Anyone who longs for the days of The Little House on the Prairie and a recreation of the wholesome, family-friendly homesteading the TV series based on Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books offered to audiences, will find some comfort in the Love Comes Softly made-for-TV movie series. The 10 movies frame simple stories of love and faith filled out by impressive casts (including a Katherine Heigl before Grey’s Anatomy, January Jones before Mad Men, Erin Cottrell ) and writing that manages to cater to the Lifetime audience while featuring writing easily heads and tails above the very low standards set by that network’s abysmal TV-movie collection. Compared to Lifetime, the Love Comes Softly films have genuine merit and just enough substance to keep interested viewers coming back for the tales of love unfolding across generations.
The story starts with the recently widowed Marty Claridge (Heigl) who must now make her way through a world that already poses a great number of challenges for survival, and which are then magnified by her status as a single woman in a man’s world. To circumvent some of the difficulties, Marty joines up with widower Clark Davis (Dale Midkiff) and his daughter Missie (Skye McCole Bartusiak), and together they make their own way place in the American West in a deal that will give Missie a proper maternal role model while providing Marty a way back home to the east when the winter ends.
The story of the bond started in Love Comes Softly continues in the story of Missie in the following films, as well as in the stories of other descendants and relatives. In fact, it goes on for seven films (Loves Enduring Promise, Love’s Long Journey, Love’s Abiding Joy, Love’s Unending Legacy, Love’s Unfolding Dream, Love Takes Wing, Love Finds A Home) before retracing back to the beginning with two prequels (Love Begins, Love’s Everlasting Courage). If you’re so taken with the story of love and faith in the American West and don’t mind a fair share of melodrama and hand-wringing, then the Love Comes Softly movie collection is for you. Otherwise you’re going to find the set to be absolute torture.
DVD Bonus Features
There are none.
"Love Comes Softly: 10th Anniversary Collection" is on sale October 30, 2012 and is not rated. christian, Drama, Romance. Directed by Michael Landon Jr. Written by Cindy Kelley. Starring January Jones, Katherine Heigl, Erin Cottrell.
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