Brilliant and touching

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Have you ever been driving from A to B, passed a random church to which you've never been, seen a sign that there was a family play about to start, and stopped to go in and watch? If so, then this movie is right for you!This is a church play, without the communal or family connection you would actually have at your own church. There is a great moral story, but it is delivered by actors who although probably nice people exhibit the skill of a second grader trying to read aloud Shakespeare. The director seems to have at least shaken hands with a real director, perhaps at a Universal Studios Tour, and the music director is most likely the church choir's organ lady who has temporarily switched to a piano and continues to repeat the same three bars over and over for the entire length of the film, varying only slightly between the moods in each scene. I will admit, I think the cinematographer actually had more than a cell phone for the camera, and despite the sophomoric direction actually seemed to get some good angels and lighting. I half expected at each scene's end for the fade to black to be interrupted by curtains parting and the cast to appear on line, holding hands and bowing.This isn't a terrible movie. Just don't expect anything more Hollywood than a play from a church.

Every once in a while -- perhaps more frequently than that -- you watch a movie and marvel at the the notion that someone would spend the time and resources to transform a stunningly incompetent script into a feature film. This particular film is so lacking in plot and character development that it is almost a marvel to behold. The motivations of the characters are laughably non-existent. And there is a pervading blandness to the whole affair that would send even the most undemanding young viewers into deep coma.I can't imagine why I took the time to slog through this unfortunate excuse for entertainment, although I did get a little bit of exercise from constantly shaking my head and wondering how much worse a "family film" could get. How Kate Bosworth and Jeff Fahey got involved is a question best answered by their respective agents.By the way, the packaging on this DVD suggests, perhaps, that this is a "boy and his dog" movie. It is not. The dog is a random addition that is every bit as disconnected to the "story" as I was.Avoid this at all costs, and add 90 precious minutes to your life.

***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** I rented this DVD because I wanted to see more of Kate Bosworth, the stunningly beautiful star of Blue Crush, and didn't expect much. The Newcomers, though, was okay, kind of like an episode of Seventh Heaven, or the old Davey and Goliath show. A family leaves Boston because the son, Sam, turns in a football player for damaging school property and is harassed by him. If only this were the only problem facing the inner city today! The father is some kind of construction worker and he figures they should pack up and move to the country, but he ends up buying a huge house in Vermont, so they must have had some money. This sad sack family ends up moving across the street from a bitter guy whose dead wife liked the house, and resents strangers because he thinks there after his job. The neighborhood kids terrorize Sam, and Kate Bosworth, who does little in this film except scowl and look good in tights, hates living in the hick town. She does a 180 though when she takes a shine to the gas-pump jockey. Finally Sam and his dog save the mean guy's son from drowning we all learn a lesson in tolerance. The filmmakers seem to look back in fondness to a Norma Rockwell America that doesn't exist anymore. Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh would love it. The kid who plays Sam is pretty believable, and again, there's Kate Bosworth.

A big city family that runs into financial difficulties relocates to a small American town to start over. After arriving in the new town the father discovers that he does not have the job he was promised and the wife takes a low paying job despite her husband's objection. The teenage children initially have trouble finding new friends and adjusting to the slow paced life of country living. The antagonist is the extremely unfriendly neighbor from across the street who, for no apparent reason, is openly hostile towards the newcomers. This slow moving film preaches that strong family and religious values will help a family overcome difficulties and prevail over hardship. This is a sappy and predictable film with average acting and no redeeming qualities. Don't waste your time.