Customer Reviews

Door to Door [VHS]

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had heard the story of Bill Porter before I knew his name. I knew the work of William Macy, and that is what pushed me over the edge to view this movie version of the tale of Bill Porter's life from "wanting to be a salesman" to "Salesman of the Year" to "Dinosaur" and finally, full circle, to being an Invisible Thread who wove love into individuals, into a neighborhood and finally into the hearts of viewers like me.

William Macy's performance is excellent, I forgot he was William Macy about 15 minutes into the movie. Helen Mirren was remarkable as his mother - a big inspiration whose presence is felt even after her death both by Bill and by us each time we see him remember her (which is regularly.)

Kyra Sedgwick is luminous as Shelly - early in the movie her character is quite young and she pulls it off beautifully - and we watch her develop into "just a job to keep me going through college" to being much, much more as she matures into an adult side by side, heart to heart with Bill.

The syncronicities - again, woven by the thread of Bill, might have been seen as "accidental" - until we know the heart of the man. Salespeople in all areas ought to watch this movie - it isn't about the products, its about honoring people and showing them how their lives can be impacted by those products.

Finally - this movie reminded me that Love will never go the way of the dinosaur.

Thank you - everyone involved in this film.

William H. Macy as Watkins salesman Bill Porter gives the performance of a lifetime in this drama that took me through a range of emotions in seconds. Kyra Sedgewick does an admirable job as Shelly, Porter's assistant and dear friend. Kathy Baker's role as his best customer, Gladys, was also quite moving. Helen Mirren plays Bill Porter's mother and deserves the highest praise for portraying a strong woman who gives never-ending encouragement to her son, proving that "patience and persistence" will overcome all things, including his cerebral palsey. All in all, this is one of the DON'T MISS movies of your life. This is a true story where each character was played with brilliance. Once you see it, you have to see it again and again. I paid a HIGH price for the VHS on eBay and have watched it six times thus far - I never tire of that warm fuzzy this movie provides. See it, Buy it, Share it, and visit ... to see the REAL Bill Porter and his story, which is also his Watkins website!

William H Macy is the most underrated actor in the world today! This is a role for the ages. Macy brings his subtle nuances to the real-life character of Bill Porter, perhaps the most inspirational "salesman" on the planet. This is Bill Porter's story from beginning to end and what agreat story it is. The triumph of one man speaks to us all in a film that moves at a pace that allows the viewer the true enjoyment of knowing a character. At the end of this film, you may laugh or you may cry, but you will never forget Bill Porter and extrordinary story. The supporting cast, especially Helen Miren provide the perfect cast for this perfect story! For a memorable evening of true story-telling at its best, buy and watch Door to Door.

I teach a class of high school students with disabilities who are in search of their first job, and I showed this to class to let them know that it is possible to obtain a job and be successful with a disability. I always enjoy finding educational messages in entertainment, and this is one piece. I would recommend this to anyone in an education setting or as an inspirational story about overcoming barriers and finding one's true meaning in life.

It is hard to believe that William H. Macy did not get an Oscar for his performance in this film. The film tells the real life story of a door-to-door salesman named Bill Porter (Macy) who overcomes his challenges with cerebral palsy in order to become the company's most successful door-to-door salesman. Having overcome physical challenges, the movie shows the human side of Bill Porter as it shows the wall of self-independence he has erected and the friendships he develops, and almost loses, as he allows others who care about him to help him and become a part of his life.

This movie is funny, heart-warming, and endearing thanks to what I consider the best performance from William H. Macy ever. A must see movie!

William H. Macy did a wonderful job of bringing forth the story of Bill Porter, a man with Cerebral Palsy, who sold Watkins products from "Door to Door"... in fact, he was the last "Door to Door" salesman that Watkins had (when Watkins like most other Multi Level Marketing Companies started to go over to telephone ordering and the internet). To find out more about Mr. Porter, you can visit his website ... . Knowing Mr. Porter, seeing this film with Mr. Macy's acting, and from a family with a member who has Cerebral Palsy, it was easy to see how well this film was done. Very true to life, and a true credit and honor to the man who is Bill Porter.

One doesn't see the classic DOOR TO DOOR salesman anymore. (The occasional youthful hawker of magazine subscriptions or Girl Scout cookies doesn't count.) But for more than 40 years beginning in 1955, Bill Porter walked the same sales route in Oregon for the (real-life) Watkins Company, which sold (and still sells) an esoteric mix of products from laundry soap to dog biscuits to condiments.

Porter was afflicted with cerebral palsy at birth. In this made-for-TV film, Porter (William Macy) explains its cause as the too assiduous application of forceps by the obstetrician who delivered him. As the film opens, Bill is attempting, at age 21, to land his first job as a salesman, the profession of his deceased father. Porter is encouraged and supported by his mother (Helen Mirren), who writes the words "patience" and "persistence" with ketchup on the outside of her son's brown-bag sandwiches after Watkins reluctantly hires the young man. To prove that he can do the job despite his disability, Porter has challenged Watson by offering to take the toughest sales route that nobody else wants. Soon after, Bill's mother begins to suffer the mental impairment that eventually lands her in an assisted care facility. Bill is now on his solitary own.

If it wasn't for Macy's performance, DOOR TO DOOR would just be another of those warm and fuzzy human interest stories that otherwise makes my eyeballs roll for its political correctness. Macy, who's cast in the lead too infrequently, turns in his best performance since FOCUS (2001) - perhaps better. The actor's depiction of Porter's handicap is a pointed reminder of the difficulties to be surmounted by one so afflicted, even including painful isolation from normal, male-female sexual intimacy and romance.

At the end of the film's credits, the audience is made aware of the fact that the real-life Bill Porter has a website. Out of curiosity, I signed onto it and discovered that it's actually a link to Watson's on-line shopping catalog. It left me wondering if I hadn't just been manipulated into watching a lengthy Watson promo. It's that vague feeling of having been conned that causes me to award 4 stars instead of the five otherwise due Macy's brilliant work.

I was on holiday from the uk to las vegas in July when this premiered on tv.It is without a doubt one of the best tv dramas i had ever seen.Bill macy is Bill Porter and if this was a movie he would get an oscar. I think I laughed many times and cried at least twice. I watch ed it twice before going home and since returning have always checked internet sites to see if its going to be released as a dvd, so i can import it to the uk as i dont think it will be on tv here.
Dont miss this superb tv it will make you feel good about going to work the next day.

Bill Porter is one of the many everyday man or woman that are real heros going around this world. It was a great idea to present his life in a movie. He is a simbol of many men and women that do their best, despite all the adversities that they have to fight.

This is the type of film that may bring many emotions, but it deserves to be seen. The key actors do a great job, by the end of the film, you feel as if you have been there. After seeing it, you will not feel sorry for Bill Porter, instead we feel good, because he is a man that did accomplish something in life, living a life similar to many of us and still setting a standard of integrity and will.

William Macy, like no other actor I think, can evoke such feelings of compassion. He is also plays a very likeable developmentally disabled person in this film. Bring a Kleenex box along when you view this movie. As a parent of a severely disabled autistic boy, I felt for the character who was limited in his coping skills but who tried and tried and tried to make his life meaningful and to help others through his job as a traveling salesman. Detractors may say Macy over acts, but I think his character makes a sterling point, that people can overcome their severe disabilities with perseverance and the constancy that evolves from the honesty of the human heart.

A+

Jeffrey McAndrew
author of "Our Brown-Eyed Boy"