Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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54 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
good wholesome movie..., December 28, 2006
I've never read the book but I've heard of Janette Oke. I only happened to watch this movie because my partner's nieces wanted to see this. It was like watching a slow movie version of *Little House on the Prairie*. Funny thing is that Michael Landon, Jr. directed this movie. He seemed to have followed in his father's steps.
Missie and Willie LaHaye have settled on a ranch, along with children and a small household of help. Willie takes care of their dwindling herd. Missie teaches at the local one-room school. Life seems to be fine and dandy.
Soon, Missie's father, Clark, comes into town to visit his daughter. It's a joyful reunion. However, the next morning, the LaHayes discover that their baby died in her sleep overnight. Distraught with grief, Missie declares that she has resigned from teaching. With less income to support the ranch, Willie applies to be the town's sheriff.
The mayor, Mr. Doros, is a greedy and dishonest man. He sends Willie on assignments to evict people from their homes. Talk about awkward moments. These people are friends of the LaHayes.
Meanwhile, the mayor's daughter, Collette, has struck up a fancy to Willie's adopted son, Jeff. It's an innocent friendship that soon blossom into a young simply romance.
Willie struggles with his job as a sheriff. Despite his struggles, he comes out as a natural leader with wise decisions, better than the mayor's. The mayor, resentful of Willie offering alternative ways, begins to think up of a scheme that will bind Willie to comply to his orders without questions. When he discovers a romance between his daughter and Jeff, he devises a plan.
*Love's Abiding Joy* is a slow-paced wholesome movie that deals with faith, loyalty, family, death, sacrifice and the like. Exactly what you would see on *Little House on the Prairie*.
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not much happens..., December 18, 2006
Having watched this feature on Hallmark, it seemed more commercials than actual film. Even though it clocks in at just over an hour, it feels much shorter.
Unfortunately, the story varies greatly from that of the book. It continues with Jeff, now as the LaHaye's adopted son. The little romance in this film involves him. Tragedy strikes the LaHaye family early on in the film. Clark had been there visting and remains to be with Missie.
I was disappointed not only in the film's overall lack of plot but also because I found the acting even more hokey than usual. The actress who play Missie overacts to the extreme in this film. Her feelings are, of course, understandable- but she doesn't act in ways that felt real or relatable. It all seems melodramatic, almost laughably so.
Marty does not appear in this film or the previous, which makes it seem as if she has died. (I understand Katherine Heigl's being in a successful TV show but she has a good fan base going with this series. But maybe she refused because the quality is so poor. If that's the case, I understand completely. I wouldn't want my name attached to it either.)
I love the fact that these beloved, faith-full stories are being made into films but I just wish that they would stick to Janette Oke's plot and not try to make up their own. The missing elements are, unfortunately, all too obvious.
I rated this three stars because I have to give them credit for trying to produce good, faithful, family entertainment. The film itself is maybe two stars.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Loves Abiding Joy, January 26, 2007
All I can say is YOU GOT TO SEE IT !!! A beauiful story. Very good family movie with great values. Its real life events.I enjoyed this movie and I am waiting for the next one to come out. This movie is the fourth sequence to Love comes softly ,Loves enduring promises, Loves long journey and then Loves abiding joy. All is a must to see. Great family movies and very good Love stories. A family with morals, with a great love for each other and a love for God. They will make you laugh and make you cry. I loved them.I cant say enough about these movies. I only wish People still had these values. You got to see all these movies. They are the best movies I ever seen. Karon S. Howe Of North Carolina
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