and fits in well with the usual Hallmark Hall of Fame demographic.
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