Title: Door-To-Door
Stars: William H. Macy, Kyra Sedgwick,
Kathy Baker, Joel Brooks, Woody Jeffreys, and Helen Mirren
Writers: William H. Macy and Steven
Schachter
Director: Steven Schachter
Running Time: 91 minutes without
commercials
Media: TNT Original Television Motion
Picture (NTSC VHS Screener)
World Premiere Sunday, July 14, 2002,
at 8pm (ET/PT)
Network: Turner Network Television
(Check your local cable/satellite listings for channel)
TV Rating: PG 14 L
Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera
I have to say that it deeply pleases me
to see the television networks and movie studios finally treating the subject of
people with physical and or mental disabilities with a degree of dignity and not
another cliché. Look at Ron Howard’s “A Beautiful Mind” or the upcoming
detective series “Monk” and you will see the subject matter being handled
responsibly. In 1990 former
President George Bush signed into law the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA),
which in simple language gave individuals with disabilities the combined right
to compete for any job a non-disabled person would apply for provided they could
do the job and insured reasonable accommodations had to be provided if the
disabled individual applying for the job or already working needed the
accommodation in order to perform their job as well as financial incentives in
the form of tax breaks for companies who employed the disabled. Every year small
community businesses and larger corporations are honored by the Borough
President, Mayor, Governor, and the President of the United States for their
endeavors to provide equal employment opportunities for the disabled.
So while I was not familiar with the
true story of Bill Porter, I found myself interested not only on a personal
level, but also because the film is truly inspirational and well acted without
being overly sentimental. William H. Macy co-wrote the screenplay and stars as
Bill Porter, a door-to-door salesman born with cerebral palsy whose
determination and unwavering spirit made him a successful professional sales
person for the Watkins Company for over forty years. At age 69, he still sells
Watkins products by telephone and the Internet. John Glenn presented Porter with
an award from the National Council on Communicative Disorders at the Kennedy
Center in 1998 as well as America’s Award honoring unsung heroes who personify
the American Spirit. He has appeared on “20/20” and his story was published
by Reader’s Digest. “Door-To-Door” chronicles forty years in Porter’s
life. The film features Oscar® nominated actress Helen Mirren (Gosford Park) as
Bill’s dedicated mother, Emmy Award Winner® Kathy Baker as one of Bill’s
most faithful clients, and Golden Globe nominee Kyra Sedgwick as Shelly,
Bill’s friend and associate.
So how is William H. Macy’s
performance? Excellent, but I have to remark that the ear makeup is a bit
distracting. Macy is an actor capable of creating a believable character without
the need for heavy prosthetics. Not that the ears are heavy, but on a less
gifted actor, they could have detracted from the story so much as to ruin the
entire illusion Macy creates.
The film is the first to be produced
out of a new original film development initiative between Turner Network
Television and Johnson & Johnson. “Door-To-Door” will premiere on Turner
Network Television on Sunday, July 14, 2002, at 8pm (ET/PT) with encores that
are as follows:
All
Times (ET/PT):
Sunday,
July 14, 2002, at 10pm
Sunday,
July 14, 2002, at 12am
Wednesday,
July 17, 2002, at 9pm
Saturday,
July 20, 2002, at 1pm
Sunday,
July 28, 2002, at 11pm
© Copyright 2002 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.