Fighting the Odds: The Marilyn Gambrell Story

Fighting the odds was a very good movie, containing a great cast. Jamie Gertz did a phenomenal job, as well as Ernie Hudson and Sicily. This movie is a must see for not only kids with the same situations as the kids in the movie, but younger kids as well as teens. I felt really liberated as I watched this movie, I felt as if I should reach out to kids with similar situations in my city. Lifetime does not show this movie enough, and they should. Now that I've seen it, I'm going to get some kids at my school to watch it so they can maybe get some courage and see other kids going through what they are going through. So if you haven't seen it, now is the time to see it. It is inspirational, enjoyable, and for all to see.

Although you can tell that the movie, made for TV, was not a blockbuster, it drives home a very key issue experienced in our society today. I personally have never gone through some of the experiences of the children portrayed in the movie but I'm close to people who have. I felt the sincerity, pain, frustration, agony and the need to survive in every minute watched. You can tell that what actually took place at M. B. Smiley High School was a lot more than what TV could provide. It was definitely enough to get the message across though. I recommend this movie for all students of inner cities. I think it should be a requirement. Excellent and two thumbs up!

Jami Gertz turned in a dynamite performance in this movie. She played an Ex-Parole Officer turned Part-Time Instructor. She endured skepticism and indifference from members of a high school with students enduring serious social problems in the real world. She gradually earned respect and admiration from the students and the instructors later in the movie. They later visit a state prison -- in which the fathers of many children have been incarcerated for numerous offenses. The plot maintained energy and direction during the movie. She grew a set of balls in this movie. The students endure the roles of what the real world was like upon winning trust from the children. In the end, all but one student graduated from school -- thus looking forward to more productive lives outside the drug-infested world of government housing, gangs, beatings, substandard employment opportunities, and misery of Houston. Way to Go!!

I love true life stories, and love Jamie Gertz, but I was disappointed with her and the script, although the move was good overall. The idea that she would walk in and be able to immediately say "you are so valuable" or something like that seems just a bit arrogant. She would not have gained their trust in the first day or week. Putting her students on the spot so soon in front of their peers was another thing that looked unrealistic.

I don't know if I misunderstood the timing or what. Later, her relationship was more realistic, but the lines just as saccharine.

The kids were great. Their realities were intense and realistic, and heartwrenching. Her having to come to grips with her own reality was important; it created an equality between her and that kids that was realistic.

Very good, but not great.

This movie is good. Strong script and well acted. Must see especially if you liked Dangerous Minds. Marilyn Gambrell is an inspiration and strives to make a difference in the community she comes from. Gambrell a former parole officer, and a former co worker, gets involved with the students from Smiley High School. Gambrell a white female, is seen as an outsider and has to earn the respect of the students. Her main focus is on children of parent or parents whom are in jail. She is hoping to break the chain, so future children will not end up in prison. She strives to show each child they are loved and no longer victims. She has started a foundation, No More Victims. Emotional scenes in this movie were portrayed very well. I highly recommend.