The movie was pretty corny - but the message is a good one. The acting was OK. I was kind of annoyed that everyone had a cell phone, but sometimes used them and didn't use them other times when they could have been useful - within minutes of each other. But it would have taken away some of the uncertainty if they used them every time it would have been reasonable to do so. Children of divorce need closure as much as the parents do. They also need to understand that the marriage did have some good times and that their parents can still respect each other. It's also good to reinforce the idea that the children are a wonderful product of the marriage. After several years of bitterness, the parents decided to hold a divorce ceremony. The idea of this seemed kind of weird and morbid to me at first, but the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a good idea. It's a way of laying the past to rest and moving forward for everyone involved. The stepmother was a very wise and compassionate person - Too bad it's not like this in every step family. The problems with the daughter were pretty easily resolved - This isn't like real life by any means. I watched it because there wasn't much else on and like I said, the message was a good one. I probably won't watch it again.
4 Reviews
How to handle a child of divorce
phd_travel15 September 2018
This is quite a surprisingly feel good wish fulfilment movie about how parents and children can handle the tricky situation of divorce and remarriage. The way all the parties come to terms with problems and rebellion and eventually bond is quite touching and though it may not happen in real life it's still nice to see it on screen.
Boring drama
jasonbradyeng15 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
A good start but then gets bogged down with drama. Main person dives in a lake where the plane crashed to get a radio and sat phone... that has been under water for a day... doesn't really make sense why you'd dive and risk you life.
Then stays by the lake while no one is looking or knows where she is... oh but also she was on the scouts and know how to survive in the wild? Just a confusing movie trying to fit the plot line which is someone with issues that needs a psychiatrist.
Then stays by the lake while no one is looking or knows where she is... oh but also she was on the scouts and know how to survive in the wild? Just a confusing movie trying to fit the plot line which is someone with issues that needs a psychiatrist.
Living in the Cruel Shadow of Divorce
lavatch9 December 2019
Warning: Spoilers
"Mom, Dad, and Her" (a.k.a., "Just Breathe") begins with the antics of quite possibly the biggest brat to ever grace a Lifetime film. Fifteen-year-old Sydney Fairfield is so mad at the world that she takes it out on anyone who crosses her path. The film actually appeared as if it would evolve into the horror genre with Sydney potentially wreaking havoc on the lives of extremely kind people like her dad Ben and his new and very pregnant wife Emma.
But one-third of the way into the picture, the perspective shifts in an attempt by the filmmakers to call attention to the horrific effects of divorce on the life of a child. In assessing the brat Sydney, the audience is forced to think back on the film's opening scene that portrays Sydney and her friends entering the backdoor of a church to spy on a wedding ceremony. While her cynical friends are smirking, Sydney is openly weeping at the ceremony that promises "love ever after" from the happy couple. Sydney is left to reflect on what "might have been" after her parents divorced and changed her life forever.
A turning point in the film occurs with the contact of Sydney with her thirty-nine-year-old stepmother, Emma, who actually begins to listen to Sydney. It is the bonding of the pregnant woman with the teenager that sustains the film through the second half. Sydney begins to feel warmth, respect, and, above all, trust in her stepmom.
Another interesting character in the film is the wise, old owl named Heather, who draws upon her own experience of raising children coming off a painful divorce, who provides guidance to Emma in providing a nurturing environment, as well as "tough love," for young Sydney.
The grand finale of the "divorce ceremony" that ritualizes both the separation and the original love felt by Sydney's parents, Ben and Lynn, may strike some viewers as an over-the-top cinematic choice. But it is clear that the filmmakers wanted to drive home the sobering realities faced by one million children annually when their families are torn asunder in divorce. While it is unclear if a divorce ceremony would ever catch on in the real world, at least in the escapist world of film, it provided a cathartic effect and hope for a clean slate for young Sydney.
But one-third of the way into the picture, the perspective shifts in an attempt by the filmmakers to call attention to the horrific effects of divorce on the life of a child. In assessing the brat Sydney, the audience is forced to think back on the film's opening scene that portrays Sydney and her friends entering the backdoor of a church to spy on a wedding ceremony. While her cynical friends are smirking, Sydney is openly weeping at the ceremony that promises "love ever after" from the happy couple. Sydney is left to reflect on what "might have been" after her parents divorced and changed her life forever.
A turning point in the film occurs with the contact of Sydney with her thirty-nine-year-old stepmother, Emma, who actually begins to listen to Sydney. It is the bonding of the pregnant woman with the teenager that sustains the film through the second half. Sydney begins to feel warmth, respect, and, above all, trust in her stepmom.
Another interesting character in the film is the wise, old owl named Heather, who draws upon her own experience of raising children coming off a painful divorce, who provides guidance to Emma in providing a nurturing environment, as well as "tough love," for young Sydney.
The grand finale of the "divorce ceremony" that ritualizes both the separation and the original love felt by Sydney's parents, Ben and Lynn, may strike some viewers as an over-the-top cinematic choice. But it is clear that the filmmakers wanted to drive home the sobering realities faced by one million children annually when their families are torn asunder in divorce. While it is unclear if a divorce ceremony would ever catch on in the real world, at least in the escapist world of film, it provided a cathartic effect and hope for a clean slate for young Sydney.
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