Heritage Falls is a family film with a great story, wonderful performances and all around excellent production. This is a story that centers around a family which many real-life fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters and grandchildren will relate to.
A father who is very successful in the realm of local high school sports, to the point of being a local legend... is retiring. He has put his whole life into his student athletes, all of whom view him as a father figure and revere him. However, this father has never made a connection with his real son, partly due to his heavy involvement in his work and partly because they are simply very different people. The son is an aspiring writer and described as a "bookworm." The son has built a successful life on his own despite not following in his father's footsteps and also not succeeding in his chosen profession. He has a wife and son, both of whom he loves very much. HIS son has decided on a very different path from what was expected of him, echoing the relationship of his father and grandfather.
Due to an unforeseen circumstance, the retiring coach decides to take his son and grandson to the mountain retreat where he used to take his basketball teams in order to help them bond and build their character. Needless to say, this idea does not go over well and results in a "fish out of water" scenario, which is very amusing and well played by the actors involved.
There are a few surprises along the way and things are not as they seem, which provides most of the drama involved, but this film also hits many comedic moments along with a variety of scenes that run from heartwarming to tense to hilarious. The best known name in this cast is probably David Keith but the entire cast is great. Three actors really carry this whole film and are the cornerstone of the story... David Keith, Coby Ryan McLaughlin and Keean Johnson. They each take parts that could be relegated to clichés and elevate them to fully fleshed out and believable characters. Their chemistry is natural feeling and works wonderfully. They are all called on to produce a variety of emotions and scenes and it never falls flat or lags. The pacing is quick and the story keeps moving briskly in an interesting way.
This is also a film that you can take the entire family to see. There is nothing in this film that you wouldn't want your kids to see and the message (while not heavy handed or obvious) is a solid one about family, yet not hokey or preachy. The people represented here are complex, far from perfect and dealing with everyday issues - just like the rest of us. There is one sequence of mild tension, when the fate of one of the characters is unknown for a brief period of time, but it wouldn't be scary or overwhelming for younger kids.
Our family tries to support films that are family friendly and are also just really good movies. Heritage Falls is a perfect example of this. Here's hoping the team behind this film keeps going and makes more quality movies that the whole family can enjoy!
