Time to say Goodbye
Ned Stevens (Curt Doussett) lost his wife a few years earlier and has never gotten over the loss, choosing to remain single so that he can spend his time with the memories rather than moving on. But Ned's life takes an unexpected turns when his daughter Liz (Brittany Peltier) returns home from college with his worst nightmare, a boyfriend, David (Kirby Heyborne). But that's just the start of his nightmare as with Liz not happy with him giving David a hard time tries to set him up with Carol (Michelle Money) a single lady who lives nearby.
Some times the traditional genre labels are not very good at categorizing a movie. Take "Midway to Heaven" here is a movie which to call it a comedy might mislead people as whilst we have humour from both Ned giving young David a hard time to him talking to his late wife leading to people staring at him it isn't the sort of comedy which makes you laugh out loud. But then technically it is also a family movie with its wholesome drama surrounding a widower who is stuck in his past but for young family members it offers up very little to entertain.
As such how do you describe "Midway to Heaven"? Well sensitive charmer might be a more apt description as we have this gentle, mildly amusing look at a man facing the fact it might be time to let go of his past and move on with his life. It has without a doubt a simple beauty about it with director Michael Flynn delivering many a beautiful looking scene from Ned and Liz looking out over the valley in his jeep to a scene of them chatting in front of a fire, their dog resting his weary head across Ned's legs. But it isn't just the look which grabs you as beneath the beautiful looking scenes you do having this touching story of Ned and his struggles to move on.
There is something else which "Midway to Heaven" has and that is Curt Doussett who delivers what maybe the perfect performance in this sort of movie. He gives us the humour of a dad faced with his little girl growing up, he also gives us the emotional conflict when it comes to living in the past and on top of that he has the looks to make him a handsome single dad. But the actors around him are just as good and Brittany Peltier delivers the sitcom cuteness of a daughter which makes her fun and attractive in a girl next door sort of way.
What this all boils down to is that "Midway to Heaven" is a charming little drama with a fun, sensitive side. In truth it isn't anything new but director Michael Flynn works the familiar themes nicely to deliver an engaging, good looking drama.
