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Review: “A Walk In My Shoes” new family movie
Due to a late release of the preview, I didn’t get a chance to review before the showing, but did want to mention again that this is the third in a joint venture between P&G and Walmart to make Friday night family TV night. They are trying to create real movies that are good for both adults and kids to watch together, which focus on positive values for kids to experience in an engaging film.
We were less excited about the second film in this experiment, The Jensen Project, which appealed to our little kids, but which just didn’t have the production values of a real movie. I enjoyed “A Walk in My Shoes” more. The subject matter, while incorporating some fantasy, was more adult than in “Jensen,” which was more of a high technology spy film made for kids. I also found the acting to be more subtle and easier to watch, largely due to Nancy Travis, who plays the lead role.
“A Walk in My Shoes” tells the story of a teacher magically put into the shoes of another person, the mother of one of her students. She gets to experience firsthand the other woman’s life and viewpoint and ends up judging her less harshly than she did in real life. While this plot device is a little contrived, and a shopworn in 2010, I found it oddly compelling, perhaps because I liked the main characters. Not all dads might agree, and it might be hard to find a family that would all watch this movie together, but it wasn’t an improved attempt by the P&G team and bodes well for their next film “A Change of Plans” which is due out in early 2011.
I want to support this project because there is such a huge delta between soporific kids shows that dads really don’t want to watch, and all the PG-rated shows that aren’t appropriate for kids under 13. I’m hoping P&G continues to get better as they develop more experience in this arena. So far, they are making good progress.
“A Walk in My Shoes” is available on DVD and we have one copy of the DVD plus Soundtrack available for readers who answer the following question in the comments section below: What is your favorite movie the whole family can watch and enjoy without being exposed to material that is inappropriate for some ages?
A Walk in My Shoes plot synopsis
“A Walk in My Shoes” makes viewers stop and think, “What would I learn if I stepped into someone else’s life?” Stressed-out high school teacher Trish Fahey (Nancy Travis, “Three Men and a Baby,” “Becker”) can’t understand her students’ lack of effort in the classroom and why their parents don’t seem to care. This is especially true of Justin Kremer (Cameron Deane Stewart), a popular, skateboard-loving, basketball star who is underperforming in her class. Trish has him suspended from the basketball team and quickly chalks up the situation as a case of bad parenting.
But this perspective dramatically changes when Trish meets Molly (Yara Martinez, My Own Worst Enemy), a mysterious stranger intent on helping her see things differently. When Trish wrecks her car, Molly is there as Trish wakes to find herself living the life of Cindy Kremer, the woman she has personally judged and criticized. Trish discovers that there is often more to the story and learns a powerful lesson that affects everyone she interacts with. Her husband, her daughter, the Marine next door… No one is left unchanged.
Note to readers: P&G invited me to the set of the feature film “A Change of Plans” due out in early 2011.. While they paid for transportation and lodging, no payment was made for this review, and my opinions are my own and not those of P&G or Walmart.
Popularity: 4%
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel out on DVD
Rating: PG
Genre: Family and Kids
Release Date: December 23, 2009 and out on DVD 3/30/10
Running Time: 88 minutes
Child-friendly?
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel is the second animated film featuring talking and singing chipmunk brothers Alvin, Simon and Theodore. The movie contains a good deal of verbal and slapstick humor but is relatively tame. Besides some flirting, suggestive dance moves by the new female chipmunk group and a few crude jokes, the movie is relatively kid-friendly. It is recommended for kids aged 5 and older.
In Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, Alvin, Simon and Theodore find themselves being cared for by a twenty-something nephew of their friend, Dave. The boys have to go to school for the first time and are tasked with saving the school’s music program by winning the $25,000 prize in a battle of the bands. But the Chipmunks unexpectedly meet their match in three singing chipmunks known as The Chipettes – Brittany, Eleanor and Jeanette.
By going to school, the boys discover girls, are faced with bullies and deal with peer pressure. Alvin joins the school’s football team and has to choose between the game and the big talent show and his brothers when a game lands on the same day as the big battle of the bands competition with the Chipettes.
Directed by Betty Thomas, the film features Jason Lee, Zachary Levi and David Cross as well as the voices of Justin Long, Amy Poehler, Anna Faris and Christina Applegate.
The humor is harmless for the most part and there are some positive messages that come out of this admittedly silly movie. It focuses on family, togetherness and acceptance and deals positively with school and peer pressure.
GreatDad.com Review Policy: The featured product for this review was provided to us, at no cost, by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. We do not accept monetary compensation for reviewing or writing about products. We only review products that we have personally tested and used in our own homes, and all opinions expressed are our own.
Popularity: 1%
Fun phonetics game for pre-readers
Our family has been playing cards every night around bedtime, sadly often in place of reading a book. But, that’s okay in this case, because we’re playing Whizizzle, a new phonetics game.
Whizizzle is not unlike Crazy Eights except that the families of items are phonetic sounds that players must match with cards with similar sounds. Adults, and other players, are supposed to say out loud the word containing the sound so that smaller players get the hang of the phonetic pronunciation.
The game has a few twists with “action” cards that players can use at any time to change the direction of play to force the next player to draw a card. Trumping almost all strategic action though, is the all-important “change the vowel” card, which allows a player to use any sound, usually to win the game.
We think the best toys and games are ones that can motivate the whole family to play. No child wants to stand around begging adults to play some mind-numbing game that they only play once and begrudgingly. While I can’t say they’ll be adding Whizizzle to Las Vegas card game favorites, I’ve been happy playing Whizizzle almost every evening for the past two weeks. My nine year old loves the game and delights in helping her little brother learn the basics of reading. And, my five year old is just starting to get the idea behind the sounds.
The only drawback that I see for the game is that they could have integrated picture clues into the cards so that pre-readers could associate the sound with a word they could identify. As it is now, my little boy has to wait for us to read what is on his card. Eventually, he will read them too, but for now, all he can do is identify the letter without the corresponding, and very important, phonetic sound.
Whizizzle comes in two packs, 1-3 and 4-6. 4-6 is only slightly more advanced. $14.95 at Amazon.
Popularity: 1%
A is for Atticus naming book
A Is for Atticus: Baby Names from Great Books by Lorilee Craker – If you’re looking for different names, you may want to check this book out for names with literary meaning. It’s up to date, even including Harry Potter references.
Popularity: 1%
