The Promise of Love

I bought this movie from a dollar DVD rack, not expecting a whole lot, just basically wanting to see anything with cutie Valerie Bertinelli in it. I was pleasantly surprised to find a serious, well-acted drama about a young girl, fresh out of high school, who finds herself widowed before her 19th birthday. Shelley Long has a very effective supporting role as another Marine officer's wife, raising two kids while her husband is away (presumably in Vietnam). She plays very much against her stuffy nerdette type-cast. The movie is set in 1967, and has a couple of problems (it looks very 1980, not 1967; the ending is a bit pat; the production values are very typically TV-movie); but overall, it was well-written, well-performed, and quite engaging. I definitely got my dollar's worth.

Unfortunately, after viewing this film starring Valerie Bertinelli,(Kathy Wakeman),"Trust Me",'05, I found that this film is being actually experienced by our young men and woman who are fighting now in Iraq as they were in Viet Nam. This is a wonderful romantic drama about a woman who decides to give up college and marry her boyfriend, who is in the Marines. Kathy has to adjust to being a military wife and does a good job of mixing with all the other wives who are stationed on the base. Kathy even takes up gardening to try and keep her mind off her husband who is in Viet Nam. Craig T. Nelson,(Major Landau),"The District",'04 TV Series, has some brief appearances along with Shelly Long,(Lorraine), who gives a great supporting role as her next door neighbor who has two young boys. Unfortunately, this is a story that seems to repeat itself every time we have war in the United States and the high price we all pay.

Every aspect of this film was telegraphed. I knew exactly what would happen, long, long, before it actually did. But that did not ruin it. Valerie was genuinely sweet and real. I believed her. Seeing Shelley Long and Craig T. Nelson in a 1980 film was not strange at all for me, because I was around then, to see them the first time.

By the way, that was Jameson Parker, not Parker Stevenson. Totally different people. His character was refreshing. He understood what she needed, even though it conflicted with what he needed. Which is probably why I liked the film. It was about nice people, whom I could actually care about. Nice job.

They are young and beautiful, they are in love, and they marry to live happily ever after, but he has to go to Vietnam. He gets killed there. So she is a war widow, and everyone feels sorry for her and try to help her on, but she just goes on grieving and try at one instant to drown her sorrows by swimming in a swimming pool for as long as possible to tire herself out, but then a young good-looking man working there spots her and rescues her, they go out together, they are young and beautiful, but her enjoying herself gives her a bad conscience, so it's not so easy to just start all over with another guy. That's the trivial story, it is all about 1967, the film ends with Bobby Kennedy deciding to run for president, and that is all. A short story film of a young war widow, I guess there were many, they all had a difficult time and everyone felt sorry for them, but somehow they got on anyway, maturing at best. It's a triviality, well made with good acting, everyone acting perfectly naturally, so it almost has some documentary social interest, but there are better films and better ways to spend your time.

i think you should show the movie on t.v again. please let me know when. thanks i think that there should be more movies like that one because everyone in my family likes them kinds of movies. i watch every movie with valerie in it. i think she is a good actress on screen