jodynh

The title led me to believe that this was a movie about a teenager using drugs or becoming a prostitute. I saw some ads that led me to believe it was about a wife disappearing, so I agreed to watch it with a friend who had rented it. Big mistake. The story line was interesting at first, but the characters ruined it. There wasn't a single character I liked in this film, and I didn't care what happened to any of them. The main characters - the husband, the wife, and the husband's sister - were not people I would want to know. They seemed to be begging for trouble on bended knees, and they got it. This is supposed to be interesting because...? I told my friend I needed to leave, but I didn't tell her that it was because I hated this movie and didn't want to watch another minute of it.

I'm a huge fan of Robin Williams, Candace Bergen and Joel McHale. This story line had potential, but the way it was written was downright depressing. If I had seen this movie before Robin Williams killed himself, his death wouldn't have come as such a shock. He looked and acted like he was ready to do it all the way through the film. Candace Bergen's character was lame and not very smart. She seemed to be out of touch with reality most of the time. Joel McHale's character was so filled with hate throughout most of the movie that he didn't seem appropriate for a Christmas film. I realize that holidays are horrible times for a lot of people who feel a need to spend time with people they can't stand because they're "family". But that's not the sort of thing I want to see in a holiday movie.

I believe that when you love the art, you love the artist as well. With that in mind, I love every single person who was involved with this film.

I "adopted" a sailor in Vietnam when I was in grade school. His name was Vernon J. Lambert, and I loved him like a big brother.

During Operation Desert Shield/Storm, I sent packages addressed to any soldier/sailor/airman/marine. I kept writing to the ones who replied until they came home.

I have been a Soldiers' Angel for about seven years, and I have loved every Hero I've "adopted". It's not an easy job. Once I had an adoptee who was a crew chief on a Black Hawk helicopter. When I read in the paper that a Black Hawk had gone down, I didn't sleep for three days. I finally learned that my adoptee was still alive, but it didn't help much. I knew that someone was still grieving.

As I said, I've been VERY lucky. This film showed me what it is like for the ones who haven't been so fortunate. Even so, it still shows all the love that goes into Taking Chance and all the others like him.