Christy - Au coeur du souvenir

Christy is one of my favorite books, and I absolutely loved Kellie Martin and Tyne Daly along with the other actors in the original TV mini-series. These three movies with Lauren Lee Smith as Christy should be a continuation of the story that stopped with the end of the former series. Instead, they contain almost nothing original and are simply recycled, watered down versions of stories we've already seen.

While I would've been happy to discover new story lines with the people of Cutter Gap, I could also have been satisfied just to see the love triangle play out between Christy, David, and Dr. Neil MacNeill. These three movies take 4 1/2 hours (collectively) to get to the point, and they force the audience to re-hash story lines which had been fully fleshed out in the original series (though sometimes with slightly different characters.) It makes me wonder why the producers felt there was a market for these movies, since it is hardly providing anything new.

I agree with other posters about the lackluster performances of Lauren Lee Smith and Diane Ladd, as compared to Kellie Martin and Tyne Daly. I also felt James Waterston's performance as Rev. David Grantland was poor. I can respect an actor's prerogative to play a character in a new way, and I wouldn't want anyone to try and copy a previous interpretation, but I couldn't stand the end performance of any of these actors. I felt intense compassion for all of these characters in the book and the original mini-series, but during these movies, I didn't care what happened to any of them. I didn't connect with anyone who I originally found interesting, with the exception of Dr. MacNeill's character (played by the returning Stewart Finlay-McLennan.) Christy became wimpy, Miss Alice sounded uncomfortable in her own skin, saying "thee" and "thou" in an awkward way. I found that I couldn't care less about David as a love-interest. There was no chemistry between David and Christy, and I found it hard to believe that she could maintain any sort of interest in him at all. All of these actors sounded stilted and unoriginal while delivering their lines.

In writing this, I fear that I have completely repeated other posters, but I feel my comments are necessary, because I want to more fully represent the people who were disappointed in these movies. I highly recommend the novel and the original TV mini-series, but I could never recommend any of these movies with the new cast.

What a bonanza for fans of Catherine Marshall's Christy! First there was the original series, with Kellie Martin as the innocent, intelligent young schoolteacher. That series endures on cable tv, but now we have a second Christy to admire. Lauren Lee Smith is a taller, more mature Christy. She shines in her very real chemistry with the doctor, my choice for husband. Lauren Lee Smith reminds me of a young Julia Roberts. That is a giant compliment. The actor who plays the doctor, Stewart Finlay-McLennan is quite possibly the best actor on television. He brings the character of Neil MacNeill to life, as though he stepped out of the pages of the book. Now we have two Christys to love, Kellie Martin and Lauren Lee Smith, each beautiful and special in her interpretation of the character.

The story of Christy has long been a favorite in my family. The new movie is a wonderful example of quality television at it's best. The movie added a new dimension to the continuing saga of Christy. Several new actors were introduced including Lauren Lee Smith who plays the title character who is reminiscing with her daughter about her years in the Cove. Returning from the original series in SFM who plays Dr. Neil McNeil. The show boasts a wonderful cast and gorgeous scenery. A mini-series is set for late spring which will answer the questions from Return to Cutter Gap. My family and I can't wait to see this wonderful book once again brought to life on the screen. I urge anyone who has been searching for good family entertainment to watch this movie.

This movie is great family entertainment. Life in the Great Smokies in the early part of the century is portrayed as a challenge for the young schoolteacher Christy Huddleston. She is beset with many problems, from convincing her students' parents that she has the best interest of the families at heart, to choosing whom she will marry. James Waterston gives a convincing performance as the serious young minister, determined to finish the road and bring progress to the Cove, and Stewart Finlay McClennan brings humor and professionalism to his role as the mountain doctor who gives Christy some moments of annoyance as he pays attention to Harriet Quimby, the pilot who has flown into Cutter Gap. Lovely mountain scenery, playful children, delightful plane rides all give the movie balance against the more sober issues of catching the robbers, saving people from being sentenced under Uncle Bogg's justice , and a sudden surgery. This is a very promising movie that could be developed to super quality in a TV series!

"Christy: Return to Cutter Gap" is an excellent starter for one of the best mini-series I have ever seen. It takes place (for the most part) where the series left off back in 94'. An aged Christy and her daughter (author Catherine Marshall) are showed driving back to the mission of Cutter Gap some 40 years after the story takes place. While most of the cast is new, some of the origional's are still there, like the wonderful Dale Dickey (Opal McHone) Andy Stahl (Tom McHone) Bruce McKinnon (Jeb Spencer) Mike Hickman (Birds-Eye Taylor) and of course, the talented Aussie actor Stewart Finlay-McLennan (Dr. Neil MacNeill)- who's Scottish accent is enough to make Mel Gibson (Braveheart) run and hide! The some of the new cast members include, the critically acclaimed actress Diane Ladd (Alice Henderson) Lauren Lee Smith, as a beautiful Christy, James Waterston (Rev. David Grantland) and Ingrid Torrence (Fairlight Spencer)

While the movie doesn't start directly from where the series left off, it is very close to it and stays very true to the book. Most of the story is based on Christy's choice of a husband, and there also is a bit of jealousy when an atractive female pilot crashes into Cutter Gap, drawing the attentions of all Cutter Gap men, Neil MacNeill included.

All in all, Christy: Return to Cutter Gap is a fantastic start, in what is an amazingly wonderful mini-series. It is, and always will be my favorite.