Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Not horrible, but far from great. Very predictable storyline (and there are better films to see if you're into this sort of movie). Ben Savage was definitely the stand-out with the only fun character in the entire thing. Must mention the horrible score and general music selection throughout the entire film. Their purpose is to underline a certain emotion with subtle tunes. This failed here to the point where I was hoping that the horrible seemingly never ending non-stop background music would stop already. Everyone's acting seemed good enough, but there are too many other bad things about it that the acting alone wouldn't safe the film for me.

This film is a very moving and thought provoking story about a young man's tragic misfortunes. It is also a lesson in life on how to deal with life's setbacks. First of all, if possible, see the film from the uncut DVD. The television version is heavily edited and loses some of the film's subtle story power. This film should be required viewing for anyone suffering from domestic parental problems or alcohol abuse. The acting is quite impressive here. Matt Czuchry gives a very memorable, believable and heart wrenching performance as Morris. This gifted, athletic charmer is suddenly confronted with a life altering tragedy that coupled with problems at home would be too much for most people. What a wonderful, smooth, beautiful performance Czuchry gives here. The viewer is on Morris' side throughout, pulling for him all the way. This is an early role for Czuchry but his natural acting talent is clearly visible. The supporting cast all contribute well too. Kelly Rutherford is excellent as Morris' sister and has a very nice on-screen chemistry with Czuchry. Michael Moriarty is very effective as the father engendering both hate and love from the viewers during this film. Ben Savage and Matt Czuchry have a great scene that shows the love and friendship that can be so deep between childhood friends. All the other actors were also excellent. This surprisingly moving film was totally enjoyable to watch. The dramatic story coupled with a message of strength, hope and love is a good message from which we can all learn. I came away with an admiration for the strength of Morris Bird III and a deep appreciation for the considerable acting talent of Matt Czuchry. Very well done here.

I truly enjoyed the movie. Up until this evening I had not heard of the story, and it touches upon some of the more challenging facets in life. Yes, It has low points, but if you do not experience the sad, stressful, or adverse moments, you will never truly appreciate the good moments. This movie was an excellent example of not allowing opportunities to pass you by. We need to find ways to succeed at what we can and have faith in ourselves. This is the type of story that will be useful to me as a teacher helping my students find a positive outcome in such a stressful situation. If you would like to watch a movie that helps bring out the better side of humanity, showing how important communication is to be successful, then I would recommend Swimming Upstream.

I too thought this was going to be the Aussie version but I was totally surprised and also amazed at this beautiful film. My sister and I sat and watched this together and by the end we were in tears as it was so touching and so well done. I think it is worth taking the time to see it. It deals with human emotion from the eyes of a 17 year old boy who comes from a dysfunctional family yet still finds it possible to rise above this and see life for what it can be. The best friend was an added bonus making light of a bad situation and keeping things linked. If not for anything else watch this for the amazing views shown throughout. See it for yourself as I did and and you may be pleasantly surprised.