Top Pick, Given an A by Nicole Kent

The Inheritance (1997, Drama-TV movie)

Starring: Cari Shayne, him Brigitta Dau, Brigid Conley, Tom Canti, Meredith Baxter, and Thomas Gibson. Director: Bobbi Roth.

My sister, Krissy, and I watched this made-for-television movie one Sunday, when I was taking a break from BYU, because everybody said that winter semesters attending school in snowy Utah wasn't a good idea for someone in a wheelchair. Anyways, we saw this movie during the winter of 97, and we loved it. Krissy and I would rewind certain scenes to watch over and over again. We had a ritual, where we would watch the tomato-dropping scene every night after we finished dinner. I have been atempting to purchase this movie on video for years, and I finally found a web site, oftering copies of this wonderful production in 2003. It was a long wait, but it is still an unforgettable romance, timeless and heart-warming.

Written by Louisa May Alcott, this story was discovered in Louisa May Alcott's home. It appears as though it might have been unfinished manuscript, because some of the ending dialogue doesn't seem to fit with the proper English decorum. For example, proper English ladies do not tell other English ladies to "shut up!" I believe that this story was written by somebody other than Louisa May Alcott, somebody wanting to attract publicity for a television movie. Without the name Louisa May Alcott, this movie might not have been so widely appreciated. Still, "what's in a name?" I loved this romantic tale with humorous characters and touching themes of acceptance and love. I simply love Thomas Gibson! He is such a babe , and some of his lines melted my heart as he played the main love interest, James Percy. Tom Canti plays the affectionate father, Henry Hamilton, splendidly, and Meredith Baxter plays his loving wife wonderfully. The two play the loving couple with such earnest feeling and sincerity that the viewer may wonder whether these characters were ever married in real life. And we cannot forget the incomparable Cari Shayne as the heroine, Edith Adelon, a nature-loving, patient, kind, and innocently sweet & trusting girl, who in a lot of ways reminds me of myself. Our personalities are so very similar. Perhaps, this is why I enjoy the movie so much, and try my best to emulate Edith. Furthermore, there is a happy ending. Edith, the good girl, gets her man in the and, and I love stories where good people receive their just reward in the end. Phenomenal movie! :-)