disgusting, overrated, pointless

Admirable film.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Stanley R. Jaffe's sole directorial effort is a disappointingly tepid and meandering film. Based on the novel Still Missing, the story is eerily similar to the real life disappearance of Etan Patz who has never been found, and what should have been gripping and moving is a standard Lifetime Channel movie weighed down by dreary, predictable dialog, and characters and situations that feel gratuitous. Kate Nelligan's tightly controlled performance may leave you cold or worse; she is neither sympathetic nor likable, and her brooding become tiresome. Jaffe drags the pace until boredom prevails, and in a lackluster and largely unnecessary supporting cast only Keith McDermott scores a success while a frazzled Stockard Channing resembles a train wreck. And the out of left field happy ending is hokey and strangely unsatisfying. Skip It!

One of the best lines as Kate Nelligan portrays Susan Selky, a professor in NYC whose son has been abducted, and possibly murdered.Nelligan is outstanding as a frustrated and angry mother whose son one day simply disappears after she sees him off on the school bus.There are a few surprises here. Judd Hirsch is very good as Detective Minetti, although the story does go off tangent a bit with his family life. David Dukes portrays her estranged husband, who is initially suspected of abducting his own son.Stockard Channing also has a small part as Selky's friend. When she attempts to talk Susan into the platitude : ..."picking up your bootstraps and move on"..., Susan (Nelligan) becomes enraged, telling her she cannot have a clue as to how this feels. A very powerful scene, and relevant to anyone who has experienced a horrible loss, and doesn't know how to cope.Overall this is a good film with a few tangents, but well worth a view. 8/10.

Child abduction is a parent's worst fear. This movie hits all of those fears; through the initial shock of the disappearance of Alex Selky, to the maddening vigil of waiting by the phone and enduring police double-talk about leads in the investigation. Kate Nelligan plays the mother who never gives up and it's her needling of Judd Hirsch, the lead police detective that prompts him to check further.While many child abduction cases end in tragedy, we are permitted in this movie the triumph of the happy ending. Judd Hirsch (off-duty with son in tow) checks out that one "dismissible" lead.The caravan of police of various jurisdictions bringing Alex back home is magnificent. The final scene of the mother and son reunion, against the busy backdrop of the crowds and media will have you wiping your eyes.

Just wanted to note that this was shot partly on location in Bridgeport, CT (my hometown). Not many others can claim the same. The only other I can think of is (Westport, CT, resident) Paul Newman's "The Effect of Radiation on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068528/), which starred Paul's wife, Joanne Woodward. This one has to be better than that one, even though I only saw parts while surfing channels. Even though I didn't see the whole thing, the ending did get me pretty misty. As for the Bridgeport parts, they picked the grittiest-looking section of the city in which to shoot...not that there are many pretty parts of the city these days.