DVD : The Brooke Ellison Story

In association with Amazon.com

Rating:

- The Brooke Ellison Story
I am a teacher and I use this movie in my Personal Development class. It's not a movie I'd stay home on Friday night to watch but it is good. I love how devoted the parents are to their daughter and her circumstances. I love the portayal of a good marriage. It's based on a true story and directed by Christopher Reeve.

Rating:

- Excellent
First, I would like to see Allen Rosen accomplish anything close to this in either directing, acting, or REAL LIFE. His review is the problem with our country, too many people looking at the non-important things in life. The story is amazing (too bad all the Allen's of the world couldn't be like this young lady). She was only in 7th grade when it all started! We need to stop, think and realize what is important, and it sure isn't how the movie ran or what it is selling for.

I have an idea, let's have Allen make a movie on his life and sell it for $1. I wonder how many reviews would say it wasn't worth it?

Rating:

- Fine For TV, NOT FINE FOR $23
Yes, it'a moving story and yes it's based on real life, and yes, it was Reeve's last project before his death, but this drama with a somewhat weak ending appears to be made for TV and that's about as good as it is. Fair acting, not enough substance beyond the plot line to be worth $23 because it runs like like a lifetime movie. The only thing missing are the commercials.

Rating:

- Family-movie portrait of an exceptional family
Christopher Reeve's penultimate directorial effort is a made-for-TV biopic that attempts to bring a slightly more realistic approach to the genre while hewing fairly closely to the format. In all, Reeve succeeded here.

Much of the credit can go to the writing and active participation of Brooke Ellison and her mother and constant caregiver Jean but screenwriter Camille Thomasson also deserves kudos for employing brief but memorable vignettes of the other family members. As the husband of a permanently disabled but determined wife, I know too well how spinal cord injury affects more than just one life. Even though the reality is twenty times more difficult than shown here, it's also just too graphic and downright bleak for family viewing. I strongly suggest watching the interviews provided on this disc to get just a glimpse of how much Brooke truly overcomes each day.

I especially appreciate the honest depiction of flawed people and of the myopia and short tempers this type of life can foster. That the Ellisons achieved so much in spite of their situation is incredible.

Vanessa Marano and Lacey Chabert do good work as Brooke (as a child then adult, respectively) but Mastrantonio does most of the heavy lifting as the 24-hour mom and assistant, Jean. Reeve gave her ample time to play her scenes and the discomfort created by some of them is very palpable.

The ending is probably the weakest link, falling far too rapidly into LifeTime mode, but it's still worth the ride. I sincerely recommend this DVD and applaud Reeve and the Ellisons on this effort.

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