What Matters Most

This Lifetime film involves the richest kid in a small Texas town who falls for a girl from the other side of the tracks. Much is made of the lack of identity of the girl's father, but in the end that turns out to be quite irrelevant to the proceedings.

There's no anonymity in a small town like this. Maybe if young Polly Cusumanno had grown up in a big city, her past might have disappeared, but in a place like this everyone knows everyone's business.

Including Marshall Teague, the richest guy in town. He wants son Chad Allen to marry the banker's daughter in fact he insists on Chad standing up Polly and taking Shonda Farr to the senior prom. They do have a rendezvous after the prom though.

Teague and his wife Gretchen German are an interesting pair though, a bit freaky. They are also single minded in training Chad's younger sister Kaitlyn Lewis to be a new Miss Junior Texas. Seeing her in that pageant reminded me of Jon Benet Ramsey and what her parents must have been like.

A serious crisis brings the parties together though not quite all at once.

What Matters Most is not bad for a Lifetime Channel production. Viewers from Texas seem to think it captured the culture very well and who am I to argue?

With the presence of Chad Allen, this B movie is raised to a higher level. I saw this actor perform on stage several years back and thought then he was very good. I have seen him lately in several films involving being a gay detective. But this one, made in 2001, and directed by Jane Cusumano, is exceptional. He brings touching honesty of a young man who is dominated by his father and kept from being his own identity. Chad gives a heartwarming and convincing performance. It's a shame that his admittance of being gay interferes with his work. Yet his courage to continue to work is commendable. Such a loss that some audiences can't look beyond the tabloids and judge an actor's work on his abilities and not his private life. Let us not forget John Barrymore's private life and yet he's considered one of the great actors of our time. Go figure.

Allen is backed with Polly Cole as his young girlfriend. And she fits perfectly with him on the acting side. They both seem to bring forth the right touch of emotions in the situation and they work well together. Also Marshall R. Teaque and Gretchen German as his parents gave terrific performances. Teague's scenes with Allen were electric. Tamara Clutterbuck plays the girls mother and does a wonderful job as well. All the actors were well chosen. I can't recommend this film highly enough.

I saw this movie in Dallas a couple of months ago at a premiere event to raise money and awareness for breast cancer. The story behind the movie is what makes this movie so special. The director, Jane Cusumano, wrote and directed this movie. She passed away of Breast Cancer only a month after the film was finished. She got to see it on the big screen days before her death and her husband and executive producer, Jim Cusumano, is going to promote the film and continue producing the movies she wrote even after her death. The movie itself was very moving. Set in the small west Texas town of Vega, the main character Lucas Warner (played by Chad Allen of Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman) is in love with Heather Stone (played by Jane's daughter, Polly Cusumano). Unfortunately, Lucas's father, Raymond Warner (Played by Marshall Teague) doesn't approve of his son's choice for a bride and forces him to dump her and date Lydia Sharp (played by Shonda Farr). Through the twists and turns of this story, it seems that love is "What Matters Most." It ends up with a great twist at the end and an overall wonderful story. I think it is a great story and one that everyone can enjoy.

I taped this movie from Lifetime and my wife and I watched this movie together on December 19, 2005. It was good to see two good actors we were familiar with, Chad Allen and Marshall Teague giving believable performances to difficult parts. As a former counselor in one of my jobs prior to retirement, I met young people in love with parents of one or both not approving. My wife's parents did not approve of me at first. With this background we could feel the emotions of the two young people in love. The accident, the period of recovery, all the way to the conclusion kept us both glued to the TV set until the end although we felt some of it toward the end was contrived but we enjoyed the ending. We recommend the movie to anyone whose hearts go out to others in time of need.

This is a movie that touches your heart as well as your mind. As I was watching this movie I couldn't help but think how much time we waste looking at the world through our own personal tunnel. That the things that truly matter, which are there all around us, seem to get lost. From things as simple as the smile on the faces of the people we love, to seeing the sadness in their eyes, to being able to really listen. Because in the end what really matters most, is the life and love we share, and the love we leave behind. I highly recommend this film.