The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie

At the beginning of this movie we meet Charlie, a hot headed teen who is constantly fighting at school. His home life is miserable. His father is an equal hot head who argues constantly with his mother driving her to drink. To make matters worse he's just fallen in with a group of troublemakers. He gets blamed when one of his friends steals a purse. The principal, played by James Caan, agrees not to suspend him if he works off his debt to the purse's owner, Mrs. Ritchie (Gina Rowlands).

Mrs. Ritchie proceeds to teach Charlie about living and caring for each other.

The movie start out poorly. The setup of Charlie's character is painful and the scenes with his friends cliché and over dramatized.

However, when Gina Rowlands appears on the screen as Mrs. Ritchie the movie takes a wonderful turn. Mrs. Ritchie is offbeat and colorful; her zeal for life intoxicating.

Don't let the start of the movie keep you from enjoying a delightful and uplifting film.

With two seasoned veterans on the bill, Gena Rowlands and James Caan, (and an up and coming actor like Kevin Zegers) one would expect a certain quality of acting in this movie... and it does not disappoint. The simple yet beautiful story was handcrafted by Paul Johansson (who was also the films director) and it seems that he took as careful care in the casting as he did in his writing. Each character struck me as unique and genuine and all of the actors served the story rather fittingly. Leslie Hope deserves special notice for her portrayal of Charlie's mother; she is near psychotic most of the times and yet Hope manages to keep things from going over the top. One of the highlights of the film for me was observing the relationship between Mrs. Ritchie's handicapped sons, played by Jeremy Raymond and John Speer. Jeremy Raymond, who I've discovered is actually not handicapped at all, was a delight to watch whenever he was on the screen and a few of the scenes between him and Speers were quite touching in their honesty. This is a wonderful movie that is constructed with great care and it is a fine example of what Canadian film is about.

Charlie (Kevin Zegers) is a troubled teen fighting all the time and getting kicked out of several schools. His home life is a mess. His father (David Schofield) is an angry bully. His mother (Leslie Hope) is also troubled. Juvenile delinquent Lawrence (Justin Chatwin) befriends Charlie and steals a purse but Charlie is the one who gets caught. The principal (James Caan) offers Charlie a job to help Mrs Ritchie (Gena Rowlands) and her two Down Syndrome sons or else get expelled.

This is a nice story written by Paul Johansson. It has a nice poetic touch in some of the twists and reveals. He isn't as good as a director. The style is limited to a TV movie feel. My biggest problem is with lead actor Kevin Zegers. He doesn't bring anything special to the role and he also looks too old. I wonder if Justin Chatwin is a better fit although he's even older. At least, he does that grumpy teen character very well. James Caan is in the movie but his skills are needed more in the important father character. Then there is the one and only great Gena Rowlands. She makes this look easy. It could have been a run-of-the-mill Lifetime movie if not for her.

I had no idea of the storyline of this film and was 'incredibly' touched by it. Gena Rowlands was excellent as always and Kevin Zegers shone as the troubled teen boy. With his hunky good looks and natural acting techniques, Kevin Zegers is definitely an up and coming film star. The humorous scenes with the 'mildly retarded' boys brought tears of joy to my eyes. I loved how they 'dressed' for lunch and dinner.This film has enough teenage story lines to appeal to young boys and girls and enough 'adult' content to appeal to mature women and men. I would highly recommend this film to viewers of all ages, especially those with a heart.

"The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie" was a great film and I think if it would have had a cinema opening, it would have done well. It was one of the best movies I have seen in a while. The gorgeous Kevin Zegers as "Charlie" and lovely Gena Rowlands as "Mrs. Ritchie" were perfectly cast. I suggest that everyone watch this film.