A good performance by the young Ryan Merriman will have your heart in knots in the story of a young boy who is paralyzed after a horse accident, having seemingly been okay, but sustaining injuries that did not turn up until later. Because of this, he has to be wheelchair and bed-bound, and this adds a lot of problems onto the plate of his parents, Dennis Quaid and Mare Winningham. They are already risking the loss of their property due to unpaid loans and the determination of the bank to foreclose so they can build new properties. Things like this do happen in real life, with the accidents definitely a tragedy regardless of the age. But it's when you're tested beyond reason that you find what kind of strength you do have, and this family will rise even if they lose some of what they had in the process.
A very good, above-average TV movie that really hits the heart about real people, nowhere near glamorous, facing hardships. There's an excellent performance by veteran actor Harve Presnell who had gone in his career from handsome Broadway leading man in musicals to aging curmudgeon, and here, he's the ladder although he definitely has a major Heart of Gold. He's not related at all to the family, but has been Quaid's surrogate father and thus is Merriman's surrogate grandfather and a great source of strength for everybody in the family. It's nice to see him playing a sympathetic character as opposed to the jerk he played in "Fargo". It's as if the spirit of his character of Leadville Johnny Brown is in this character, and the only difference is he doesn't sing.
The relationship of Quaid and Winningham, while loving, is not without its problems, and they deal with problems in different ways but somehow managed to make it back together even after they argue. Both are outstanding, and it's great to see families working together rather than just giving up at the first sign of trouble. Even the kids in Merriman's class work together to make everything easier for their friend, and even though he is wheelchair-bound, that doesn't stop him from being a typical young boy. When he lassos Presnell and makes him fall, it's one of the highlights of the film. I often find family TV movies cloying because they don't seem real but these characters are not cliches. A good majority of these films I regret spending 90 minutes with, but that is not the case with this.
A very good, above-average TV movie that really hits the heart about real people, nowhere near glamorous, facing hardships. There's an excellent performance by veteran actor Harve Presnell who had gone in his career from handsome Broadway leading man in musicals to aging curmudgeon, and here, he's the ladder although he definitely has a major Heart of Gold. He's not related at all to the family, but has been Quaid's surrogate father and thus is Merriman's surrogate grandfather and a great source of strength for everybody in the family. It's nice to see him playing a sympathetic character as opposed to the jerk he played in "Fargo". It's as if the spirit of his character of Leadville Johnny Brown is in this character, and the only difference is he doesn't sing.
The relationship of Quaid and Winningham, while loving, is not without its problems, and they deal with problems in different ways but somehow managed to make it back together even after they argue. Both are outstanding, and it's great to see families working together rather than just giving up at the first sign of trouble. Even the kids in Merriman's class work together to make everything easier for their friend, and even though he is wheelchair-bound, that doesn't stop him from being a typical young boy. When he lassos Presnell and makes him fall, it's one of the highlights of the film. I often find family TV movies cloying because they don't seem real but these characters are not cliches. A good majority of these films I regret spending 90 minutes with, but that is not the case with this.