Follow the Stars Home

Follow the Stars Home
by Dick Lowry

Follow the Stars Home
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DVD details

Actor: Alexa Vega, Blair Brown, Campbell Scott, Eric Close, Kimberly Williams-Paisley
Director: Dick Lowry
Brand: Lions Gate
Cinematographer: Steven Fierberg
Editor: Tod Feuerman
Producer: Brent Shields
Producer: Gordon Wolf
Producer: Richard Welsh
Writer: Luanne Rice
Writer: Sally Robinson
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 103 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-02-26
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Lions Gate

DVD Reviews of Follow the Stars Home

DVD Review: Formulaic tearjerker, but a heartwarming one
Summary: 4 Stars

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.
More Follow the Stars Home reviews:
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Description of Follow the Stars Home

FOLLOW THE STARS HOME - DVD Movie
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