When We Last Spoke

When We Last Spoke, starring Melissa Gilbert, Corbin Bernsen, and Cloris Leachman, is a quirky and heartwarming film on faith, family, and forgiveness. Recent multi-award winner [Best Picture, Best Narrative, Best Supporting Actress, a Silver Award for Best Actress and a Bronze Award for Best Actor] at the Crown Awards at the 2021 National Religious Broadcasters Convention, the movie is based on the book by Marci Henna. When We Last Spoke is available on DVD or streaming.

SYNOPSIS: In 1967, two sisters are abandoned and raised by grandparents in the town of Fireside. Humor, heartbreak and triumph are served with whipped cream and lots of local nuts in this heartwarming tale of family, friendship and forgiveness. The story is narrated by the adult Juliet (Lacy Camp) in mostly flashbacks of Juliet (Darby Camp) and Evangeline (Chandler Head; adult - Alicia Fusting) whose dad (Donny Boaz) is in Vietnam.

REVIEW: I enjoyed the film. The well-known actors gave solid performances and I thought the rest of the cast performed well. To be honest, I read the book several years ago and liked it, but didn't love it; something seemed to be missing for me. The actors put flesh on the characters and brought them to life in a most satisfactory way. I was able to fill more emotionally attached. There were poignant moments but the movie stayed mostly lighthearted. There were also a few examples of turning the bad into something beautiful that appealed to me.

The soundtrack is great! I was 12 in 1967, so many memories were stirred via the music, fashion, and more included in the film. It takes place during a turbulent time in American history and has sad elements, but it was also a kinder, more simple time. The laughter, in the film and from the viewers, remind us that it's possible to keep finding joy despite heartache and misunderstandings. But the final message all should receive is the importance of family and forgiveness and the need for faith to sustain us. This is definitely a "popcorn movie" to enjoy with friends, but I believe it's worth seeing. Check it out!

GIVEAWAY!! Enter to Win a DIGITAL CODE of When We Last Spoke! Simply use hashtags #WhenWeLastSpokeMIN and #MomentumInfluencerNetwork in the comments section. Deadline to enter is Aug. 17, 2021. Offer good in the USA only.

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Disclaimer: I did receive a link to review this movie from Momentum Influencers for review purposes. All opinions are my own and no monetary compensation was received.

When We Last Spoke by Marci Henna

Humor, heartbreak, and triumph are served with whipped cream and lots of local nuts in this heartwarming tale of family, friendship, and forgiveness in Fireside, Texas.

Meet Juliet Cranbourne, local radio personality and owner of a whimsical kitchen gadget store, and her sister Evangeline, a fruit tree geneticist who works for Oregon State University.

When a rift due to their orphaned past affects their sisterhood, Juliet convinces Evangeline to come home for Christmas and choose headstones to honor grandparents Walt (a tenderhearted, good looking rancher) and Ruby (a blue-ribbon fiddler, fabulous cook, and expert in the art of making family feel loved). 

As they cruise through Fireside in Ruby's Thunderbird, Juliet hopes that healing memories will somehow smooth rough roads ahead.

Does the tremendous love that marked Walt and Ruby's lives still have the power to renew their sisterhood and help them find their place in the world? (from the back cover)

My Review: "When We Last Spoke" is well-written, but I think my expectations were too high. I normally love fiction set in the South with quirky characters and a humorous way of viewing life that can also illuminate a hidden truth. While quirkiness and humor is a part of this book, something just did not quite resonate with me. Some of the actions of characters did not always seem to ring true and there were times characters would teeter into 'beyond the grave' experiences that I was not comfortable with entirely. There are books that allow one to immerse themselves into a story and the fictional people begin to feel like familiar friends, but this did not happen with any of these. Sometimes it just seemed like there was more effort made to make everyone quirky and less on making them well-developed people. I left the book knowing a little more about them, but we were still strangers.

On the other hand, the possibility of a movie being in development does intrigue me. The possibility of seeing more life breathed into each one may make them more multi-dimensional for me. And, I plan on reading the book again at another time. I have had books that could not capture my full attention during the first reading that would suddenly "click" with me when I would try again later. I certainly see that potential with this author, and her talent is evident. I would suggest her to friends looking for a new author to read.

I did receive a copy of this book at no cost to myself from FlyBy Promotions. 

Social Corner:

Fireside Novels on Facebook@MarciHenna on Twitter
When We Last Spoke on GoodReads
FiresideTexas.com 
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