I had to watch this for one of my classes, and honestly? It wasn't quite as bad as I was expecting. I knew it wasn't going to be good, considering it was a Lifetime movie, and the video quality was so bad, I could hardly make out what was what. But the movie itself was even less disappointing than I expected. The only part I can say with certainty that I liked was when Gracie was able to gain custody of her brothers over her mother, because she worked hard and deserved that. Plus, it's not as if they needed to be around the mother anyways. Certain parts of the story (the assault from the mother's boyfriend, Gracie's boyfriend breaking up with her because she wanted to stay with her brothers, etc) felt unnecessary, forced, and personally ruined the rest of the story for me. Most of the characters fell flat, and many seemed cliched and two-dimensional. However, the performances given by Kristen Bell and Anne Heche are just good and believable enough to make the story work, despite the fact that they carried the entire movie on their backs. I'm not sure if I'd watch it again, but it's good for showcasing Kristen Bell's acting abilities, even before she was a huge star.
Review of Gracie's Choice
