Smile (I) (2005) User Reviews

A Worthy Little Message Story Stretched to the Limits

[gradyharp · 6/10 · 12 October 2005]

SMILE is one of those Op-Ed moments on CNN that can be told with poignant dignity in 10 - 15 minutes and make a significant impact. The trouble with SMILE, the motion picture, is that it stretches this idea into 107 padded minutes, incorporating far more sitcom TV dialog about wealthy families with strident children looking for ways to escape uninspiring parental role models with teenage sex life and outside causes. It takes so long for this movie to get going that it loses the viewer.

The strong elements lie in the concept of the parallel of two girls born on the same day, one to the wealthy Malibu family with everything but concord, an the other left as an unwanted deserted orphan because of a facial deformity, salvaged by a caring worker who raises her as his own. The stories run parallel through the teen years when the Western girl seeks meaning to life by joining a humanitarian medical group whose efforts are directed toward offering the Eastern girl a chance at a normal appearance. The comparison of the lives of the two girls and their disparate families is tender and meaningful and that alone is worth the effort to tell this tale.

The actors are very good for the most part - Sean Astin in his most mature role to date, Mika Boorem as the Western girl and Yi Ding as the Eastern girl, and Beau Bridges and Luoyong Wang as the apposing fathers, Linda Hamilton as a rather tiresome mother, and some good young actors in supporting parts. The cinematography in China is very lovely but there is little tie in with the California counterpart. Jeffrey Kramer directs with less hold on pacing than on commitment to a worthwhile tale begging for brevity. Grady Harp

Plot is kinda cheezy, but Mika was fantastic.

[jymbo53 · 7/10 · 6 September 2005]

A rising star. Mika Boreem displays a mature acting ability that really shines through, especially toward the end of the movie. We'll see her in the future at the Academy Awards. The interaction between Mika, Linda Hamilton and Beau Bridges is good, but not very "life-like". Like I said the plot's cheesy. However, showing the different lives of the two girls is excellent. The "teenage sex issues" are decent enough for younger viewers and of course Hollywood throws in a couple of "donkey" words to thrill those who have a need to hear some cussing, although it is very minor. Linda's (Beauty) acting is superb and Sean Astin plays a believable part and does a good job as well. Jonathon Trent is also one to watch for. The cinematography is very good and the film has just enough good stuff to put it on a "one to see" list.

Nice Message Movie

[highlyvenemous · 6/10 · 11 August 2007]

I watched this movie on DVD with my boyfriend and I had pretty low expectations. After seeing it I would say that as message movies go, this one is not bad. Mika Boorem is good and believable....it's a shame her career hasn't gone anywhere since this. I thought the locations were really interesting and intense. Sometimes I felt like it was a little heavy-handed and its earnestness kind of got in the way of what could have been a better story if it wasn't quite so predictable.

It does make you contemplate just how fortunate we are to grow up in a place where if you're born with cleft palate or something like that, it gets fixed and you can go about your life. I think the "Operation Smile" people are doing some very good work, and this movie is part of that effort and should be respected in a way that's different than the way you would think about simple "fun" movies.

China's beauty and a charitable cause move me

[raincityslicka · 4 February 2006]

This film is noteworthy: beautiful cinematography, super performance by many of the Chinese actors, and a great message. Some of the scenes seem a little unrealistic, but the movie compels me to charitable action -- that and great cinematography make for a worthwhile film.

The film creates an interesting comparison between a 17-year-old girl, Katie, from affluent L.A., and her counterpart, Lin, a girl of exactly the same age, from rural China. Their friendship will hopefully lead other young people to travel, to give of themselves and to form their own cross-cultural relationships.

I enjoyed listening to Director Jeffrey Kramer's notes, which give a whole new set of insights into several aspects of the film. First, being filmed in rural China, the film captures innumerable authentic elements of the culture, which Kramer points out. Second, Kramer talks about the many intercultural, interpersonal relationships going on behind the scenes in this film. Finally, as Kramer mentions more than once, the movie touches interestingly on the one-child policy in China and how it affects families.

Some of the performances, especially on the Malibu side, seem a bit of a stretch from reality. However, on the Shanghai side, the performance by the actors playing Lin and her family are superb. Despite some of the aspects of the screenplay which seem to stretch realism, overall the intercultural aspects, cinematography and charitable cause make this one worth watching -- and being changed by.

A spoiled American teen needs an outcast Chinese teen to smile; and vice versa

[Wuchakk · 6/10 · 7 March 2015]

"Smile" is an independent film from 2005 about an American girl and a Chinese girl born on the same day. Kate (Mika Boorem) lives the good life as a typical Southern California good-lookin' blond whereas Lin (Yi Ding) was discarded like trash as an infant by her parents because of a facial deformity. Thankfully, a man rescues the girl and sacrifices all to see to it that she has a quality life (Luoyong Wang). The two girls meet when Kate decides to take part in a program encouraged by her teacher Mr. Matthews (Sean Astin). The story's a cumulative creation based on thousands of true stories, including one of an American teen and Chinese teen. A picture of the two is featured at the end.

The cinematography, locations, score/soundtrack, etc. are professional-level filmmaking and there are a few big names in the cast, like Linda Hamilton and Beau Bridges as Kate's parents, not to mention Astin. Although this is one of those tear-jerking inspirational dramas, it's also a coming-of-age flick. To be expected, the story goes back-and-forth between Kate and Lin. The latter's life is quite sad, except for her adoptive father, while the former's life plays out like the usual teenage-babe-in-high-school yarn. I don't mean that in a bad way because Kate's (melo)drama helps hook the viewer into the story and is one of the film's strengths. Another positive is that the filmmakers don't try to play your heart-strings too early. The whole story is a build-up to the revelation at the end and, I have to confess, it brought tears to both my wife and me.

Unfortunately, you can tell that this is a low-budget movie in regards to the weak acting in several scenes. When a movie has the funds the filmmakers will take several shots of the same scene until they get it just right; and they'll kick axx if they have to in order to get the best out of the actors. Here you can tell that they set up scenes and shot them very quickly with the attitude of "That's good enough." Why? Because time is money and they didn't have the money to take all day to shoot one or two scenes, so they got the best they could on their limited budget. Another negative is that the story is too by-the-numbers. You're watching a scene and it feels like actors following the contrived words of a script rather than what they would do or say in real life, which ruins the movie's illusion of reality. If you can ignore these flaws, however, this is a worthwhile inspirational drama. Being shot in China, it gives Westerners a good spotlight into the lives of common people in that country.

The film runs 107 minutes and was shot in Malibu, California, and Jingxi & Shanghai, China.

GRADE: B-

A Very Good Glimpse Of What Could Have Been...

[krocheav · 7/10 · 30 December 2016]

Smile isn't a film that's likely to please many action movie watchers. Some may not have the patience needed to understand its fine intentions. It's actually a film with much to say - being essentially an introduction to the World Wide Doctors Gift fund. The beginning of the movie sets the scene perfectly - a kindly shanghai worker, perfectly played by Luoyong Wang ('Bruce Lee Story'93) finds an abandoned new born baby girl and takes her home to selflessly give the child a better chance for a decent life. This causes friction between his wife an son.

On the same day in California USA another baby girl is born into the family of a Doctor and his wife. The parallel story that unfolds in the US tends to wander into story details that detract from the main theme - slowing the movie unnecessarily. Katie, the California girl who's very well played by Mika Boorem, has all she could want materialistically but she's not generally given to care for anyone other than herself. Enter one of her school teachers Mr Matthews, played by the interesting Sean Astin ('Lord Of The Rings' 1-2-3.). During the last school year Mr Mathews was involved in taking students to China to voluntarily participate in the medical charity group 'Operation Smile'. He's now attempting to recruit a new group to return this year. This eventually brings the two same-day-born girls together. Unfortunately, first time feature writer/director Jeffrey Krammer tends to gloss over some of the more important details - while other padded situations seem to receive a little more attention than they deserve. The movie would have played better being at least 20min shorter.

A recipient of the prestigious American Cinematographers Award: Director of photography, Edward Pei (Panther '95) gives the film a truly striking visual treatment. For one reason or another the movie tends to offer far more believable performances during the Chinese sequences than the states. An interesting sequence has the Chinese 'dad' and adopted daughter out watching a Roy Rogers film projected at an outdoor mall! complete with loving shots of the 35mm (no less) projectors. What makes this unusual is that a scene like this takes a good deal of setting up, especially in the days of video projection. Seems Dale and Roy Rogers set up a grant/fund to keep family entertainment alive - hats off to them both!

The wives don't shape-up all that well in this story, with Katie's mum the lovely Linda Hamilton (Dante's Peak '97) seeming to fly off the handle too easily and Danial's wife played by Jia Song showing no feelings for the little deformed orphan. While 'Smile' may have flaws, the only story to seriously consider is the 'Operation Smile' program's ability to bring people of other lands together in care, also offering the all important potential for personal growth. An understanding of one of life's most vital aspects--the ability to care for others as you would have them care for you-- Those looking for an examination of life-changing situations could enjoy this most.

Civilised intentions marred by naiveté

[rowmorg · 6/10 · 10 September 2005]

My friend is visiting Shanghai and giving lectures to pharmacists in one of the hospitals. Her partner wrote me how shocked they were to learn that in China, an ostensibly Communist-governed country, the health care system is privately operated. And yet, to view this picture, you would never guess that the whole health system was not hunky-dory and just bursting to help deformed children. You could call this omission naive, or you could call it misleading---even dishonest. Smile is an advertisement for a regime that holds millions of dissenters in a gulag of slave factories and conducts a huge number of public executions per year. Furthermore, the perpetrators of the Tianenmen Square massacre have never been brought to justice, which goes fundamentally against human rights and human nature. Nevertheless, it is interesting to see Shanghai looking so comely, and Mika's super figure is waved around in almost every shot. The picture is a courageous attempt to sell Volunteering Overseas and for that it deserves brownie points, but can charity ever be divorced from politics? What price in oppression is this picture paying for its sanitised portrait of Communist China?

Slow movie that isn't worth the wait

[mats_lundberg · 2/10 · 1 August 2005]

The pace of this movie is quite slow. It takes about 70 minutes to get Katie to China (which we know that she will) and leaves 30 minutes to wrap things up. The storyline is so predictable that you know everything after about 5 minutes. Nothing surprises you. I guess that the movie is a coming of age movie but the movie is full of stereotypes that are quite over the top:

Katie - A beauty that realizes that looks, boys and shopping isn't everything. She realizes that she can "feel" and "see the real world". Touching.

The mother - high strung, nervous, screaming mother (wow very innovative) that need taking care of by a strong man.

The father - patient and always understanding and takes care of the incapable woman.

The boyfriend that only wants to get into her pants.

The comedian clown Chinese guy that doesn't know how to speak English properly and made a laughing stock. Thought Hollywood dropped those characters in the mid fifties.

The nurse that at times knows everything how to get around in China that in the next moment is a carbon copy of The mother i.e. a woman who cant handle the situation or knows anything.

The deformed Chinese girl that with the help of us westerns get help and become a beautiful girl. Because in China (a third world country according to the film) don't have anything and hence needs our charity. Gah, wake up and smell what you are shoveling.

Sure that there are some poverty in China but the portrayal of the aid from western countries (read USA) is so shallow and happy ending-ish that it is sad and revolting. Shanghai (where the movie is set) is the most expanding and evolving city in the world at the moment.

The Chinese father that is so nice and goodhearted that in the end has one wish ... to be a cowboy with a white hat ...

The teacher (Sean Astin) that has this really heart ripping story (not) that he tells without feel. Why Sean? WHY!?

Etc etc. It is difficult to actually finding a "real" person in the entire movie.

This is nothing but a feel good movie for Americans below age 15. If you want to learn anything about the world watch e.g. Hotel Rwanda instead. For a better life story or coming of age movie I suggest you watch the Italian "Cinema Paradiso" that won the best foreign film academy reward some years back.

The only nice thing in the movie were the small town sceneries that truly capture some (not all) of the beautiful Chinese country side. I have been there and seen some of it.

Emotive and Touching.

[what3v3r · 8/10 · 26 September 2005]

This movie isn't about the character makeover that Katie has or the facial makeover that Lindsay has. I kept on wondering why they would call the movie Smile ! I had my answer. "Smile" is about the ability to genuinely smile, to smile for something that doesn't go through you, to smile with mushy emotions inside, to smile with tears in your eyes, to smile at the happiness of someone besides yourself ! Its what you would do while you watched "Smile". They have also probably chosen the perfect tag-line for this movie. Watch the movie and you will find out why !

I give this movie all its rating because of Lindsay and her dad and everything that revolves around them. Very very touching to watch a father sacrifice everything for the love of an adopted child. Cinematography too was excellent. The scenic countryside holding hands with the pleasant music score adds to the feel good touch of brilliantly done scenes such as the father and child dancing etc.

The initial chunk of the movie is a lil overdone potpourri of characters. Character development was essential, but it spills over into more of a striking contrasting difference between the lives of two girls born on the same day. It puts forth a wrong perspective which could well and truly stand in line with the archaic stereotype of lives in developing countries. They could also have gone easy on the last set of photo stills to don the movie screen. It tends to give a lil bit of the "true story" thing away !

Given its pros and cons, I would certainly recommend this movie even if its a date movie !

Not worth the effort

[MCouture-1 · 3/10 · 12 September 2005]

Two redeeming qualities of this film were the cinemaphotography and a storyline that was hard to resist. However, the script, the direction, and some scenes, were just awful. I kept asking myself why such a good cast would have produced such a bad movie. My only conclusion was that these actors must believe in the charity which underlies the plot of the movie, but knew the movie was filled with flaws.

This film could have been so much better, and reached a larger audience accordingly. What makes me think this is that with all of the problems of the film, some scenes being painfully bad to watch, I still wanted to see how the obvious conclusion would resolve itself.

It will truly touch your heart

[andilea · 10/10 · 22 October 2005]

I didn't hear about this movie at all. I was walking through Movie Gallery and came across this movie. I initially noticed Sean Astin's name so I picked it up. I then realized that the movie was based on OPERATION SMILE. I had to rent the movie then. Operation Smile is an organization that goes to third world countries and does facial reconstructive surgery on children. I personally think this is amazing. The movie captured the heart-rending pain that physically deformed children go through. It captured the love the parents had for those children and the sacrifices that they go through. It also captured Katie's journey from selfish spoiled little brat to someone who thinks about somebody else for a change. It showed her compassion bloom and it was a very pleasant movie to watch. I heartily recommend it.

A great story that could have been a great movie

[parmleyal · 3/10 · 29 December 2005]

The story line of a man's love for an innocent baby he finds with a malformed face and on the opposite side of the world a shallow self centered "valley girl" who shares a birth date with her and ends up making a big difference in both of there lives. What a great and worthy story line. But in this telling the screen writing and/or directing and/or editing is so poor as to take most of the joy out of the story. Linda Hamilton's character goes from understanding mom to wicked witch and back faster than a speeding bullet, and for what purpose? Conflict, conflict, conflict, at the drop of a hat. Katie (The California Girl) and her boyfriend, Katie's Mom and everybody, including the poor lady at the airport check-in counter, Lin's adopted father, who is the nicest, most considerate man alive, and his wife and biological son, all in constant conflict. I really wanted to enjoy a heartwarming story, but the only thing that made me SMILE was when all the hate and fighting were over. There were too many unexplained or illogical events, many of which don't add to the story. My wife and I kept looking at each other and asking ourselves how such a good cast and what should be a great story, could be crapped up so badly.

An afterschool special...

[mpfeiffer13 · 1/10 · 25 December 2005]

...without anything to walk away with. This movie starts with scenes in China with the finding of a newborn. While this is not a new concept, I wasn't going to give up right there. Then there is a flash forward to adolescence. The man's wife and biological child are fed up with the father who has neglected them. While this did not seem culturally accurate, and the movie made no move to develop these characters or the purpose for the adopted father's devotion, I pressed on.

Next, we're in Malibu where we are bombarded by poorly constructed classroom interaction and terribly low-budget (fill in the blank: acting/camera work/lighting).

I won't give away any more of the plot, because I suppose the synopsis is accurate: the movie is meant to show how a Malibu girl who (though she seems to innately have the compassion and interest to help others when she immediately asks her teacher about the trip to China) is spoiled and inconsiderate, finds herself as being a healer and helper of both body and spirit.

Lame. LAME, LAME, LAME.

Now I, admittedly, am a harsh critic, so maybe take one of those LAME's away and you'll be on the mark.

It makes you want to do something!!

[soberru2 · 10/10 · 10 October 2005]

Every once in awhile a film comes along that just reminds you what life is really all about this film did it for me. The difference in this film is it stirred you to want to care, to want to make a small difference any way that you possibly can in life. This film is that hope factor that keeps one going no matter how many times you have been beaten up by the world and it's cynical ways. The love and hope in this film reminds you to keep trying, searching, reaching to help make a difference no matter what, no matter how small a way. Thank God for people who make films such as this!!

'-)

Not a great movie but a very good, moving story.

[TxMike · 26 February 2012]

This movie is almost an infomercial for the organization of medical professionals who donate their time on periodic good will visits to poor countries to surgically repair babies and young children born with severe facial and mouth deformities.

Mika Boorem, who was actually a teenager, plays a character not unlike what she played in 'Blue Crush'. A head-strong teen who always wants to get her way, and doesn't have much empathy for the troubles of others. Here she is Malibu teen Katie who has convinced her mother that it is time to start taking the pill, she thinks she is ready for an intimate relationship with her boyfriend.

Half-way across the world in China, born the same day as Katie, is Yi Ding as Lin. She was born with severe facial deformities and was left in a hay field by the parents only to be discovered and raised by a man who wasn't her real dad. Lin grew up ashamed of her face, kept it covered, and didn't socialize.

At school back in Malibu is a visionary teacher, Sean Astin as Mr. Matthews. He knows that others have had great experiences by volunteering on a surgical mission trip, and his encouragement is responsible for Katie going to China. Katie learns of Lin, actually looks her up, and convinces her to go to Shanghai and get the surgery. Both teens are changed as a result of the experience.

There is a nice 7-minute extra on the DVD featuring real footage of real doctors doing surgeries on real children with deformities. It is a remarkable thing they are doing that makes a remarkable change for the children.

Nice idea but poorly executed

[Sonnenblme · 2/10 · 29 July 2008]

The characterization in this movie is among the worst I've ever encountered. The dialogue is trite and cliché to the point of extreme distraction. None of the issues the characters face are developed at all--they're merely surface details intended to get a point across without having to actually come up with believable dialogue to support said point. Also, the depiction of the Chinese characters leaves a bit to be desired--I find it hard to believe that the Chinese father learns flawless English from a book(or so it is implied in one scene) so he can teach it to his daughter. Etc.

The Smile Train is a great organization and it's a nice idea, to make a heartstring-tugging film about the impact a program like this can have on kids' lives, but overall, I found this movie to be more frustrating than anything.

Good, uplifting movie; Meant to educate about an important cause

[sunkissed19 · 9/10 · 14 May 2006]

This movie was very good and uplifting, and it was written to educate about a great cause. While I think a few of the scenes are not necessary to the movie, like Katie's issue with her boyfriend, the movie as a whole was very good and definitely uplifting.

Operation Smile, the real organization upon which the movie's "Doctor's Gift" is based, is fast becoming a great, well-known international organization. I myself am involved in Operation Smile and it is very rewarding--I hope to go on a mission trip with them within the next year or two. If you have a chance to get involved, you definitely should. Their website is www.operationsmile.org .

A "feel good" effort that only brings frowns

[SimonJack · 4/10 · 6 September 2012]

"Smile" is five stories in one. It's important to note that this is not a true story. Rather, the credits claim that it's like 80,000 other stories. Some characters are based on real people, others are composites. That's OK. Many books and movies are created thus. I can understand and applaud the purpose of the charitable organization that is doing such good work around the world. And, I can understand how this effort is something that Chicken Soup for the Soul would want to sponsor. But, unfortunately, this film fails on many accounts. To start with, I have problems with some of the values that seem to be accepted by the producers. I suspect that many other viewers may also find such problems. Finally, those of us who follow news around the world will see glaring inconsistencies with what the film shows and the realities in China.

The first story is about a spoiled, self-centered teenage girl from a very well-to-do family in California. Another is of a man in China who finds an abandoned newborn girl with a cleft palate and takes her into his family to raise her. The third story is about a worldwide charitable organization, Operation Smile, which helps treat facial deformities of children. The fourth story is about a volunteer program for high school students to serve the group in foreign countries. The fifth story is about the redemption of the spoiled teenager and her friendship with the Chinese girl and her father.

The portrayal of the heroine and her family may be spot on. While she is a seemingly nice girl, in truth she's a spoiled only- child and a very self-centered brat. Her parents are no better and round out a very dysfunctional family. One can sense that they each came from a single- child family themselves, where they were used to getting their own way. They never learned to share or to truly care for siblings or others growing up themselves. Just look at these people. They fly off the handle at the least little word they don't like from the other – especially the mother and daughter. That this mom and dad would tolerate the back-talk and yelling of this girl isn't anything I can imagine in any of my family or among friends – and that's a lot of people and families.

The modern media and public agenda to the contrary, I don't think most parents today would talk about their daughter using birth control pills and "protecting" herself or being responsible with sex. These parents seem to have a cavalier attitude about sex and their daughter's experiencing it. I don't know any dad, or mom, who would have such an attitude about their daughter. The interest in my widespread circles is one of teaching, and explaining and encouraging teens to wait for the right person in marriage.

The next story has a Chinese man finding an abandoned newborn with the cleft palate. This man would have to be a living saint, except for what we see later on. The date for his discovery would be in the late 1980s. China has had a one-child policy since 1978. The Chinese father already had a wife and a son. It would indeed be an extreme act of heroic love to take in an abandoned baby girl. There is no mention of his reporting the baby, so how is it that the family continued for several years without detection? Then, the man's wife leaves with their son because of the man's favoring attention to the girl. The man surely is an exception. Under the one-child policy, many girls are aborted because the Chinese all want sons who will care for parents in old age. So, how could this man let his own son leave him? Again, this much of a contrived story for China just doesn't ring as likely or possible.

Too many other aspects of this film are just not believable. The American girl who can't speak or read Chinese, takes off on her own to travel a long way and find a specific tenement home in some distant place? The Chinese man teaching himself and his daughter English, with no other English speakers to learn from?

The story of the charitable group is heartwarming, but there is very little of it. Except for the one nurse, there was so little interaction with or involvement of medical people in the hospital. There's just way too much in this movie that isn't plausible. So much so that it really detracts from the film.

In summary, my low rating is mostly because of the very implausible plot, a weak script, and only fair acting at best. The idea and the cause it relates to are very good. There have been a number of very good movies in the past decade or so about redemption of young people. But, "Smile" is more of a frown and flop.

Disappointing to the Infinite Power

[autumndawn · 4/10 · 25 September 2005]

I just purchased this movie because I love to donate to Operation Smile, the charity on which the movie was based...but I found the writing of the movie to be very strange. It t does not really focus so much on Operation Smile or similar organizations like The Smile Train and their Herculean efforts to relieve the suffering of children born with facial deformities in third world countries. No, it concentrates on an American teenage volunteer, Katie, whose "over-privileged" life in Malibu, California, includes a mother who brings her to a doctor so that she'll have birth control pills in her before she sleeps with her boyfriend. What is this birth control nonsense supposed to do, titillate the audience? It's 2005. I'd be more surprised if in 2005 a Malibu teen wasn't on birth control, and even if she is, so what and who cares? Contrasting Katie is the character of Lin in China, a girl with a facial deformity who missed last year's chance to get an operation and this year does not want to have one. Neither character is written in such a way that the audience can really identify with, let alone understand the motivations of, either girl. On the other hand, the actors do an adequate job of trying to play the bad hand they were dealt by whoever wrote this ridiculous script. The best performance was by the gentleman playing Lin's father although much of his dialogue is in Chinese and subtitled. Operation Smile deserved to be honored by a much better movie than this!

Happened to check this DVD out at the library

[socrates99 · 8/10 · 16 April 2010]

I get one for me and one for my wife which I usually don't watch. This one I did and was pleasantly surprised. As mentioned elsewhere the shots of China were as intriguing as those of Malibu. They're all quite revealing, details of life at both locations that I didn't expect. But the real surprise was the lead, Mika Boorem, who I don't recall having seen anywhere before. I've never seen anyone play 'innocent' and naive as boldly as this girl. What's also surprising is that her Chinese counterparts also come across as unusually devoid of negative traits with one exception.

Anyway, this is the true story of someone needing an operation and how she eventually got it thanks to a teenager from Malibu. Not my usual idea of a fun movie, but I was engaged throughout. Not quite sure what did it, but if you're a guy looking to impress a charitable girl, this movie is a good bet.

Pathetic Pathos

[scorseseisgod-1 · 1/10 · 12 November 2005]

Not to be confused with Michael Ritchie's nasty 1975 beauty pageant spoof, this "Smile" is a down-turned example of those good intentions paving the road to hell.

The film parallels two stories: an impoverished Chinese father sacrifices his wife and son to raise a facially-deformed orphan named Ling (Yi Ding), and a TV-spawned Malibu family act out "Gidget Get Birth Control." Katie (Mika Booram, the third Olsen twin) plays a spoiled, self-absorbed high schooler distanced from reality. Her teacher (Sean Astin) paves the way for a school trip to China aimed at showing students how to work with deformed children.

The film uses deformity as a means of suspense by treating Ling like the Frankenstein monster. Kramer continually masks her deformity through hats, hoods and camera placement. This approach exploits the freak show quality inherent in the material. She may be uncomfortable with the way society views her and Kramer's answer is to cover her up until the big reveal. Why disturb your audience with such unpleasantness? We see her face briefly at the end and only minutes before closing-credit snapshots of her after surgery disclose a swan beneath the harelip. It is not good enough to give the girl a reason to live; what is imperative is Ling being equally as hot and popular as Katie.

Funding for the film came from a trust established by the late Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. They envisioned a heritage of quality family films. Give me "Son of Paleface" any day.

Based on 80,0000 true stories

[b-bell11672 · 10/10 · 24 November 2012]

I loved the fact that anticipating this "based on" storyline, was a cumulative creation from the joyful work that the "Doctors Gift" program has made possible. The other reviews seemed harsh in their expectations and in picking things apart. The screenplay and production were just what I was hoping for; showing the pain and suffering of people in need of special medical services, and their hopes of being chosen for such unique, free, chances at a new life. On the other side, a view at how volunteers come to the decision that they want to be a part of this mission. All of this woven into a very heartwarming storyline that kept my interest and developed my feelings for these characters. I loved it and found it at my library.

Skip this one!

[pedro-jedi · 2/10 · 18 March 2007]

This movie is terrible, it was so difficult to believe that Katie became a heartfelt teenager with the power to save the pity Chinese people, the movie didn't show any convincing argument to prove that. And the rest of the plot didn't make any effort to show us more than a cheap common sense...

The plot is ridiculous and the only thing we can extract from it is that it demonstrate how arrogant a human can be. Katie must have inherited her arrogance from her mother, the most annoying character I have seen for a long time.

The acting and scenery were OK, but the plot ruins everything, full of cheap clichés and hypocritical scenes, I expect not to see this movie again in my life. Skip this one!

Get out & volunteer to help someone- you'll be helping yourself, too

[kajmahal · 10/10 · 18 October 2007]

I've been fortunate enough to have been on 3 Operation Smile missions and I'm leaving for my 4th in a couple of weeks. I found that this movie did a great job of creating the atmosphere of being on a mission.

I noticed that some of the review presented a very cynical view of how these missions are conducted- i.e.- Americans have to go to these countries to show the natives how to repair their babies. Those reviewers didn't pay close enough attention to the movie to see that the surgical team who operated on Lin was Chinese. Apart from the movie, Operation Smile's goal is to collaborate with the Op Smile chapters in each country to promote the development of their medical personnel so they can run their own missions.

Anyway back to "Smile", it gives an accurate portrayal of the positive, life-changing effect that one can get from helping another human being and it matches my experiences with Op Smile.

Incredible story, weak editing/acting in parts, but worth seeing!!!

[heatherfife · 8/10 · 17 January 2008]

I love this film!!! This is a beautiful story, well-written - a film worth watching! From the moment it began I was drawn in to the beautiful photography and story set in China. All of the storyline that was filmed there was pertinent, realistic and touching. The message of the film is sacrifice, love, and compassion. Luoyong Wang, Yi Ding, and Mika Boorem were all fantastic. Both Erik von Detten and Sean Astin's acting was natural and believable.

The majority of the film set in Malibu in an attempt at character building, is substandard. Part of this has to do, I believe, with the editing. For example Linda Hamilton's character appears loving and caring one minute, then manic depressive and "out of control" the next and them back to a loving caring mother/wife the next with no apparent reason for the extreme transitions. We don't need to see "Katie" dressing immodestly, see her parents freaking out on each other, or see her internal conflict about having sex with her boyfriend, or the way she uses sex to manipulate and frustrate two teenage boys to know she is not a touchy-feely, caring "good girl." It could have been shown simply with the way she is derogatory about her classmates and unbelieving that people in the world could be less physically beautiful than she. Sorry, this part was over-done. I would love to see a re-make of this some day...in the meantime, see this one and enjoy the beauty of the film spiritually and physically!