Gracie's Choice :
HALLMARK CHANNEL
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| UK PREMIERE |
Reviewed By Jacqueline
Gracie's Choice is a true story, which has been based in part on the Reader's Digest article by Rena Dictor Le Blanc. The producers changed certain characters and events have been fictionalised.
The beginning is chaos! A mother of five children finds herself in an awkward situation, she's seems clueless as to how she ended up there in the first place.
The story goes on, it becomes clear that the mother Rowena Larson, (Anne Heche, star of Six Days and Seven Nights, Another World and Wag The Dog), is an unfit mother. Rowena drinks too much and has casual relationships. She finds herself at the centre of many feuds with her mother and her children, struggling with the responsibilities of being a parent.
One scene turns into a police fiasco, due to Rowena disappearing for three days, leaving her children without money or food. Gracie, (Kristen Bell, Deepwater, Everwood, The Shield), aged 16 is put into a position of taking control of the family. She feels responsible for looking after her half brothers and sisters, (all with different fathers). The authorities decide to split up the children and place them in Juvenile Hall for a while, until a solution is found.
The solution is temporary, Gracie's grandmother Louela, (Diane Ladd, Chinatown) tries to guide the family, even providing a roof over their head. She is desperate to keep them away from the bad influences of her daughter Rowena, who she sees as an unfit mother and lost soul. Unfortunately the burden is too much for her, she is unable to cope and it's is a financial burden which she can't afford.
Gracie takes control of the situation; she gets a steady job, finds a flat to rent and even finds the opportunity of scholarship. A determined young woman, with faith and hope. The majority of teenagers can't even look after themselves, but Gracie stood by what she thought was the right thing to do. She never gave up even though people kept letting her down, her mother and even her boyfriend gave her an ultimatum.
This movie is Gracie's journey from teenager to adulthood! An unusual journey, most teenagers should be out there having fun. In this particular case Gracie stood up to her mother and the authorities realised that she was a determined young woman, they gave her a chance. A custody battle is the last straw for Gracie, she knows what she has to do.
A disturbing but truthful film that brings to our attention how there are children who are forced to grow up fast, entering an "adult world taking on grown-up responsibilities".
Kristen Bell is an excellent young actress and one to watch out for in the future.
Anne Heche had an extremely tough role; it couldn't have been easy to be convincing as a detached, unfit mother. There are several scenes where she 'loses her rag'.
A fantastic script and great cast, combined with brilliant direction by Peter Werner. Hew was born in New York City, has specialized largely in mini-series and tele-features since the mid '70s. Overall this production has a "great flow" It certainly makes one think about parenting and responsibility!
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PRODUCER:- Randy Sutter
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