30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good story. Worth seeing, but the book is much better., February 9, 1999
By A Customer
Cold Sassy Tree is a great story. It gave me a new perspective of Southern life at the turn of the century. It was especially fun to see a young Neil Patrick Harris (aka Doogey Howser) in the role of Will (the story is told from Will's perspective). I only gave it 3 stars, though because the video doesn't do the book justice. The video leaves out a lot of sub-plots from the book. If you truly want a great experience, READ THE BOOK!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A MODERATELY ENTERTAINING FILM..., January 24, 2004
This is a pleasant little Hallmark Hall of Fame film based upon the book of the same name by Olive Ann Burns. It a film that takes place in a very small, sleepy southern town around the turn of the century where an elderly gentleman, a Mr. Blakeslee (Richard Widmark), runs a general store in which he employs a very attractive, middle-aged milliner with the unlikely name of Miss Love Simpson. She is an outsider and a non-southerner, an attractive independent woman who is looked at a bit askance by the town's residents.
The town is turned upside down when three weeks after the death of his wife, Mr. Blakeslee proposes to Miss Love, and she accepts. They get married, much to the chagrin of the Blakeslee family who must grin and bear it. They are outraged that he is recently widowed and that she is young enough to be his daughter. The only one in the family who truly welcomes Miss Love is Will Tweedy (Neil Patrick Harris), Mr. Blakeslee's teen grandson. The rest are simply aghast.
When a blast from her past turns up on Miss Love's doorstep and something happens that threatens to cause a major scandal among the town gossips, Will and Mr. Blakeslee stand by Ms. Love. Gradually, what seems to have been a marriage of convenience blossoms into something more than for which either party bargained. While Mr. Blakeslee confers a certain respectability upon Miss Love, she puts a spring into the step of her old codger husband, and he begins to look positively rejuvenated. It is also a coming of age film with respect to Will.
Richard Widmark and Neil Patrick Harris give wonderful performances, very easy and natural. Faye Dunaway gives a decent enough performance, but I felt that she tended to pose for the camera rather than act. I was also very distracted by her face as it was so tightly pulled back over her cheekbones that her smile tended to look as if it were in rictus. The name Mr. Sardonicus would come to mind whenever she smiled. That is not to say that she did not look attractive, only somewhat unnatural. That being said, the film never rises to a level beyond that of a film made for the small screen. Notwithstanding that, it is a film that is worth a rental, as it is moderately entertaining.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not bad, fairly entertaining, November 11, 2003
By A Customer
Dunaway produced this one herself after a string of lousy flops that had no artistic value at all, and I mean a loooong string of them. Cold Sassy Tree isn't too bad. It was made for cable. It has a fairly tight script and a good cast. She and Wildmark fall in love in a small town in the South. He is an old widower, she is either a widow or a spinster, I cannot remember which. His family disapproves. They forge ahead with their love and at the end, everyone is happy. This is post-face work for Dunaway, I think Beverly Hills Madam was the last we saw of the original Dunaway face, sadly. Nevertheless, this is a good movie. It is not something to watch over and over, but it's good for a single sitting.
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