Syl I love Jane Alexander but she was truly underused in this film. Penelope Ann Miller is great as the grieving war widow, Harriet. Kevin Anderson shines as Charlie, the mentally challenged farmhand who lives like an animal and is abused by old man Grissel played very well by veteran actor Leo Burmeister. They all live in Marlboro, New York in farm country away from the city. Tomboy Carrie Ann and her younger brother Brian are friends with Zeke and Elijah, two neighborhood boys. They have a club which berates and abuses Charlie's character most of all. Everybody but Harriet treats him with abuse even the kids. Despite it all, I felt the kids didn't learn their lesson about it in this film. I wished that this film provided a better lesson regarding bullying and the consequences of it all. Without spoiling the plot, Kevin Anderson is completely unrecognizable in this performance which is a compliment to him. He really shines as Charlie though. I felt the ending was a bit off and that's it without giving away. Some viewers might find this movie to be a useful example about bullying people and how devastating consequences can be if nobody speaks up in the first place.

knicknamej All right, I loved this little movie. I had no expectations (by surprise on cable, Showtime, one early morning) and was impressed by the fantastic work of the stellar cast as well as the period look. This is a film to Tivo and watch with the whole family (about 9 and older). Now that I'm posting this review and see that others have dismissed it. I don't understand. Sure it's not funny, but it has a great message about the power of love and it goes back to simpler, beautiful time. Penelope Ann Miller is Amazing. And what ever happened to the lead girl, Ashley Rose Orr? She is a real find. I loved Kevin Anderson in a very complicated part and David Basche is Handsome and makes you care about a character who on the surface seems like a jerk. This seemed like a low budget movie, but it looks great and really captures the time. Kudos all around to the crew and cast.

jotix100 This television movie made for Showtime looked promising. After all, the principals in the cast have done good work in the past. Unfortunately, "Carry me Home", as written by Christopher Fay is a formula for disaster. As directed by Jace Alexander, the film leaves a lot to be desired. Mr. Alexander failure seem to be in the casting of Ashley Rose Orr for the pivotal role of Carrie.The film is atmospheric. It takes us back to that time right after WWII where the man of the household we are taken to, didn't make it back. His widow, Harriet, a lovely young woman has to put her sewing skills to work in order to feed her family. The two children are into getting into all kinds of mischief. Carrie, perhaps blaming the world for taking her father, takes aim at Charlie, a mentally challenged young man who lives nearby. When she and her pals steal one of his puppies, he goes berserk, knowing Carrie is responsible for it. The girl shows no remorse until is too late.At the same time, a gentleman caller appears in the picture. Bernard, the nephew of one of Harriet's clients comes to meet the family. He likes what he sees, but Carrie and her brother don't care for him, or what he means. Bernard, who is clearly interested in marrying Harriet, wants to get along with the two children, but they never take to him.The film ends in a horrific note as Charlie, who knows Grizzle wants to sell the farm, and who has stolen three of his prize puppies, rescues them, but an enraged Grizzle comes after him provoking a fire in the barn where he lives. Charlie survives, but he is taken away to be in an institution. As he is leaving, Carrie's conscience starts playing tricks on her as she realizes what she has done to this simple man.Penelope Ann Miller is good as Harriet. Kevin Anderson overdoes his Charlie to the point of being a caricature. David Alan Basche, who plays the gentleman caller, Bernard, is effective in his role. Jane Alexander appears in only one scene. The director couldn't get good acting out of Ashley Rose Orr, who perhaps was too inexperienced for the role.The production had a sort of Hallmark Card flavor and it will no doubt resonate with some viewers.

gradyharp In a time when made for television films from HBO in particular and Showtime et al seem to be taking more chances with riskier topics than those flooding the theater screens, along comes CARRY ME HOME with a thud that hearkens back to the whiny tearjerkers of twenty years ago. While the premise of the story appears to be warm coming of age of a young girl with only a single mother to guide her growth, the film fragments with so many subplots that are quickly and incautiously pasted together in the end, resolving everything in a shallow overly sentimental and unsatisfying mess.Marlboro, NY 1947, a time when the country is recovering from WW II, which includes the families of GIs killed in the war and the economy in ruins. Harriet (Penelope Ann Miller) keeps together her household of two children - Carrie (Ashley Rose Orr) and Brian (Harrison Chad) - by being a seamstress to the likes of Mrs. Gortimer (Jane Alexander), a town gossip and matchmaker who is advising Harriet to pay attention to the return of Bernard (David Alan Rasche) as a potential 'marrying kind'. Harriet spends her days working and remembering her GI husband killed in the war. Daughter Carrie is approaching puberty and yet refuses to behave like a girl, wearing her father's dogtags and jeans, running instead with a group of boys including her younger brother and two other lads. The 'gang' has a secret clubhouse, make mischief, taunt the mentally challenged neighbor Charlie (Kevin Anderson), unfortunate son of Grizzle (Leo Burmester) who abuses his unwanted son by forcing him to live in a barn. Charlie's only friends are the puppies he treasures. The destructive pranks played on pathetic Charlie include stealing one of his pups, destroying the food garden of Grizzle, pouring sugar in the gas tank of Grizzle's John Deere tractor, etc. In other words this little group of kids is cruel and their shenanigans are mean-spirited.Harriet finds it impossible to control the behavior of Carrie and quite out of keeping with the 1940s family unit, Carrie sasses her mother viciously and in general is an unlikable brat. When Bernard begins his courtship of Harriet the prospect of Harriet's finding a modicum of happiness is undermined by Carrie's behavior. In a particularly cruel evening's prank, Grizzle's garden is destroyed, Charlie is reduced to self-mutilation because of the stealing of his pup, and the lowly barn in which he lives is destroyed by fire. Grizzle and Charlie survive and the effect of this final disaster on the lives of Harriet and her children and their 'emotional awakening' serves to make a hanky call and end the story with an unsatisfying bump.The script by Christopher Fay is pedestrian, leaving the film with poorly motivated characters about whom it is difficult to care. Penelope Ann Miller tries her best to make the most out of Harriet, but Ashley Rose Orr renders one of the least likable young girls on film. This is a black and white script without motivation. Jace Alexander directs, which probably explains why his mother Jane Alexander consented to do the tiny walk-on part to give the film attention. The crew manages to make the mood of America in the post-war years plausible, but the dialogue assigned to the characters undermines those attempts. There must be an audience for these soap opera films: it is a shame this one couldn't have been better. Grady Harp