A Day Late and a Dollar Short (2014 TV Movie) User Reviews

While this movie was good and worth seeing August Osage County was so much better.

[cosmo_tiger · 6/10 · 12 June 2014]

"There's a whole lot of mess I have to clean up before I go." Viola (Goldberg) is the matriarch of a family that has fallen apart. Her kids all hate each other, the husband has found a new woman and no one likes her anymore. After a health scare she is given news that changes her life. On the verge of death she decides it time to fix her family before it's too late. I will start with...yes this is a Lifetime movie, I am a guy, I actually did enjoy it. That said though it was a little too sappy for me. I think, like most movies lately, when another movie that is about the same thing comes out comparisons begin. This one is very much like August Osage County in plot and theme. While this movie was good and worth seeing August was so much better. Seeing that one first may have affected how I felt about this one but August had deeper relationships and just felt like a more complete movie. It may have been because it was a made-for-TV movie but this felt really thin compared to the other one. All that said though the movie is good and if you haven't seen August then you may like this more then I did. Overall, a good movie worth seeing but once again a movie suffers from being too identical to a recent movie. I give this a B-.

I liked this movie

[nhbxxx · 8/10 · 15 August 2014]

This is a good movie; I didn't feel like I wasted two hours of my time like with SO many other movies! Nice to see Whoopi in an understated performance. All the acting was good - but - even in a drama, Tichina Arnold makes me laugh! Too many years of watching "Martin" I guess... The hand-written letters that Whoopi's character left at the end was special...a great idea in this digital age. Okay, in the church scene where she sees her estranged husband and his girlfriend, who noticed Whoopi's homage to Guinan with her hat? Overall, this is a movie that most should enjoy; yes it feels a bit rushed, but if each character was fully developed, the movie would be four hours long.

Comedic and inspiring Lifetime movie

[SusieSalmonLikeTheFish · 8/10 · 7 November 2014]

Most Lifetime movies are generally the same, more or less. After countless movies this company has produced about suicide, anorexia and alcohol, A Day Late and A Dollar Short was finally something a little different.

Viola (Whoopi Goldberg) is an elderly woman with attitude who has quite the dysfunctional family, whom she blames for her chronic asthma until one day an attack puts her in the hospital for several days. When her doctor warns her that she will be lucky to live more than another year or so, she makes it her goal to repair her broken family.

I'm not saying it was perfect, I mean come on, it's a Lifetime movie. But it had some decent acting and the most original plot for a Lifetime movie since "Stalking Laura" and "Lois Gibbs and the Love Canal". Definitely not bad, I recommend at least giving it a chance.

Surprisingly Well Done

[SataiDelen · 19 April 2014]

For a Lifetime movie, this is an exceptional one! It has a great cast, and not just because of the well-known actors that are in this. Even the not-well known, and the not-at-all known actors were excellent.

This movie deals with quite a few adult themes, and some that will make people want to shy away. What I loved, was that the movie didn't shy away from them. They tackled some really hard issues, and didn't try to play them down in tone at all.

I will not spoil this film for anyone other than to say that it deals with life and death. There is humor in it, and there is great sadness in it.

I highly recommend watching this. You won't regret it.

New movie, same formula, nothing new

[ja-191-280465 · 6/10 · 17 May 2014]

Premiering on Lifetime, "A Day Late and a Dollar Short" is a new made for t.v movie based on the novel by Terry McMillan. Directed by Stephen Tolkin, the story is centered on Viola and Cecil Price, ( Whoopi Goldberg, Ving Rhames), a divorced couple with four grown children. Dysfunctional on so many levels, the story is told from Viola's point of view as she tries to help her children fix their mistakes and tend to their slew of domestic and marital woes. The film contains issues such as fidelity, illness, child abuse, molestation, etc. With such a great cast, the acting was fairly decent. However, the storyline is quite cliché with nothing new to offer. A lot could' ve been left to the imagination as far as trying to piece together the lives of the characters. The ending proved to be a special moment. The letters read to each other were touching and endearing. However, they were all based on the feelings of Viola when they should've expressed the feelings of the children instead. Overall, good but not great.

Surprise!

[kwihui · 7/10 · 16 April 2022]

It was well made fun. Tearful at the end. Too bad this family didn't come together when the protagonist was alive, this the title.

Yes, I recommend for everyone. A good family film.

Great movie

[darkdiva120 · 9/10 · 9 May 2014]

This movie was so touching...without being corny. The book is one of my favorites and the movie stayed mostly true to it. I just wished it was a little longer...the characters fleshed out more. I was able to follow the storyline easily because of reading the book, but someone not familiar with Viola and her family would not be invested in the characters as much because they get such a short time to impress upon the viewer their perosnalities. Still -great, great job for all those involved! From now on out I know when I pick up my well worn cop I will envision the actors as these characters. They breathed a great new life into an already wonderful story!

Beautiful Movie

[godsdesign · 9/10 · 9 November 2015]

I absolutely loved this movie. I stumbled on it on Lifetime today & could not bring myself to turn the channel to anything else. The casting of each actress and actor was clearly carefully considered because it was definitely on point. Whoopi Goldberg showed that she can still bring a cast together as the main character. This isn't your typical "Lifetime fluff movie" with no strong acting & flip-floppy characters. It's also not like the majority of African American movies out today that so closed mimic Tyler Perry's creations. And although I love Tyler Perry, it was good to watch something outside of the "new norm" for these types of movies. It still has a "feel good" overall theme, primarily achieved through the ending. But, it is based on a novel written in 2001 by the phenomenal Terry McMillan. I, for one, was happy to see it come alive in a movie that flowed so closely with the book's original theme. If you choose to watch this movie (which you absolutely should), all I will say is to pay attention to each character throughout it & then stick around to watch the ending. Have you seen the 90s movie "Soulfood"? If so, that's how you will feel at this end of this one. Loved it!

Recycled Plot

[Marc_Action · 5/10 · 3 April 2022]

While A Day Late and a Dollar Short was enjoyable (I generally always enjoy movies starring Whoopi Goldberg), I was a bit underwhelmed with the plot, as it was lifted right out of 1997's Soul Food. From the dying matriarch of a dysfunctional black family. To the inclusion of three daughters-with the two eldest hating each other as one's a smart and very successful businesswoman and the other having a seemingly perfect family life. They even casted Mekhi Phifer as the sole son, which I guess is an addition (there was no son in Soul Food). But if you remember Phifer played the troubled boyfriend, Lem, of Nia Long's character, Bird, in Soul Food. Bird was the youngest daughter in Soul Food. Here, Phifer's character is also troubled, just older and an actual son of the matriarch now.

Still, A Day Late and a Dollar Short was decent enough given the acting was mostly good due to the veteran cast that, along with the underrated Whoopi Goldberg mentioned above, included Phifer, Ving Rhames, Kimberly Elise, and Tichina Arnold. Speaking of which, it's good to see Arnold getting recent work as I haven't seen much from her since the Martin sitcom days.

On the other hand, I can't rate this film too high because it was very very predictable and some of the over-the-top drama gave me flashbacks of films written and directed by Tyler Perry-and not in a good way. For instance, did we have to have both the mother and daughter following their spouses to the park/lake to discover he has another woman and possible child? Anyway, well it is a Lifetime production so I wasn't expecting much. Expectations were at least met.

Very Good Dysfunction Here ***1/2

[edwagreen · 9/10 · 5 July 2014]

After a 38 year marriage, Ving Rhames leaves Whoopi Goldberg and soon finds himself with a very pregnant younger woman. Is he the father of the woman's child?

That's only the tip of the iceberg in this 2014. Seems that the Rhames-Goldberg liaison produced 4 children through the years and to say that they've had their troubles is to put it mildly. The dysfunction even comes down to the grandchildren.

Goldberg had always hoped for a trip to Paris. Stricken with severe asthma and a weakening heart, she is told that she has a short time to live and she desperately tries to bring unity back in the family.

The inevitable is well dealt with Goldberg writing letters to her children and family urging them to coalesce as a family.

We know that Goldberg reaches her "heaven" in this very touching film that shows that middle to upper class black people have plenty of adversity in their lives.

Heart Felt

[kcdeb · 9/10 · 5 March 2022]

This movie was a convincing portrayal of a family in need of solidarity, intervention, and love. Outstanding performances by all actors, also the overall story was moving. I recommend this movie to anyone that appreciates a good ❤ heart felt drama.👍

Very emtional movie

[setorres-59664 · 10/10 · 8 April 2023]

This is a good movie to watch, it has so many mixed feelings. Made me laugh and cry, a rollercoaster of emotions. They did very well with choosing the characters to portray the crazy broken family. The main character uses her knowledge as a mother to try and reconnect her family. It also shows hard topics that are hard to discuss especially when it is in the family. It shows how secrets can impact you as a person and how the choices they make matter. Everyone has issues but it should never stop anyone from asking for help. It really shows each and everyone's issues and most of them are trying to keep it to themselves.

A pleasant surprise.

[zconkerite · 9/10 · 16 March 2024]

I have never heard of this movie and being a fan of Whoopi's and Ving's I was surprised that it existed. Its premise was the usual premise about a dysfunctional family. And there was more than enough dysfunction to go around. I'm so tired of the husband cheating on the wife scenario, the out-of-wedlock babies situation as being acceptable. Daddy in jail for this or that reason and hoping to turn his life around. There is one more scenario that I will not mention, but it was a surprise. Yet, I was sucked in as if I was a fly on their walls. I did not expect the ending that the director chose. It was hokey! The scene before that, if it ended there, would have been enough. Oh well.

Well Done

[kenyaekofi · 8/10 · 8 November 2022]

This was surprisingly a great movie to see. This movie really provided a lesson that sometimes in life you can't do anything to break the chaos you and your family may have. It also provides a lesson on how hard life is and how hard it can be. It was a great performance. I couldn't take the movie when the scene came up with the children reading the letters to each other, because it was a little too prepared. How would she have known everything up to the last detail. However, it was still a nice scene to watch. It brought the tears out of me as a good movie. As I watched this I thought the cast did a wonderful job. I didn't know if this could play well with the celebs in it, but they all had a great.