Waking up on a sunny January morning with little else to do but study, I turned on my TV and found this gem of a made-for-TV film.
It stars Lou Diamond Phillips in a strong performance as high school janitor Rich Donato who is faced with the possibility of losing his job because he does not have a high school degree. He is loved by the pupils of the school to whom he functions as both a friend and a teacher. He is seen as the best thing that has ever happened to that troubled school. Donato has to study for his degree and reach those near-impossible 81 pts.
Along the way he of course befriends some troubled angst riddled students, gets help from teacher Ms Ching, played by Joan Chen. Will he succeed?
Well, of course. The story is based on true events, a real Hallmark picture. Funny then how Donato at one point says; "OK, that's enough of this Hallmark moment", when two of the students find comfort in eachother.
See this film. It pulls the right strings. You've seen it before, but I think it is admirable that the handiwork on movies like these has improved over the years. And this is certainly a vast upswing for Phillip's acting career, quality wise. Seeing him last time in idiotic mercenary comedy The Big Hit, it is a relief he found his way back into "Ritchie Valens territory". This boy can play drama better... Just look at "Courage Under Fire".
It's still on Hallmark. Catch it if you can.
It stars Lou Diamond Phillips in a strong performance as high school janitor Rich Donato who is faced with the possibility of losing his job because he does not have a high school degree. He is loved by the pupils of the school to whom he functions as both a friend and a teacher. He is seen as the best thing that has ever happened to that troubled school. Donato has to study for his degree and reach those near-impossible 81 pts.
Along the way he of course befriends some troubled angst riddled students, gets help from teacher Ms Ching, played by Joan Chen. Will he succeed?
Well, of course. The story is based on true events, a real Hallmark picture. Funny then how Donato at one point says; "OK, that's enough of this Hallmark moment", when two of the students find comfort in eachother.
See this film. It pulls the right strings. You've seen it before, but I think it is admirable that the handiwork on movies like these has improved over the years. And this is certainly a vast upswing for Phillip's acting career, quality wise. Seeing him last time in idiotic mercenary comedy The Big Hit, it is a relief he found his way back into "Ritchie Valens territory". This boy can play drama better... Just look at "Courage Under Fire".
It's still on Hallmark. Catch it if you can.