Lack of good storyline.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Once in a great while, a film comes along that completely redefines how you think about American cinema. That film may very well be "Angel in Training." First off, the acting is wonderful. The daughter is a gem, but the real show-stealer is the actual angel in training, Danielle Pessis. She often feeds the protagonist important nuggets of wisdom regarding being the "perfect age," something all teenagers can understand when they hear it from a space angel who shoots balls of light from her hands and uses the force to throw food at people. Gary Imhoff is great as the father character as well, who reminds me of the dad from Seventh Heaven mixed with Jon Arbuckle from Garfield.From a purely technical standpoint, the movie is brilliant. It introduces a new technique that, despite the film being released for nearly a decade, still has not been widely used at this point (I have no idea why). Essentially, the director often uses voice-overs and flashbacks of things that happened within the last 15 minutes so that the viewers won't forget about them. There are also two or three wacky and hilarious sound effects, all of which appear in the last ten minutes of running time (if you don't count the five minute long montage that recaps the entire film at the end).But really, what do things like acting and directing matter if the movie's got no heart? Well, don't worry about that here; "Angel in Training" has got so much heart that yours is likely to burst from your chest cavity and ruin all your limited edition "Spy Cat" cels. If you don't think this is the feel-good movie of a lifetime, then... well, you'd better watch it! So in conclusion, I highly recommend watching "Angel in Training" not once, but a dozen times. It will only get better.My father used to tell me, "A great movie is only great if it has dead people and cartoonists." Think about it.

Desi is a girl who's mother has passed on and shes just hit puberty. She is somewhat of a Tomboy and feels a tad left out as her friends have just started wearing makeup and girlie clothes. Her father is a cartoonist trying hard to make a living. The story is a happy family Saturday movie with a great moral about how an angel helps her deal with some unpleasant people (including her dads new girlfriend). Includes some great food fights, great quotes, and makes an excellent family movie. A tad on the bad acting 80s boring, but there is always the entertainment laughing at their clothes and big hair. Keep an eye out for Mrs Morningside and her great but not always intelligible quotes.

It's a good thing I have cable otherwise I would never have known this movie existed. I watched it some time ago on one of the movie channels and although it's a low budget little thing it's a very cute movie that I think everyone could appreciate, but especially women and young girls, as Angel In Training is a movie all about growing up.The young cast members are what make Angel In Training so good. Laila Dagher is great as the lead character Desi, a girl who's having trouble watching her friends mature before her, and can't cope very well with the fact that she too is entering womanhood. But the real star is the beautiful and talented Daneille Pessis who plays R.J, an angel who comes down in the form of an older teenager and befriends Desi, giving Desi just the kind of friendship and guidence she needs.The adult cast aren't too special but I did think Veronica Allen was funny as Peyton, the rather vile woman who Desi's father is dating.The plot, while kind of thin, is enjoyable enough thanks to some cute writing and good acting from the leading characters. Angel In Training, while certainly not the best movie, is worth a look if only for Danielle Pessis (especially) and Laila Dagher's performences. The girls are great at interacting with each other on screen and their sweet and innocent friendship is a joy to watch. Not only that but it's nice to see a movie like this that doesn't resort to graphic sex scenes/talk and vulgar language, it's a very refreshing film about growing up and I liked that a lot.

This is a movie that's aimed mainly at a young audience, but it deals with some mature themes, like the loss of a parent and entering into adolescence. Although it is a low budget film, I think it is a good family film, in large part because of the performances, particularly the lead actress Laila Dagher. She shows great maturity and subtlety in her work for a child actress. I hope Hollywood casting agents take note and put her in more projects.