Monty Wildhorn who is an alcoholic novelist has lost his drive in his job. He and a newly single mom as well as her daughters who motivates him to write again meet up in quiet Belle Isle.
All we're left with is an uneven story that could have landed on "Best of Straight-to-DVD" shelves or the $1 bin at your local Walmart for Grandma to find.
You can quarrel with the smiley-face outcome of every ordeal, but the tenderness and optimism are so powerful and ingratiating that only a viewer with the darkest sensibility will go away untouched.
Corny, obvious, and shallow as a puddle, it traffics in outdated stereotypes, overused cliches, and ham-handed emotions. Trust me: your 80 year-old grandmother will love this movie.
Freeman, an actor who can be fierce and disagreeable on screen and in person, is content to turn on the twinkle. Unfortunately, Reiner seems all too happy to let him.
There's a comforting inevitability to The Magic of Belle Isle, as an alcoholic author spends a soothing, rejuvenating summer in a sleepy lakeside village.
