All Roads Lead Home 2008

     This film is about Belle, she is a 12 year old girl and her mother dies in an automobile accident.  Her father Cody struggles with the loss of his wife and he is working hard to raise his Belle.  She mistakenly believes her father is partly responsible for her mother's death?   Belle's maternal grandfather Hock is a changed man since losing his daughter in the accident.  He finds it difficult to have a relationship with Belle since she is a constant reminder of the loss of her mother.  It is Atticus, the new puppy who will change Belle's life and the lives of those who love her.

     It is raining very hard and Belle’s mother runs into a tree beside the road.  Both Cody and Belle are passengers in the car, they are both in the back seat but they have minor injuries.  Belle becomes withdrawn and is sent to live with her grandfather.   It is because Belle is having difficulty in school and she is still grieving over her mother.  Her father tries to cope but he is still grieving too.  Belle is  in trouble before she leaves to stay at with her grandfather for releasing all the animals in the local animal shelter.  This action has been published in the local newspaper and her father Cody works for animal control.  The Major is disturbed by how this reflects on the image of the city.  Somewhat of a soap opera feel at times?  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)  

108 min, Drama directed by Dennis Fallon and written by Douglas Delaney with Peter Coyote, Jason London, Vivien Cardone, Peter Boyle, Patton Oswalt, Vanessa Branch, Evan Parke, April Bowlby, Bruce Heinrich, Allan Kayser, Shannon Knopke, Walter Coppage, Stephen Milton, Peter Fopeano, Joe Backer.

Note:  Imdb 5.8* out of 10 with 723 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 14% with 7 critics 54% with 472 audience scores, dove.org 1* sex, 2* language, 1* violence, drugs, nudity, other (mature themes of dealing with death), Common Sense Media, Nancy Davis Kho, 2* out of 5*, age 10+, Amazon   4* out of 5* with 115 reviews, Letterboxd 3* out of 5*.

Special Note:  CW Feed & Seed the fictitious veterinary feed supply company is named after Charles W. Nelson the Executive Producer of the film.  Students of Indian Trail Junior High School in Olathe, KS and some of their parents and teachers were used as extras in some of the scenes.  This movie went through several name changes before settling on All Roads Lead Home.  One of the names was More than Puppy Love 2: Shadows of Atticus.  This is the name of the new puppy at Hock’s ranch.  The Skyline Hotel, where part of the movie was set, was an actual hotel in Kansas City.   It was demolished shortly after the release of this film in 2008 to make way for a condominium complex.  Peter Boyle is in the role of Poovey as the owner of the Skyline Hotel and this is his last film.  He had a long career as the father on Everybody Loves Raymond.