The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie (2003)

Charlie Proud is a troubled, hot-headed teen who is offered an ultimatum by his school principal, Mr. Dewitt (James Caan) – suspension or work for the town "crazy lady" So starts the uplifting story of the journey The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie (Gena Rowlands) takes Charlie on through the harvest season in her backyard, where friendship and trust are grown.

What do you grow in your garden?

The story's plotline and central concepts are old--what breathes life into this film is the acting.

Charlie (Kevin Zegers) is a teen who's headed for big trouble. His home life is bad, he's running with the wrong crowd, and there's really nobody he can rely on to help him. He's the kid who gets caught by the principal (James Caan) when his friends steal an old woman's purse. Charlie may be many things--but he is not a snitch and he won't tell the principal and his parents (Leslie Hope, David Schofield), who was with him stealing the purse.

Instead of being expelled, the principal offers Charlie the chance to work off his debt with the victim (Gena Rowland). When Charlie goes to her home, he learns she's a widow who believes her late husband James haunts her garden and is raising two mentally challenged boys--one which she's adopted.

Mrs. Ritchie sets Charlie to work in her garden--teaching him about how to grow things and consideration for what he plants in his garden. (what you sow, you shall reap) Through her kindness, he learns to understand his own issues and stand up for himself and his family.

"Mrs Ritchie" is a good film and worth seeing at least once, particularly if you are a strong fan of Gena Rowland. She is luminious in this film--very believable and in my opinion, what makes the film work.

November 19, 2007

Misleading title

I thought for sure this film would be about Beth and the cow farm. January 25, 2005

Best and most moving movie ever!!

i turned on this movie with a negative attitude...wanting to watch a sappy love story. i have never been more happy that i watched what my family was watching! this movie can relate to anyone. it has such great acting and an amazing story. by the end i dont see any way that anyone could not be sobbing! probably one of my new favorites! November 27, 2004

Saved by Gena Rowlands

This is a fairly common story of a troubled teen coming of age. The problem is, there isn't much for him to come to age to, as there's nothing terribly new or original. In other words, it's a dreaded "retread".

The plotline was weak, and Charlie's (Kevin Zegers) travails with the "bad boys" in the beginning, which were supposed to introduce us to his harsher personality, were silly and unbelievable. Regarding these "bad boys", they looked more like the geeks they were teasing. I wouldn't have been intimidated by any of them in high school, even if I was a Freshman and they were Seniors.

Gena Rowlands saved this film from obscurity, as did Kevin Zegers, though to a lesser extent. He's clearly trying to add depth to his acting career, and that's terrific. There's still some room for him to grow. Gena Rowlands is *always* terrific. Her warmth infected and graced the entire film.

For all it's failings, it was still an emotionally evocative film at times, with one profoundly moving event at the end of the film. And Charlie did experience growth, which helped him put his family back together.

However, that's the biggest problem I had with the film. Without giving anything away, Charlie wasn't the person that needed to put that family back together (regardless of the silly contrivance that was written in to make it seem as such). It was the mother and the father, because both are pretty horrible people on the inside, but all we see is a father played as a typical jerk, and mother played as a typical drunk. Again, nothing fresh or original about their characters. July 14, 2004

Truly Moving!

While the storyline is a bit weak and seems scrambled, Gena Rowlands and Kevin Zegers (who plays the troubled teen) are superb! They both light up the screen with powerful, moving character acting that is unlike most films today. As the story plays out, the troubled young man has to struggle with anger and resentment towards his abusive parents all the while trying to find his place in this world and meaning of life. After a series of poor choices and getting caught, his school principal gives him the choice of being expelled from school or to pay penance for his actions by helping out Mrs. Ritchie (Gena Rowlands) and her two metally challenged sons. Mrs. Ritchie turns out to be an ailing old woman who hasn't quite got over her husband (who sometimes makes angelic appearances just at the right moments) who previously died.

As the movie moves forward, both characters learn valuable lessons from each other, and Zegers' character learns how to bring his family back together. While the acting is dynamic, the movie would be a complete flop without Zegers and Rowlands. The storyline isn't real solid and often leaves too many open questions. Yet, the film is well worth watching simply for the sake of watching the two great actors give life to dying characters. Truly one of my new favorites but only because of the acting. Worth seeing! July 13, 2004

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