Riding Faith

If I hadn't been with my parents I would have quit after 10 minutes.

Acting = amateurish at best.

Writing= painfully full of holes Faith=questionable

Ouch.

Starting with the unlikely situation that John Schneider would be called back into duty at his age (seriously, how desperate is the military? He's 60 for Pete's sake) and there's an 18 year age difference between him and his wife's character. The dialogue is bad, the actors aren't great and the movie is really stilted and predictable. I would like to point out that one reviewer was really upset about the white horse being called white and the lead rope being dropped... White horses are called white and a well trained horse will stamd still when a lead rope is dropped, also no horse in the history of ever have tripped over their lead rope and broken a leg.

This movie wears like a LifeTime movie that was not released because of not having any interest. The picture on the ad and the name sums up what could only be shown to the ages of 5 years old to 12.

Both the character and the actress who plays the mother drags the movie down. The character of the mother is not only weak but doesn't promote female strength. She is left with a ranch after her husband dies but never thought they would eventually run out of money. It begs the question why she didn't get a job to try to support her Daughter and ranch. The actress brings no personality to the role, just a dumb look all the time. The daughter and pastor actors and John Schneider are the only things giving the movie a 4 from me.

This film is most appropriate for people who are Christians. The plot is quite slow moving and repetitive. The topic of arguments between characters does not change much. It is definitely not mysterious in any way and there aren't many surprises. Although the message is quite uplifting and can help any person.

The storyline entails a mother Rebecca, a father Mike, and their teenage daughter Grace, who move to a large, countryside ranch. But everything goes downhill when Grace's father is deployed in the military and passes away in battle. After this, she and her mom struggle to pay the mortgage and must do anything to save the farm, including hold on to hope, have faith and believe that not all is lost.

Grace (Grace Van Dien) is a very emotionally driven character. She cares so much about the ranch and will do anything she can to make sure that she and her mom can keep it and continue to live a full life together. What really stands out about Hope Ranch is the music. The tempo and instruments in each scene tie together in a way that is expressive of emotion and the events that either follow or are presently happening. It happens to be my favorite part as well. It helps the element of varying emotions shine and helps viewers to connect more with the storyline and the situation that the characters are in.

The message of this movie is that you should never give up or lose hope, and that if you persevere through tough times, it will only make you stronger than ever before. It is definitely successful in portraying its message. The message is most certainly positive and uplifting. There isn't any negative language or behavior. This film definitely promotes the admired social behavior of helping others in need and sticking together in times of difficulty, which is an effective choice, as it helps other people in desperate situations.

I give this film 3 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 18, plus adults.

Reviewed by Ruby A., KIDS FIRST! reporter