Movie Review: The Color of Rain (2014)

Synopsis: After losing her husband to cancer on Christmas Day, Gina, a mother of two boys, is still grieving when she befriends Michael, a father of three who lost his wife to cancer just a couple weeks later. Deciding to help their collective five children overcome their loss together, Gina and Michael eventually develop feelings for each other but, partly because of the scrutiny they are receiving from other people, question whether it is too soon to love again.

Who's in it? The movie stars Lacey Chabert, Warren Christie, Lisa Durupt, Alex Zahara and Alison Thornton.

Review: My wife and I started watching this movie some time ago but, for multiple reasons, never got around to finishing it. So, when I came across it again in my library last night, I decided to see how it ended. At first, I wasn't sure if I would like this film but, after seeing it in its entirety, I do have to say it was worth my time.

I think the thing that really surprised me about this movie was the way it managed to tug at your emotions. A lot of movies from this genre tend to be a bit too predictable and more than a little shallow. This film, however, showed the very real emotion attached to losing a spouse/parent, especially when trying to decide when/if it is time to move on.

The fact Gina (Chabert) and Michael (Christie) began to have feelings for each other so quickly added an unexpected element to this movie. When I saw it was happening, I honestly rolled my eyes a bit because I thought the film was going to be too quick to change gears and turn into a typical (boring) love story. But, as the film had them reconcile those feelings with both their feelings toward their previous spouses and the feelings of their spouses' families, I did find myself rooting for them (something that rarely happens). At minimum, it did keep the film from becoming too predictable.

My only real complaint about the film is I do think it spent a little too much time on the two parents and not quite enough on the kids. Honestly, with the exception of his daughter (Thornton), they seemed to be a little too accepting of everything. I kind of feel like maybe there should have been a little more drama there, though the movie was still decent without it.

Final Opinion: It's not normally the type of film I would watch without my wife twisting my arm, but I did find it was an entertaining drama and I liked it more than I thought I would. I'd recommend it as a result.

My Grade: A-