Nonureva Really Surprised!

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Seraherrera The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

Ava-Grace Willis Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

critic_w Every movie tells a story or communicates a concept. This movie, unfortunately, tells several sad stories, while it communicates a variety of negative concepts. It marks a low-water mark in Hallmark television. I wish I had never watched it. Avoiding too many details, The primary male lead (Tom Selleck) is a horrendously poor father, and the back story shows that he pulled the old switcheroo on his family, completely upending their lives. He provides zero parenting, and about as much financial stability. His wife was wrong to leave him ("for better or worse") and the nightmare daughter that results is very poorly matured within the story. She perpetrates a crime on screen for which she is NEVER held accountable. That crime should NOT have been shown. Indicated, suggested, communicated, sure, but shown in detail--in all it's evil--never! Especially because she got away with it! If you love animals it will break your heart. Redemption is important, but repentance is a part of true redemption, and this movie misses that mark a dozen times. One concept they seemed to clearly communicate is "bad things happen to good people." Okay, that's true ... but generally speaking, far more good things happen, and even the "bad" things tend to turn in favor of good people. But not in this movie. I watch Hallmark to avoid this sort of thing. If I want lame melodrama I can tune into Lifetime! You get the sense that somewhere along the lines this was a really great movie. It probably started out that way on paper. But in the end it's a thoughtless assault disguised as a good movie.

tracy_sheppard This is actually my first review on IMDb, and I felt compelled to do it because the movie left such a bad taste in my mouth (pun not intended, but I'll leave it in). This movie was so awful, specifically in one respect--and that is animal cruelty. I kept waiting for the redemption/apology/retribution of the girl (Dulcie), which never came, and finally stopped watching the movie because my dislike of her character was so strong.What was wrong with her anyway? She had to have been severely abused either mentally or sexually, or something! Why wasn't she in intensive therapy--she was so filled with hatred for apparently no reason: her mother's a successful lawyer who isn't home all the time. Wah. Her parents got divorced. Wah. Shortly after she arrives at her dad's farm for the summer (for which she is very angry and depressed), she is approached by this sweetie of a cow, who has such loving energy. What does this girl (and believe me, I want to call her a slew of other things) do? Pours antifreeze in the cow's mouth (with the cow faithfully sucking at it), while saying "You want this, you jugheaded freak?" --one of the worst, most disgusting scenes I've ever had to watch. Seriously. It makes me want to do violence towards her.I kept waiting for her to admit what she did, express dismay or sorrow for it...nope. It even showed her in the barn with the dad, with the did picking up the jug and looking at it, with the girl right there? Any look in her eye to show regret? No. Stopped watching, and from what I've read in other reviews (unfortunately I didn't read them BEFORE I watched the movie), the girl NEVER admits it or makes up for it in any way. If I had read the reviews beforehand and realized this movie was going to be about a spoiled sociopath, I wouldn't have watched it!

wordsmith_57 As a resident of Idaho, I couldn't resist watching this movie, plus it had Tom Selleck. The storyline was common enough, divorced parents, daughter lives with mom, daughter is a wreck, mom dumps daughter on dad who has a farm, and daughter goes from bad to tolerable. Actually, the plot works, simply because everyone plays the part like real people. It's almost like we stepped into a reality show. We don't get to see every little thing lined out (hmm, we have to think for ourselves? that's different), and there is no great resolution. Life is like that sometimes--most of the time.This was a pleasant way to spend the evening, but not a terribly memorable movie. Tom played a farmer fairly well, and the rest of the cast filled in the movie all right. The only character that didn't get a chance to develop was Leah, Tom's live-in girlfriend. She wasn't allowed much range, yet the one line she delivers about wishing she hadn't ever met Tom's character felt real and sincere.If it comes around on TV or if you want a soft free watch from HULU-give this one a try.

vchimpanzee Stephen Landis (Tom Selleck) lived on a farm in Idaho, but his wife Angela (Wendy Crewson) wanted to live in the city and become a lawyer. So she and their daughter Dulcie (Maggie Grace) left Stephen alone.As the movie opens, Dulcie is 16, wearing too much makeup, and getting a tattoo. She is such a troublemaker her mother believes a summer on her father's farm would do her good. Meanwhile, Stephen's girlfriend Leah (Anna Gunn) wants to move in with him, along with her teenage daughter Roxanne (Tegan Moss). As you might expect, Dulcie causes problems, but she is not the only one. Surprisingly, she and Roxanne become friends, but Roxanne's troubles are not Dulcie's fault.Maggie Grace gives a wonderful performance, as Dulcie goes from delightfully nasty to just nasty to merely delightful. Dulcie is not really that bad once the movie progresses, though she hates the farm and becomes quite depressed. Going back to the city at the end of the summer is not the answer, however.One thing that makes this movie distinctive is its emphasis on Christianity. Stephen's neighbors are among the few real Christians shown on TV, and the term 'born again' is actually used by one character. There are serious moral dilemmas, and the solutions are not perfect.This movie had its ups and downs, and it appeared at one point that all was lost, but things started looking up again.