Lindsey Rae *CONTAINS SPOILERS*Eye opening, sad and actually made me depressed.I can't help but feel sort of frustrated though with some of the parents. Like the family with 4-5 dogs? How about get rid of the animals and put what you spend on the dogs into savings? I am an avid animal lover but if you are damn near next to homeless your children come first. Your children need you, you do not need your pets. And also, having your son attend your boyfriends funeral? Ditch the boyfriends and focus on getting your children a roof over their head. I feel sorry for the children, not so much for some of these "adults".

maldez This was a gritty topic that had the potential to be as good as other HBO documentaries in the category ("Aslyum", "The Best Hotel on Skid Row") but came nowhere close. It had no style, no technique, and little cinematic effect. Basically, it looked like the result of somebody wandering around with a camcorder. There was no narration, which set it back immediately. "The Best Hotel on Skid Row" was narrated by Charles Bukowski (poet, novelist and short story writer) with a distinguishing gravelly voice that set the tone for the low-end world of skid hotels that the viewer getting a tour of. "Homeless: The Motel Kids of Orange County" was like watching a home movie.

sarahmas I think there is a compelling story here to tell; unfortunately the filmmaker didn't find it. The documentary was disjointed and exploitative. There was no narrative and no cohesion; many kids were introduced for a few minutes and then never heard from again. And we didn't get a full storyline for any of them; many of the kids from the few featured families just mugged for the camera. I wanted to know more about the family backgrounds and about the situations the led to their motel residency.While I understand why Pelosi selected Orange County, she never really contrasted the kids' experience with that of their more well off peers. Simply parading them past Disneyland and talking about how they had never been inside didn't provide any real insight.Finally, I think the background research was lacking. The first woman's claim that you can't get a studio in Orange County for less than $1300 is flat out wrong. Maybe that's true in Irvine or Newport Beach, but definitely not in Orange, Anaheim, Santa Ana, and other cities in the area. I also would have liked to have learned about other organizations that are helping disadvantaged children in the area as well as charitable efforts of OC corporations - including the vilified Walt Disney Company.This was a very disappointing film. The kids are cute and charming and their story deserves to be told by a more talented filmmaker.

Danny Blankenship I must say that of all the documentary films I've watched on HBO over the years this one was most touching and eye catching as after watching you really feel good to have what you have as many people simply don't as everyday life from sleeping, eating, paying rent, and having money is a constant struggle. As Alexandra Pelosi who's great as always captures the current times of the recession and economic struggles as she showcases the problems of her home state of California in this strong eye catching doc "Homeless: The Motel Kids of Orange County".Being homeless is tough and one thing, but here Alexandra shows what life is like for poor kids growing up in Orange County, California. As it shows how and why these kids have to live in cheap rundown motels along the county where it's infested with crime such as gang activity and drugs. It proves a point one big problem in America is the wage factor as clearly with kids these families don't even make enough to afford a decent apartment so please raise wages! As these families can't afford decent food as shown are these children eating and living off of candy and snacks as proved people who are poor have bad diets leading to poor health. And these families can't even afford good schools which further disadvantages these kids from ever getting good jobs. And with all of the every present surrounding crime activity these kids are likely to end up in jail at a young age.Really a sad film yet it shows what life in America is like for many be thankful if you have something it's sad this happens in America, but some have and so many don't as clearly the poor motel kids of Orange County, California don't.