Books to Film: Love's Unfolding Dream (2007)

Love's Unfolding Dream, the sixth installment of Janette Oke's Love Comes Softly series, made it to the screen in 2007. Belinda (Marshall) Tyler (now played by Scout Taylor-Compton) is the oldest daughter of Missie Tyler (Erin Cottrell) and her sheriff husband, Zach (Victor Browne). She yearns to be a doctor, and when she hears that Dr. Jackson (Robert Pine) is looking for a medical assistant, she jumps at the chance.

Dr. Jackson has his reservations about hiring Belinda, especially because he thinks women are only good for marrying and keeping a home. As Belinda is traveling through town, the stagecoach driver stops her. One of the passengers has grown gravely ill. Belinda brings Mrs. Stafford-Smythe and her traveling companion Windsor (Richard Herd) to Dr. Jackson. When Mrs. Stafford-Smythe requires round-the-clock care, Dr. Jackson resigns himself to hiring Belinda to help. 

Meanwhile, Drew Simpson (Patrick Levis), the nephew of Clark and Marty Davis' (Dale Midkiff and Samantha Smith)  former neighbor Hank, arrives in Anderson Corner. The freshly out of law school Drew has inherited Hank's property and plans to sell it before returning to New York. When Clark drives him out there, Drew is dismayed to find the property in need of extensive repairs. Clark agrees to help, saying this will allow him to repay a debt to Hank. When Belinda meets Drew, they quickly clash. Seems Drew's sentiments on women are the same as Dr. Jackson's. However, they can't deny they are drawn to each other. 

As she tends to Mrs. Stafford-Smythe, the two women and Windsor, become friends. Once the two Bostonians are ready to return home, Belinda faces choices that will impact her future in many ways.

Love's Unfolding Dream is an excellent addition to the Love Comes Softly movie series. Since changes were made to characters in previous movies, some changes naturally came to this movie. Viewers must assume that Aaron and Arnie Davis are now off living their lives as adults, since they don't appear in this movie at all. Mattie LaHaye (now played by Randall Bentley) and Jacob Marshall (now played by Darian Weiss) are around, but don't see as much screentime since the focus is on Belinda's storyline. 

Another storyline that unfolds is that of Sadie and Charles Kent (Lori Rom and Paul Ganus). They have moved to Anderson Corner with their son, Caleb (Timmy Deters). Missie, the town's school teacher, calls Sadie in to let her know that Caleb is behind, especially with his reading. That's when she learns the entire family doesn't know how to read. So Missie devises a plan to help, which causes stress in the Kent's marriage.

Especially with Love's Unfolding Dream, the series becomes more about the community of Anderson Corner than just the Davis family. We see a town that has grown and changed since Clark moved there. 

Michael Landon Jr. returns as co-executive producer in this installment. I feel that's partially why I like this one. You can see his abilities shine through in the storyline and the actor's portrayals. I still miss Katherine Heigl as Marty Davis, who by this time was two years into her Grey's Anatomy role. One of the funny inconsistencies is that Missie can no longer cook, even though she could make fried chicken as a child. 

Friendship, community, and romance are what you find in Love's Unfolding Dream, along with a good dose of Clark Davis wisdom that viewers come to expect and appreciate.

• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.56 x 5.31 x 0.59 inches; 3.2 Ounces
• Director ‏ : ‎ Harvey Frost
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 88 minutes
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Erin Cottrell, Scout Taylor-Compton, Dale Midkiff, Robert Pine, Victor Browne
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English, Spanish
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07MXPCZLZ

I own this movie on DVD. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Books to Film: Love's Abiding Joy (2006)

 

In 2006, Michael Landon Jr. brought Love's Abiding Joy, the fourth novel in Janette Oke's Love Comes Softly series, to the screen. It continues Missie (Erin Cottrell) and Willie's (Logan Bartholomew's) story arc at their ranch in the far West. 

Thanks to the Transcontinental Railroad, Missie's father, Clark Davis (Dale Midkiff), is able to visit them on the ranch, allowing him the first chance to meet his grandchildren: adopted son Jeff (Drew Tyler Bell), Mattie (Brett Cocker), and baby Kathy. Willie explains to Clark that times have been tough the last two years for the ranchers due to little rain and a cow plague that swept through the area. They are grateful for Missie's teaching job. 

When tragedy strikes, Missie and Willie's love is tested. Once Willie decides to take on the role of sheriff offered by the powerful and wealthy Samuel Doros (John Laughlin), the wedge between them widens. As they attempt to pull their once tight-knit family back together, Jeff finds himself in a dangerous position as his relationship with Colette Doros (Mae Whitman) blossoms into love. 

As the Love Comes Softly movie series continues, the difference between the books and movies widens. In Janette Oke's version of Love's Abiding Joy, Marty and Clark visit Missie and Willie. In the movies, only Clark makes the trip, saying that the cost was too much to bring the entire family. This makes me wonder if the loss of Katherine Heigl as Marty played a role in that decision.  Also, the LaHaye children are different in the movie than the books. No shock there, as most of Marty and Clark's children didn't make it into the movies either. 

There are so many touching moments in this movie (SPOILERS IN WHITE):

• Clark and Missie's reunion
• Clark overjoyed with meeting his grandchildren and the LaHayes' friends
• The developing romance between Jeff and Colette
• How one of the school children drew a picture of baby Kathy going to heaven for Missie
• Clark supporting and praying for Missie and Willie as they cope with the loss of Kathy
• The reunited LaHaye family learning to move on from Kathy's death
• How Willie bought back Missie's locket she had sold to get money for their friends, Henry and Melinda, so Doros couldn't foreclose on their ranch
• Colette standing up to her father
• Clark and Missie's tearful goodbye

While Jeff and Colette provide the only hint of romance in Love's Abiding Joy, fans of the series will be crying with and hoping for Missie and Willie to find their way back to each other. As the stagecoach bringing Clark back to the train station pulls away, a teary-eyed Missie stands in the road watching it drive out of town, having expressed her gratitude that Clark was there when tragedy struck and having been reminded that God's timing is always perfect, even when we don't know it at the time.

Another fabulous installment of this series. Cottrell and Bartholomew play a couple in crisis well, and Midkiff brings such depth of emotion to his role as Clark Davis. Family faith-based content should always be this good. 

• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.53 x 5.28 x 7.46 inches; 4 Ounces
• Item model number ‏ : ‎ 885636
• Director ‏ : ‎ Michael Landon Jr.
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Multiple Formats, Color, Full Screen, NTSC, Dolby, Widescreen, Subtitled
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 27 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ January 2, 2007
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Erin Cottrell, Dale Midkiff, Logan Bartholomew, Frank McRae, William Morgan Sheppard
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English, Spanish
• Language ‏ : ‎ French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Unqualified (DTS ES 6.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ 20th Century Fox
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000ICLRJS

I own this movie on DVD. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Books to Film: Love's Long Journey (2005)

 

In Love's Long Journey, the third movie directed by Michael Landon Jr. for Hallmark Channel's Love Comes Softly series, Missie (now played by Erin Cottrell) and Willie LaHaye (Logan Bartholomew) have left the wagon train and arrived to take claim to their homestead and start their ranch. Willie hires a few ranch hands, and Missie meets their Native American neighbor Miriam Red Hawk McClain (Irene Bedard). Even though Missie has a chance to teach some of the Native American children, she is desperately homesick, and danger may be lurking around the corner for the LaHayes. 

Though I haven't read Love's Long Journey by Janette Oke, based upon reviews, the movie leaves out the first half of the book, which is the LaHayes' time on the wagon train. Instead, it opens with Missie and Willie departing from the wagon train and stopping in town at the general store and land office before heading out to land that has been deeded to him. The rest of the movie is all about them settling in, getting the ranch going, and the dangers and life changes they face along the way.

While Love Comes Softly remains my favorite movie, Love's Long Journey is a fabulous film with tons of great characters who become part of Missie and Willie's new life. Dale Midkiff reprises his role as Missie's father, Clark Davis. He has two cameos in this film as he corresponds with Missie from across the miles. 

With the luxury of being able to watch one movie after the other in a series, you tend to pick up inconsistencies along the way. Suddenly, Missie, who told Marty in Love Comes Softly that she makes good fried chicken and teased Marty because she couldn't cook, can no longer cook, which comes up a couple of times. It reminded me of a similar inconsistency in Little House on the Prairie, where depending upon the episode, Charles could or could not cook. 

Love's Long Journey is a fine installment of this series. Though you could always watch only one movie, there is so much value in following the Davis family saga from the beginning.

• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
• Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.1 x 5.42 x 0.58 inches; 2.93 Ounces
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ DVD, Full Screen
• Language ‏ : ‎ Unqualified
• Studio ‏ : ‎ 20TH CENTURY FOX
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B004FD5I1Y

I own this movie. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Books to Film: Love's Enduring Promise (2004)

 

The Davis family saga continues in Love's Enduring Promise, the sequel to Love Comes Softly. 

Missie Davis (now played by January Jones) is the local school teacher. She finds herself wooed by a wealthy surveyor, Grant Thomas, (portrayed by Mackenzie Astin), but when her father Clark (Dale Midkiff) suffers a life-threatening accident, the help of a mysterious stranger has her second guessing her true feelings. 

Airing on Hallmark Channel in 2004, Love's Enduring Promise shifts the story arc to Missie's character, which viewers will see continued in the next two films. Having viewed all of these movies up through Love Takes Wing, I feel this is the weakest film of the series. Perhaps that is to be expected after the moving performances of Katherine Heigl and Dale Midkiff as two people drawn together by necessity whose arrangement blossoms into love. These actors had such chemistry together that the focus shifting away from them means the actors portraying the love story in the sequel had to have equal or better chemistry, which wasn't visible to me. 

By now, Missie's family includes Marty's son Aaron Luke Davis (K'Sun Ray) and her brother Arnie Davis (Logan Arens). As she developed into a young woman, some of that spunk viewers enjoyed in Love Comes Softly has been tempered, which is to be expected. We do however see a bit of it when Nate (Logan Bartholomew) is plowing the field as Clark recovers. 

Missie is quickly taken with Grant Thomas, a wealthy surveyor who pursues her. Yet, she can't seem to get the mysterious Nate out of her mind. Nate comes with his own backstory, which unfolds along the way, and Clark is a compassionate father figure to Nate. 

My favorite parts of this movie are, no surprise, ones that involve Marty and Clark. In the opening sequence, we see Marty and Clark relaxing in a field together. Marty asks Clark to promise that he will never leave her, which he does. She asks him how he can be certain, and he quotes Scripture stating the two shall become one. She also comments on what a wonderful life he has given her and what a wonderful life they have made together, so the viewers feel they have been successful in their endeavors and enjoy their life together. This foreshadows his life-threatening accident. 

My next favorite part comes at the end of the movie. 

SPOILERS AHEAD IN WHITE 

At the end of the movie, Missie is saying goodbye to her family, as she heads farther West with her new husband. Marty, holding back tears, provides motherly advice and reminds her to write once they are settled. But it is Missie and Clark's goodbye that tugs at the heartstrings. Clark tells her that ever since she was a little baby, he knew this day was coming because she had an independent spirit. 

She says, "Pa, my heart's breaking."

"Mine, too," Clark replies.

"Can you fix it?"

"Not this time, little one." They embrace. "Not this time."

Marty and the boys walk up to Clark to offer him support. As Missie and her husband pull away in their wagon, Clark waves and says, "Remember His Promise." 

Missie waves and replies, "No tears."

"No tears," Clark says. Then the camera focuses on his stricken face as he whispers, "No tears." 

Then the last shot is a faraway look of the wagon driving away. 

Clark's strong faith is a part of who he is. Viewers see that in Love Comes Softly, and they see it in Loves' Enduring Promise. That faith has helped him and his family through the years, and will be something they will lean on in the future. 

Michael Landon Jr. definitely inherited his father's ability to provide family friendly content that tugs at every heartstring. He has a knack for taking source material and adapting it to a new medium. I look forward to sharing more of this series with you.

• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ Unrated (Not Rated) 
• Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 2.72 Ounces
• Director ‏ : ‎ Jr, Michael Landon
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ NTSC, Full Screen
• Release date ‏ : ‎ May 13, 2008
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Heigl, Katherine, Midkiff, Dale, Bartholomew, Logan
• Studio ‏ : ‎ 20th Century Fox
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00192YKE0

I own this movie on DVD. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Books to Film: Love Comes Softly (2003) Movie Review

 

When Marty Claridge (Katherine Heigl) set out on a pioneering adventure West with her husband Aaron (Oliver Macready), they were filled with hopes and dreams. But Aaron's sudden death soon after arriving, leaves Marty pregnant and alone. 

In steps Clark Davis (Dale Midkiff). On the day of Aaron's funeral, he approaches Marty with a proposition: marry him so she has a place to stay over the winter and so she can be a mother to his young daughter, Missie (Skye McCole Bartusiak). Then in the spring, if Marty wants to leave, Clark will pay for her journey back East. 

What choice does Marty have? So, she agrees, throwing herself into her new role. Little does she know that patience and faith will have to carry her through. 

Love Comes Softly is the first book in the series written by Janette Oke. Made into a movie that aired on Hallmark Channel and was directed by Michael Landon Jr., this wholesome story is one of faith, family, and love. I've never read the books, but this movie series is so well done that I definitely would like to read the book series they are based upon. 

Having now watched the entire original movie series (not the prequels), I can say that Love Comes Softly is my favorite. As the movie series continues, Katherine Heigl is replaced by another actress, who while talented, doesn't have the same chemistry with Dale Midkiff and who doesn't have the vitality that Heigl brought to the character. 

Love Comes Softly is about two people brought together out of necessity, whose relationship blossoms into love. Skye McCole Bartusiak plays the resentful daughter well, acting out because she sees Marty as a threat to her close bond with her Pa, and because she doesn't want a new mother. The interactions between Marty and Missie in those early days are entertaining and heartfelt. But just like Marty's heart softened toward Clark, Missie's softens toward Marty. That's when she realizes she doesn't want Marty to leave in the spring. 

Clark's strong faith plays a role in this movie as well. That faith inspires Marty when she doubts she can help Missie. It is Clark's faith that helps Marty understand that faith doesn't mean bad things won't happen, but that God will be there when they do. 

If you enjoy wholesome, faith-based family entertainment, Love Comes Softly is one of the best. 

• Item model number ‏ : ‎ 884482
• Director ‏ : ‎ Michael Landon Jr.
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Color, NTSC, Full Screen, Multiple Formats, Closed-captioned, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 24 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ September 14, 2004
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Katherine Heigl, Dale Midkiff, Corbin Bernsen, Skye McCole Bartusiak, Theresa Russell
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English, Spanish
• Language ‏ : ‎ English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), Unqualified (DTS ES 6.1), French (Dolby Surround), Spanish (Dolby Surround)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ 20th Century Fox
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0002IKSFM

I own this movie on DVD. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.