Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Fantastic!

An Exercise In Nonsense

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

I greatly disliked this movie because it presented a very unhealthy way of parenting and allowed disrespect of children for parents. The language was real profane, especially between a stepfather and a young child. Every imaginable profanity was used. The story also showed a parent figure stealing in front of his stepson and using filthy words in front of him and allowing him to do the same. The stepdad also teased his 9yr old stepson about french kissing girls, which seems far too young to be dealing with a 9yr old child about. The movie turned me off in every way, except for the last scene where the stepdad tells his stepson he loves him. It is definitely not a movie for children. It does reflect reality on the street but most don't live in that way and my concern is that the title and jacket might appeal to families or young children and they will be shocked by its content. I can't imagine where the title came from. It seems very inappropriate. I give it a one because of my above comments and it was one of the worst movies I've seen.

This will contain spoilers.The general idea of this movie is telling the tale of a father dealing with a mountain of difficulties when his family finds themselves kicked out of their public housing and must live in a shelter.I found all of the actors to be appealing. The story was OK, although some of it seemed to be a by-the-numbers retread of Russle Crowe's boxing movie "Cinderella Man".However, WHERE GOD LEFT HIS SHOES has a weakness that is totally distracting. The movie's tone is realistic. Dry realism as in any serious drama. Yet time after time, there are small little things that reek of amateur hour. For example...1) The rich business owner is walking around his living room eating from a plate of meatballs, and his plate just happens to have an extra fork on it for a unexpected guest to share.2) The father wakes up in the morning and pulls away his blankets and quickly starts his day and speaks his lines, and his feet happen to already have his boots on and laced up.3) I find it unrealistic that a hungry person will so energetically refuse to eat good food unless there is a direct and clear reason.Not a bad movie, but not all that good either.

John Leguizamo stars as a father whose family ends up in a homeless shelter at Christmas time. On Christmas Eve he gets word that an apartment they applied for is there's however a catch, he must have a job by five pm that day in order to get it. Leguizamo and his son then head off in an effort to find a job so that they will have a home on Christmas morning. Darkly hopeful tale about the power of family to make things alright is an okay film. Its a great looking film that really feels like New York at the holidays, but at the same time it feels very much like a film that is wearing its independent nature on its sleeve like a badge of honor. The result is that the film never fully clicks. To me the film seems like its trying too hard to be about something. I'd like to give points to Leguizamo for a nicely rounded portrait of a family man trying to do the best he can. It's a warts and all portrayal that helps keep his character some one we want to watch. Worth a look if the subject matter interests you.

I was pleasantly surprised when I rented this direct to video release. I didn't have a high expectation because most direct to DVD movies aren't great. Actually even the theatrically released films are usually a disappointment. John Leguizamo's performance was excellent as well as the rest of the cast. The little boy was great. It was very well written and directed. Everyone who worked on this should be very proud. The ending left me a little disappointed. It would have been nice to get a warm and fuzzy ending but still a great movie worth watching. It's nice to see a quality film that tells a story, has a message and actually develops characters that you care about. John did a great job making us believe in his character and forgetting we were watching an actor.