I often see Halmark movies as schmaltzy and overly simplistic, pretty much cookie-cutter productions.
I just happened to have the channel on and after Columbo, this movie came up. It started differently with a homeless woman talking to herself, accompanied by two dogs that she loved unconditionally. Then Ben Vereen made an appearance as one of her homeless pals (he had just been attacked).
One day a female police officer named Tami drove by and into the station to talk about her love life. I was ready to change the channel when the two women came into contact with each other. That was the beginning of a different kind of friendship. What caught my eye and kept my interest was Chandra Wilson's portrayal of Yvonne, the homeless woman. It was so very realistic. She captured the anger, fierce independence and hard personality perfectly. It never appeared contrived. I spent a few years delivering food and often serving food to homeless persons in New Orleans. They had to be hard to live on the street, and that could be in any town or any city. Women, of course, had it rougher. They all have a story. I really enjoyed this one although I have to confess it was really difficult to watch.
The relationship that developed between these two women was a joy to watch, even more so when I learned that it was a true story. I think the weak link was in not showing Tami's hard life as a female police officer. Instead, they focused on her love-life (a true Hallmark tradition).
SPOILER ALERT (don't read further if you don't want to know the ending): Their true story seemed to end well, with Yvonne going into rehab, working through many hardships, and making a good life for herself. Tami married a fellow police officer. I saw a photo of the two women on Google, standing in front of a poster for the movie.
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