Paul Cassou

Not to be missed. It is the story of a flirtation between a boy and a girl beginning in childhood and continuing into adulthood. Excellent acting by the talented and beautiful pro, Danica McKellar, a former child star. She shares strong chemistry with costar Dustin Mulligan (surprisingly ten years her younger in real life). Her acting is powerful, and her costar follows her lead closely. (At some point early on it was entitled, Love Under the Christmas Table, an apt name.) Their elder and charming Lea Thompson appears in a subplot.

Preteens and saps for sweet, clean, heart-warming family movies will like this. Adults will need understanding and a healthy ability to suspend disbelief and just enjoy. The first twenty minutes with mostly adults was rushed to get to the meat of the movie, which runs for about another seventy minutes. The movie is set inside the historical tragedy about what the communists did to the Romanov family and the longtime mystery of what happened to the young Anastasia. The gorgeous Ingrid Bergman played one of a long line of fictional Anastasias, for which she received one of her three Academy Awards for Best Actress. In this less ambitious Anastasia, a young girl is magically thrust into the future and meets another young girl, who needs a friend. These two leads are pretty and talented. There were pretty young clothes and songs, with a surprise performance, early on, by Claire Crosby of Little Mermaid fame. The villain provides the sparse humor. The whole movie was rushed, that is, the director was on a budget with an abridged script, few takes, and a ruthless editor. It would be helpful to view the movie with this understood. Clearly a nice movie viewed ideally with preteens, probably female. (Some preteens might enjoy reading an abridged version of the true story, with the haunting pictures of the Romanov children.) Recommended.

Although it is grade-A with a grade-B feel (as someone else pointed out), it is recommended. Frank Grillo, in the lead, carries the movie. He does not portray a he-man, but he is tough. Attention is needed to follow the plot. It has sufficient action (and the modern excessive profanity in spades). Women might find it worthwhile considering Grillo’s character has a daughter (a rebel of course) who plays a critical role. It has a story, plot, and characters you care about, which helps it fit into the Indie genre. Indies are one of the best things in movies today. Indies can be tried for free with Tubi, Pluto, and probably other sites. Don’t know where this can be found today except Netflix. Among other excellent actors are Garret Dillahunt, Shea Whigham, and George Carroll. Just don’t expect A Man for All Seasons or No Country for Old Men. Still entertainment. Good luck.