Manna from Heaven

Charming, well-written movie with good character development. Off the beaten path, and I agree with many posters here who say that they found themselves thinking about the film long after seeing it.

The usual major-development-per-minute mainstream mindset for people with no attention span is nowhere in evidence here. A very interesting story - It's not built to a formula. I just had no recollection of having seen this all before when I was watching it, and that's so rare now in the movie-as-formula age.

Wonderful performances by some really wonderful actors - Frank Gorshin especially was so good, as were Jill Eikenberry and the hilarious Cloris Leachman.

It's good to see this movie doing well, and being picked up by distributors.

While not a perfect film (how many are?), "Manna From Heaven" was funny, heartwarming, and clever. Cloris Leachman's performance alone was worth the price of admission. This is a truly independent film, but more than that, it's a labor of love by the 5 Sisters production team and it shows on the screen. If you're interested in taking a bite of something more satisfying than the bland, mass-produced cinema sausages Hollywood relentlessly churns out, go see this movie. You'll leave the theatre walking on air. I did!

Although this was a low budget movie, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It wasn't great, but it made you, from the beginning, want to sit down and watch until the end. I liked all the characters, especially Jill Eikenberry who played such a subdued character, Cloris Leachman, Wendy Malick and Frank Gorshin, and even though I tend to agree with one poster who said that Shirley Jones was miscast, I think it's because we expect her to be sweet all the time and didn't want her to be "bad". But I loved her turnaround. I even stopped to look at the special features on the DVD, because I wanted to see how the show was made, and I felt a part of the process while watching it. I also learned that one of the elderly couples in the dance scene are the parents of the Burton sisters! Interesting info, I really liked the "feel-good" feelings of this movie.

It's not a perfect movie in the conventional sense, but then again so few are. I enjoyed it quite a bit in spite of the implausible plot - after all, what's a feel-good satirical comedy without some hyperbole? The casting and performances were generally delightful. The cinematography was very good in spite of what a few other uninformed reviewers have said. To capture the feel of Buffalo NY - old, out of touch, quietly desperate but always hopeful - the Sisters put together a montage of sights and sounds reminiscent of the social and cultural hodge-podge that is the Buffalo area. It's a state of mind, not a geographical place!

The plot will, in its own way, lead you to the conclusion that the most common people can have redemption with a little effort and divine intervention. This was a great effort from a bunch of girls from Buffalo who have no money to compete against the digitized, schmoltzified crap dealers of Hollywood! A refreshing change of pace -go see it.

My husband and I happened on this movie the other night at a local theater. We hadn't heard anything good or bad about this movie but we thought we'd see it anyway.

There was a table set up outside the theater with literature about the movie. I believe the person at the table was one of the five sisters who produced the movie but I wasn't sure because she was on a cell phone the entire time that the patrons were at the table.

One of the quotes on the literature said "if you liked My Big Fat Greek Wedding you are going to LOVE Manna from Heaven." This made me think that we may be in for a pleasant surprise....unfortunately we weren't.

The film had some slightly humorous moments but they were very few and far between. The "plot" was very weak, predictable and for the most part, the actor's performances alternated between stilted and exaggerated.

I really wanted to like this independent film but it just wasn't possible.