Mitch Albom's For One More Day (2007)

I really honestly do NOT like any sport that uses a ball. I am the consummate anti-sports fan.But this story lacked any central plot - character development was lacking -- and starkly, no music, to enhance viewing. It was bare naked, and quite ugly, imho. There was NO chemistry between the characters at all.A lot of "time switching" present to past to? and it was a little hard to follow where I was at, at any moment in the movie....They seem to go through the motions, but it did NOT dispel my disbelief.Based on what I saw, I will NOT read the book. Besides not liking sports, this just didn't do anything for me. When I keep looking at the clock figuring out how much time is left, oh yeah, this isn't going to be good.Very disappointing, considering his other two novels/movies were very good: "Tuesdays with Morrie" and "The Five People You Meet when you get to Heaven" I usually do things bass ackwards -- I see the movie first, THEN I invest the time to read the book. Pass. This one really vacuumed!

A richly-detailed screenplay and superb performances by the stars are the main selling points of FOR ONE MORE DAY, an exquisite and deeply moving TV fantasy about a desperate and lonely drunk named Chick Benetto,who, at the moment he is about to commit suicide, encounters the ghost of his mother, who has been dead for nine years. Still racked with guilt about not being there when his mother died, this man is given the opportunity to spend one final day with his loving mother. The intricate screenplay effectively shows the specific events in Chick's life that have led him to his suicide attempt and then flashes back and forth through various parts of his life from early childhood to his blossoming career as a professional baseball player to illustrate the downward spiral his life took, apparently affected by the separation of his parents. His mother is portrayed as a luminous free spirit whose exuberance for life was constantly being crushed by her chauvinistic Neanderthal husband who felt she was making Chick soft. The screenplay allows us to see Chick at various highs and lows during his life and allows Chick the opportunity to ask his mother all those things about his parents'separation that he never got the opportunity to ask. Emmy winner Michael Imperioli (THE SOPRANOS)delivers a powerful and delicately layered performance as the tortured Chick and Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn is luminous, as always, as the ghostly mom who materializes when her son needs her the most. OK, there were little problems I had with logic and continuity such as Mom's abilities to tend to Chick's wounds even though she is a ghost and that Imperioli is a little too young to appear to have done all the things Chick is supposed to have done, but I allowed this lovely story to envelop me in the emotions it evoked and forgive the inconsistencies. This movie should be shown annually on Mother's Day to remind us all how special our mothers are. But above all it is the sublime performances of Burstyn and Imperioli that make this such a rewarding film experience and I hope they are both remembered at Emmy time.

Not the best movie, but I don't think it pretends to be.Michael Imperioli showed range as the lead character. It was good to see him as something other than a criminal/cop.Ellen Burstyn was graceful and elegant in her "effortless" portrayal of Michael's mother (I say effortless because she makes if look so easy, not that it is).My biggest problem with the movie came from what seemed to be gratuitous cuts to different time lines. To me it made the movie painfully choppy. The story/plot is not a complicated one, but the editing became increasingly irritating as the movie went on. For One More Day loosely reminds me of another movie that doesn't apologize for its sentimentality and uses of flashbacks to reveal its story, The Notebook. However, The Notebook makes effective use of flashbacks and knew where to draw the line.I lost my father recently, and speak to my mother regularly. This is the kind of movie that reminds us how precious the little time we all have is, and how more valuable time with our family is. Cherish the moments before they're gone.

No doubt the author Mitch Albon wanted to say Something Important about Real People; unfortunately the author has never met any Real People and has no real life experiences at all to utilize in creating this muddle of cardboard characters and phony-baloney situations. The paramount fault with this movie is Bad Writing 101.Please don't get me wrong. I LIKE sentimental movies about real people, films that reflect solid American values. The problem is this film offers no such thing.The reason we watched was to see Michael Imperioli and his real life son in a movie post-Sopranos. Both deliver fine jobs considering the handicap inherent in the script.The story is about an alcoholic whose life is deteriorating at a rapid pace. The recommended solution (by the author) is to buy another 6 pack and drive fast & careless down the highway taking things out on the next truck driver -- an easy target -- ending up smashed into a ravine where your dead mother will come along and set you straight. Many flashbacks will take us through his utterly phony life, including his play in the World Series (gosh!), how he failed his phony father as well as his phony daughter.Excuse me, I can't go on; but I think you catch my drift.