The Long Way Home

Both Jack Lemmon and Sarah Paulson are excellent in this fresh movie. I absolutely loved the storyline, and wish that I had learned of and seen it years before my 76th year.

I saw this movie on TV back in 1998 and have been very sorry ever since that I did not tape it. I have seen a number of movies with Jack Lemmon in it and did not always like them but this one I liked very much. It's a wonderful story. Being about the age of the main character and experiencing some of what he encountered I could well identify with the way Jack portrayed him. Jack has obviously matured considerably since his earlier movies and has become more relaxed and laid back. Leanne plays her part very well as a young student getting along with the old guy.

My main question is: "Where can I get a copy of it?" I can't understand why this movie has not been shown more often or issued on DVD. Amazon doesn't have it, so who does? If anyone can assist me in getting it I would appreciate it.

"The Long Way Home" is a TV movie based on a previous made for TV film, the French movie "Thomas Guerin...retraité". I've never seen the French film...and I have no idea whether or not it's available.

Tom (Jack Lemmon) is an elderly man who hates what's become of his life. He's being forced to move in with his son and lose his independence and the worst part is, the son and his wife seem to be parenting him. So, it's not all that surprising that eventually he decides to leave! On the way, he meets a young woman, Leanne (Sarah Paulson) and they both decide to head to California....without Tom letting his family know. What's next for this unlikely pair?

The acting is the best part of the movie...period. As for the story itself, it brings up a lot of great points about the elderly and independence. But it also has an ending you'll either love or hate. If you like a film with a perfect ending where everything is wrapped up and clear, then you'll hate it! But, I don't mind the vagueness of the ending...mostly because life itself isn't always clear. Well worth seeing.

The scenes between Jack Lemmon and Sarah Paulson make The Long Way Home something special. This Hallmark Channel TV film explores the problems of old age when you feel you have no purpose any more.

Lemmon is playing someone in his own age bracket, a 70 something widower who went to war in World War II, married a hometown sweetheart and raised a family. Now he lives with one of his sons Garwin Sanford and Kristin Griffith and they fuss over him like he's an invalid.

He's hardly that, in fact he was a cabinetmaker an honorable craft which he was employed at for almost half a century. Lemmon looks like a man who took pride in his work.

One day when the circus comes to town he plays hooky. He meets Sarah Paulson a girl who is traveling west to rejoin her parents in California. The two of them just hit it off, he's the grandfather she never had. Lemmon and Paulson decide to journey together, Lemmon to meet up with an old girlfriend Betty Garrett, a widow who lives near Paulson's parents.

Lemmon and Garrett have a wonderful reunion scene. Lemmon's in Kansas and she's in California. Geography is against them in the romance department, but it's not insurmountable.

Lemmon also learns quite a life lesson from meeting Paulson's parents, especially her father. As that immortal 20th century philosopher Yogi Berra put it, it ain't over till it's over.

The Long Way Home is a wonderful duel character study and inspiring, especially to an old codger like me.

Jack Lemmon is great in this drama, portraying a widower with masterly realism, balancing between a grumpy old man and the character he played in Short Cuts. While watching the movie, I was afraid it would eventually turn overbearingly sentimental, but it never did. It's a lovely, thought provoking story. Surprisingly fresh and much recommended.