Monty Wildhorn, an alcoholic novelist of Westerns, has lost his drive. His nephew pushes him to summer in quiet Belle Isle. He begrudgingly befriends a newly single mom and her 3 girls who h... Read allMonty Wildhorn, an alcoholic novelist of Westerns, has lost his drive. His nephew pushes him to summer in quiet Belle Isle. He begrudgingly befriends a newly single mom and her 3 girls who help him find the inspiration to write again.Monty Wildhorn, an alcoholic novelist of Westerns, has lost his drive. His nephew pushes him to summer in quiet Belle Isle. He begrudgingly befriends a newly single mom and her 3 girls who help him find the inspiration to write again.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Awards
- 1 nomination total
- Clown
- (as Lucas Rooney)
- Belle Isle Bookstore Browser
- (uncredited)
- Director
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Featured reviews
If you are in the mood for a family gathering type movie with a happy ending, this is a one to watch.
The movie is inspirational and although the love innuendo between the two main characters can be thought by some to be distasteful, the real age of Monty is never revealed in the film so assumptions should not be made based on Morgan Freeman's real age.
I don't remember liking a movie as much as this one since THE ASTRONAUT FARMER. The cast were perfect. The dialogues were spot on and very entertaining. The banter between Monte and 9-year old Finnegan O'Neil (Emma Fuhrmann) was pure gold and proved to be the beginnings of Monte softening his outlook on life. I wished that banter never ended. Like I said Pure Gold. Kudos to the writers.
This is indeed a feel good movie with a low key pacing and you never wanted it to end.
For starters we see curmudgeon Monte be bam-boozled into reading an obituary for someone he "didn't know;" getting a side-kick in Carl (Ash Christian) a somewhat special needs person; giving aspirin to Ringo, the dog (that he renames Spot) with stiff hind quarters; and helping Finnegan learn to write stories. All this sets the stage for everything that follows. And, everything that follows shows growth of all characters.
Sometimes like a big juicy cheeseburger you just "gotta have" you also "gotta see" a pure gold movie like this. (10/10)
FYI: Virginia Madsen was also in the Astronaut Farmer.
Violence: No. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: No.
Rating: A
Four of us attended and left in a great mood. The scenery and the sets were very realistic. The acting was brilliant, especially the children.
The film had many themes: Reality vs Imagination, Alcholism, Death of a spouse, Divorce, Bringing up children, Dog sitting, Baseball players problems, living with handicaps,and more.
I recommend this film for seniors, married couples, and families with children.
I wonder if the author went on to write for children, another positive talent that he didn't realize he had.
Did you know
- TriviaAnnette Bening was originally cast in the female lead role but dropped out, and Virginia Madsen subsequently replaced her.
- GoofsIn the opening scene, the ramp in the truckbed is first on the passenger side, then on the driver side, and then returns to the passenger side.
- Quotes
Charlotte O'Neil: I always felt like a book is a friend that does what no friend can do; stay quiet when you wanna think.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Maltin on Movies: Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012)
- SoundtracksAlone in the City
Written and Performed by Dan Rosengard
Details
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- Also known as
- The Magic of Belle Isle
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Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $102,388
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $10,367
- Jul 8, 2012
- Gross worldwide
- $123,821
- Runtime
- 1h 49m(109 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1