The Russell Girl (2008)

It is a performances centric movie

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

This is a movie that could have had me crying my eyes out, but one bad actress ruined the entire movie. The grieving mother seemed to think her best acting attribute was her lip quiver. The movie was also unrealistic in its family dynamics. You don't go from being sad mom for 6 years and then just overnight become super mom. It would have been a gripping story, but the person I as I mom, I know that we have the instinct that something is wrong, but mom & dad were just happy in their oblivion. I would have liked the story to have extended a bit with the girl and her family, but I guess we are left at the end knowing what we are supposed to know. I would not recommend watching this movie for the time it takes to watch it.

I watched this movie out of boredom, but the melancholy feel of the movie drew me in, fueled by a strange sense that somethings off. I desperately needed to know what was going on. Sarah seemed to be struggling with something, but like many people effected by tragedy, she couldn't find the words to talk about what she's going through. The sadness tore my heart. On the other end, Jennifer's suffering seemed even more fueled by her lack of closure. I spent the night glued to the television, praying that they'd both get what they needed to move on with their lives.I better warn the men, this IS a chick flick.

Outstanding film dealing with relationships, human tragedy and the rebounding of the human spirit.The film sports 2 outstanding performances by heroine Amber Tamblyn, a Macy's buyer, who has been accepted to Northwestern University, to pursue a medical profession only to discover that she has an aggressive form of leukemia and Jennifer Ehle, as Lorraine.6 years earlier while babysitting for a one year old daughter, the Tamblyn character was distracted by the antics of the baby's two older brothers with tragedy ensuing. This tragedy has caused Lorraine to become an embittered, emotionally wrought woman who is doing an excellent job of alienating both her husband and sons.Upon receiving this terrible diagnosis, Tamblyn (Sarah) rushes home to her parents and brother who bring her the news of her Northwestern acceptance. Unable to tell them the terrible news, the movie becomes one of interpersonal relationships among the cast including Sarah's former boyfriend, who has returned home to tend to his stroke victim father.This film is definitely a triumph of the human spirit through perseverance and courage.The film shows how in adversity people can come together. I highly recommend it.

Although the story is quite interesting, for me it was too similar and predictable; especially towards the end. This movie is just like Candles on Bay Street because for one thing, the main characters are females with cancer; the only difference is that one died and the other lived. I wasn't too keen on the performances though Amber Tamblyn does a fairly nice job than Alicia Silverstone. Aside from that, there's really nothing special about this film. It's just something that's better suited for an episode in a TV drama, nothing more or less. Hallmark has done some good movies, but the end result for this one is simply "meh" at best. Overall, this film is better watched just to pass the time.