Load of rubbish!!

Excellent but underrated film

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The inspiring movie which based on real story has a great scenario but little expression, but it doesn't mean the movie is not wonderful, it gives us a lot of positive energies. The heroine, Liz Murray who grows up in a broken home with two drug addicted parents who do nothing for her and her sister. So you can imagine how hard she is to be homeless. After her mother dies of AIDS, she wakes up, and realizes her potential. She goes to a good school and through her hardworking, she becomes the top student of the school, catches up to do 4 years of school work in two years. She gets a NY Times scholarship to attend Harvard at last. What's amazing how a person can achieve when he determined. Liz is just an inspiration to all of us. So nothing is impossible. Never ever give up whatever you are in period of gloom. Don't waste time, just do it! To live is to dream, for a better tomorrow!

I was really moved by this story, even more so when I realised it was based on a true story! I thought that Thora's acting as Liz was really great and she had me routing for Liz to pull through and make it.It was really inspiring (so much so that I wrote a song straight after watching it!) and it teaches that you should never give up on yourself. OK, so Liz made it to Harvard and not everyone will be that lucky, but Harvard isn't for everyone and the message is really to set yourself a goal that you think you just might be able to attain and then go for it! It was a shame that UK television saw fit not to put it on at a reasonable time as it was aired late on Monday night and finished after 1:00am. I really only caught it by chance, but was very glad that I did.

Generally, made for television movies are on a level below theatrical endeavors. However, `Homeless To Harvard' is a surprising and welcome exception. Without question it is one of the best made for television movies ever produced. This true story of Liz Murray continually strikes your primal emotional chord throughout the movie. The story is told in a stark realistically convincing manner. Excellent performances are turned in by Jennifer Pisana and Thora Birch as Liz at slightly different ages and by Kelly Lynch as Liz's alcoholic and drug addicted mother Jean. Unfortunately, the world has an ample supply of dysfunctional parents. Most often, their own children use them as an excuse to be equally dysfunctional. How uplifting to have a child use their parent's dysfunctional behavior, not as an excuse to sink into oblivion, but rather as a reason to not follow in their footsteps. This movie is all about choices. Anyone of any age who watches this movie will be left with absolutely no excuse to wallow in self pity. While this movie is a remarkable endeavor, it could have been even better. Understandably you can only fit so much content into a movie. Moreover, I'm certain that the writers included all of the key elements of Liz's life. However, this movie would have stood in a class by itself if only they had delved into Liz's true character. They did an exceptional job of depicting the decadent life that she was subject to, her reactions to it, and her existence within it. However, you don't get to see inside of Liz to actually know what she's all about. In addition, I sensed that we were shown a slightly whitewashed portrait of Liz in contrast to her true self. I suspect that she was in fact a little less innocent and a little more tarnished and troublesome than she was portrayed to be. If there's one unanswered question lingering on viewer's minds, it has to be: Why, after overcoming such insurmountable adversity, did she end up leaving Harvard? All that aside, 'Homeless To Harvard' is truly a triumph of the human spirit movie. This will be a treasured prize for your DVD/VHS collection when it becomes available.

The film was fun to watch, and Thora Birch was terrific, as always. She is one of the finest young actresses we have today.The movie was at its strongest when it depicted Liz's difficult years on the streets. But the ending let us down.The movie ultimately did not tell us why Liz left Harvard. And actually, it makes you wonder if her story is worth telling if she couldn't finish her education there. It could have been titled, "Homeless to Harvard for a Year or So."Did she leave Harvard because she couldn't take the work? Did she have trouble fitting in with other students? Did she sell out, believing she could make money now by giving motivational speeches and writing a book about her story?If so, wouldn't it have been better if the New York Times gave her scholarship to someone else, someone who truly wanted the college education and was willing to finish it? Did a more deserving scholarship candidate miss out because Liz took it, only to let it go?The ending raised too many questions. I have no doubt that Liz is gifted and brave. But I think her story would have been truly meaningful if she had finished what she started.She should have finished college. The movie should have told us why she quit.