Absolutely Fantastic

A different way of telling a story

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Stacey Bess (Emily VanCamp) got pregnant at 16, dropped out of school, and got married to Greg. She eventually got her GED and 8 years later in 2009, she gets her first teaching job in Salt Lake City. She's horrified to find a chaotic railroad warehouse shelter with homeless families run by Johnny Hernandez. With only her own resources and the help of the parents (Nicki Aycox, Kiersten Warren), she tries to create a safe environment. She finally meets superintendent Dr. Warren (Treat William) who is surprised by her work.It's a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie. It's feel-good. It's inspirational. It's a tear-jerker. It's all of that. It's sincere and it does that sincerity very well. VanCamp is a solid lead. She embodies that goodness. It is everything one expects from this type of movie.

I was lucky growing up- I had parents and Grandparents who valued education and were together as 1 family. In 1974 when I started college the furthest thing which I wanted to do was become a teacher, instead I became a volunteer juvenile probation officer while in college, a police officer afterwards and an Army veteran (all after college). God also blessed me with 2 wonderful sons whom I raised by myself because I lost their father in a car accident. I've always pushed education- expecting and demanding the best from their school boards, their teachers, myself, and my sons. Now, some 38 years after graduating the U of South Florida, I'm obtaining my Masters in Education. I've been a parent volunteer since 2006 in their high school, and I've been a substitute teacher since 2009. This movie just drives home what I've seen over the years, what I've fought for for my sons and their classmates, and for their parents. Thank you Mrs. Bess, for giving me the courage and the fortitude to carry on- I nearly gave up on my MA. Thank you for being the type of teacher which you are- you are indeed a rare breed of teachers and I wish that there were more like you. We don't give up- we look to reach all our students and their parents. You were there to help me and make me not give up- in 3 weeks I graduate with my MA, then it's off to the state board exams.

In this fact-based Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation, Stacey is 24 years old in 1987 and fresh out of college. She has wanted to be a teacher since she was a little girl. In flashbacks, we see her as a little girl who has to listen to her father yell at her mother, but other than that we don't know the specifics of why her early life was not pleasant. Then at 16 she becomes pregnant and drops out of school. Still, she married the father, Greg, and earned her GED, then graduated from college, all while raising not one but two children.Stacey is interviewed by the head of human resources for the Salt Lake City schools (Timothy Busfield), who has one opening for her--a school for the homeless. It turns out to be much worse than she imagined: a dump of a warehouse which is also the homeless shelter, with no textbooks or real desks for the students who cover a wide range of ages and abilities, or anything to make it look like a real school. Every time a train passes it's like an earthquake. The substitute teacher she is replacing can't wait to get out of the place. There is a class pet--sort of.But the kids are no worse than kids in any other inner-city school, and most of the homeless are really nice to Stacey. One exception is Candy, who doesn't understand her kids should be in school so they can improve their status in life. After the first day, though, Stacey has only one incentive to stay at this dump. She doesn't want her own children to see her quit. So she perseveres, finally getting through to the school children and really teaching them instead of just babysitting. But the real challenge is dealing with the bureaucracy--she has no actual principal, and no one wants to take responsibility for anything.Eventually, Stacey gets Dr. Warren to listen, and things improve. Some of the homeless people assist Stacey in her efforts, and one is so good at his job he can be paid for it. Still, other challenges are ahead in this environment.There is an additional complication in Stacey's life that has nothing to do with her job, but it's just a challenge that adds to the others. She won't give up.This was a really good movie, though one possible criticism is the fact that these kids were too ideal. And Stacey's own children are too perfect to be believed. But the movie is based on fact, and maybe this is the way it was.Another omission: at the end the real Stacey Bess was introduced, and she mentioned prayer. Not once was a specific religious faith brought up in this movie. Was this an effort to be "politically correct" and not single out one faith over others?Emily VanCamp does a very good job. She looks so much like Melissa Gilbert that she seemed familiar, even though I don't really know her. The real Stacey Bess looked very much like Kiersten Warren, an actress playing one of the homeless parents. Still, Warren is much older than Stacey is supposed to be here, and she was well suited for a tough, more street-smart character.All the leading actors were very good. I would single out Paola Nicole Andino as Maria, a sixth-grader intending to be a teacher but dealing with challenges. Also Liam McKanna as Danny, who goes from Stacey's worst discipline problem (but hardly anything to write home about) to one of the class leaders and a child with lots of potential.It was worthy of the name Hallmark Hall of Fame.

I originally wasn't going to watch last Sunday but when I came home from work that day, my mom had it on there and seeing a familiar face from "Everwood" (Emily VanCamp), I decided to stick it out. I was very glad I did as this was quite an inspirational "based on a true story" movie though I'm sure since this was produced by the Hallmark greeting card company, not all the nasty things that went on that lower income school was going to be depicted. But you can see some of the frustrations this Stacey Bess went through and her struggles to get some needed textbooks and other materials when she talks to the man who hired her (Timothy Busfield). But when she then talks to another administrator (Treat Williams who I also recognized from "Everwood"), he decides to see what he can do and does more than she can thank him for. It was a wonderful surprise when these two former co-stars from the WB series showed up together on screen. There were other wonderful sequences but I'll just now say that this was very inspirational and if you're interested in this kind of thing, it's now on DVD at you're nearest Hallmark store. P.S. Loved the vintage Hallmark commercials that was shown throughout. Was especially interested in the one from 1975.