juneebuggy This movie was an interesting little bit of Canadiana I caught late night on CBC. On that note I'm sure it will only appeal to other Canadians. I mean it's about Wayne Gretzky's dad and its kinda cheesy, bordering on melodramatic, with wooden dialogue and a very made-for-TV feel. There is a lot of hockey here and the Gretzsky's are Canadian royalty, but still.So, the story is based on Walter Gretzsky's autobiography "On Family, Hockey, and Healing" which follows his struggles after a stroke and his fight to remember not only his life but the impact he had on his legendary sons spectacular career on the ice. (He's known as the world famous hockey dad) That part of the story is pretty good, and I have to say I did end up enjoying this way more than I expected to. Walter's determination is inspirational and it makes you wish this had been a better movie. Kris Holden-Ried plays Wayne and in an honourable mention there's even a scene where they go to Tim Hortons -which I kinda loved. 04.11

ldavis-2 If there was a story about finding the strength to overcome adversity, I couldn't find it. What I found was an insipid ploy right out of Made-for-TV Hell to cash in on a certain family member's celebrity.The guy playing Walter didn't look more than 15 years older than the guy playing Wayne, and neither of them looked remotely like Walter or Wayne. The woman playing Phyllis looked like Sarah Palin, complete with glasses and hair in a French twist. The guy playing the therapist looked like he just dropped out of junior high school. The guy playing Walter's buddy looked like a dumpy version of Clive Owen. At least the guy playing the doctor actually looked like a doctor.Here, Wayne, Keith, Brent, and Glen don't have lives, and Kim is well on her way to becoming Canada's most famous spinster when the therapist begins to hit on her. Yeah, they did wind up getting married, but it was more than a bit icky.Since the therapist is so inept at his job, he makes lists, he must have written the following for Walter to do; there is simply no other possible explanation:Have flashbacks about teaching your boy to play hockey while on the way to the hospital.Visit your parents' graves, then flip out like Frankenstein on an acid trip while having flashbacks about feeding chickens with your mother.Flip out like Frankenstein on an acid trip as you watch your kids play hockey.Flip out like Frankenstein on an acid trip when your wife serves you lunch.Flip out like Frankenstein on an acid trip as you chase after a figment of your imagination before it falls through the ice and drowns.Babble in Ukrainian like Frankenstein on an acid trip.Go into deer-caught-in-the-headlights mode at the drop of a hat.Crawl on your hands and knees across a skating rink.Get dissed by the coach of a pee-wee hockey team.Drive your wife and daughter up the wall.Phyllis and Kim were utterly unlikable because they had something resembling personalities. The others could have been played by cardboard cut outs, and no one would have noticed.

goleafs84 This was a movie that was highly recommended to me by a good friend and I'm glad to say I saw it.This was a movie that tells the story of Walter Gretzky suffering a stroke, along with the struggles and triumphs he had to deal with since then. I can remember first hearing about this when it actually happened, but I knew little of it.This movie is special to me in a way, because being a stroke survivor myself (going on four years now), I can relate to some of struggles Mr. Gretzky had to deal with and it has inspired me to go out and try to do the things I used to do once again (If I can ice skate and play hockey again, I'd really be happy!!!).Although my stroke was not as big as Mr. Gretzky's, I've had to deal with problems (and still do) in life. At times I can get so frustrated and I've had the feeling to quit on some things at times. This movie is a reminder to me that things can get better and to keep trying.After watching this film, I bought the DVD and it's something I can watch again and again. It's a keeper.

angloo Although I figured this would be an ordinary biography, I found the Gretzky story to be entertaining, and moving to the point where I cried more than once. McCamus should win a Genie for his portrayal of Walter Gretzky, and the characters were believable and real. I found myself caring more and more as the film went on, which is more than I can say for 90% of the films I watch (both Canadian and American) and cheering for Walter every time he makes progress or remembers something from his past. Since the story isn't over (as the real Walter Gretzky is still recovering) it naturally leaves you a bit unsatisfied at the end with respect to how far he needs to go, but it still stands out as one of the great films (not just documentaries) of the year. Since it just aired on CBC this week, I would be interested to hear what other Canadians (and even Americans) think of this very sensitive story of a kind, compassionate family and their struggle to bring their patriarch back from the void. ========================Slight spoiler follows==============Well, not really a spoiler but at the very end, they show footage of the real Walter Gretzky meeting the cast and crew and watching the film, and that set the tears flowing freely. It was such a beautiful ending to an already wonderful movie that I am revising my earlier review of 9 and giving it a 10. I mean, what more can you ask for if a movie brings smiles AND tears?