Entführt - Die furchtbare Wahrheit

"Face On The Milk Carton" is a very interesting and effective movie with yet another great performance (at least of the ones I've seen anyway) by Kellie Martin, who apparently has retired from acting. It looks like an after-school special, but unlike one, there are no easy answers (except maybe for the final scenes). It doesn't patronize, or try too little or too much, and has characters we truly care about. I would have preferred a different ending. Why? The movie, of course, eventually wants to have it both ways by the end (or should I say, both families?) I think this taking the easy way out. But still, the movie is acceptable as is.

Grade: B+

I may be a bit biased, since the book has always been one of my favorites, but many little descrepencies between the book and movie bugged me. Although Kellie Martin is a great actress, she was way too old to be Janie! She was 20, whereas Janie is supposed to be barely 16! Reese is supposed to be older, more mature, and he looks 3 years younger! Especially since it had to be packed into two hours, everything was rushed, and neither set of parents' characters were developed, nor did the relationship between Janie and Reese seem believable.

I don't think there was enough background in the family relationships to make it a tear-jerker, but over-all, despite the little mistakes, it was a good TV movie. 7/10

I saw this on Lifetime sometime after it had originally aired and it dawned on me on whether or not this girl's decision would have been as difficult had this been about a girl who had been adopted and then had found her birth parents. It also could have been a much different flick if she had appeared to the Sands (her biological parents) after having been married and expecting. Kellie Martin plays an incredible role alledgedly based on a true story and gives a real performance with a lot of emotion than the usual shallow fare seen by so many teenage actors. A lot of credit has to go to the actors portraying the Sands and the Jessmons for providing Kellie a stoic and emotional base to create her role. The story of Solomon's tale of the the mothers is used as a wonderfully inspiring parallel and the dreamy flashbacks of the girl's hazy flashbacks of being kidnapped. This is a wonderful movie to make any parent pull their kids tighter, but watch the hands when you hug your teenage daughter!

Kellie Martin plays a girl who sees her face (a baby photo) on the back of a milk carton, and finds out about her mysterious past. It's a good movie, but the book series by Caroline Cooney is much better. They are more mysterious with more attention paid to detail. Of course, they had to cram in two books' worth of material into an hour and a half movie. And for some reason, the characters' names are different in the movie than in the books and some characters are changed or left out altogether. It's good time filler, with strong performances by Kellie Martin, Sharon Lawrence and Jill Clayburgh especially.

I have also seen this movie several times and I really enjoyed it each time I watched it. I have to say that to those who may not be paying attention, that one may become confused at the plot. I enjoy all the actors and actresses within this movie and think that it is a quality television movie that is worth watching each time it comes on Lifetime.