The Letter Writer

This is a well done, if sentimental, family flick with a positive message: What we put out in the world, good or bad, comes back to us in spades; it's important to find our talent to help people. To follow our hero to this message, we see some heavily wrought types and scenarios -- the overworked single mom, the troubled adolescent, the unreliable dad, the child cancer patient, the reformed senior citizen who spends the rest of his years making up for a harsh tongue through writing uplifting messages to strangers.

But due to excellent acting and nice-looking cinematography, this movie's good heart shines through, and manages to craft a message about connectedness that, while obviously rooted in Christian thinking, has an overall Zen approach to living that involves simply finding purpose in life and living with some kind of positive meaning that embraces goodness. Because of its themes of divorce, illness, death, and the few instances of cheating and stealing, this film is better for older kids. One disappointment was that the mother's harsh criticisms of her daughter were treated as acceptable until the daughter got her act together; this felt like a misstep. Overall, parents can appreciate the realistic portrayal of teen struggles with a positive message about growing up. Kids into music may appreciate the aspiring artist plot.