Class (2010 TV Movie) User Reviews

Better than average movie; potential series pilot; irritating music at all the wrong times

[allworkpeace · 7/10 · 26 June 2012]

Can someone tell me why Hallmark and Lifetime movies don't allow a single second of film time without that intrusive background music overwhelming the best lines?! If it weren't for that irritating score drowning out all the best lines, especially when Kylie Burch (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) lowers her voice, I'd give this film a 9, at least.

Some people might call the plot by-the-numbers, and it does cover all the bases: single mom can't keep a job because of asthmatic kid and hair-trigger temper developed over years of frustration with heartless system meets spoiled wealthy law student forced to help her find a job just to get a grade so he can graduate and join dad's high-powered law firm. Add alcoholic mother and son's frustrations with his father's plans for his future, and the inevitable happens.

What makes this story work is the excellent script and believable performances by O'Keefe, Justin Bruening (as Whit Sheffield), and Eric Roberts and Catherine Mary Stewart as the elder Sheffields. Even Maxwell Perry Cotton plays young Shane Burch as a normal kid, instead of the stereotypical self-conscious child role.

My take-away from this flick is that the hopeful ending leaves the characters with more story to tell. Almost all of them have learned and grown, but I felt they had more to do together and separately, perhaps in a series about the Burch-Sheffield clan. The characters and their potential for story-telling are some of the strongest I've seen in this genre.

Above average Hallmark chick flick

[baileymm1978 · 8/10 · 7 November 2010]

As a girl who's seen pretty much every happy made-for-TV movie, all I have to say is: who cares if the plot's a bit predictable or the characters are a bit stereotypical? Sometimes nice is just that.

This was better than most happy Hallmark movies, for a number of reasons. In general, the characters were much more appealing than you sometimes find in these movies. The kid was less saccharine-y than normal. And, most importantly (in my opinion), there was far more chemistry between Boy and Girl than you normally find.

I thought it was lovely. A thoroughly enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon.

Two People Finding Themselves and Each Other

[tiffanytallent1981 · 7/10 · 2 June 2021]

This movie portrays a lower class single mother, Kylie, and an upper class law student, Whitt. A college assignment has him trying to help Kylie find a job. Whitt initially feels like this task is beneath him and that it's Kylie's own fault for struggling. And she sees him as a spoiled rich guy. They spend quite a bit of time together, trying to find Kylie a job with benefits. During this period, Whitt also gets to know her son, who has severe asthma. Now he realizes the main reason Kylie is having a hard time finding and keeping a job. Through the four months they spend together, both Whitt and Kylie find themselves. They learn who they really are, what they truly want, and what they are capable of, including standing up for their dreams. And they also fall in love!

The lower class struggle is shown very well. Not having money to get necessities and healthcare, childcare, or a safe place to live is commonplace. Kylie's confidence is at rock bottom, but she still has hope. And it seems that upper class people can feel stuck at times too. Whitt had his entire life planned out for him and was afraid to question it. When he finally did, he was free.

This is my second time watching this movie and I'm sure I'll watch it again. I would've enjoyed more of Kylie and Whitt as a couple later. What the audience sees is still so new. The chemistry is there, but they are unsure of their feelings until the last couple minutes.

Class- Social Interaction Really Works ****

[edwagreen · 10/10 · 16 August 2010]

Mazel Tov to producer Larry Levinson for making this heartwarming film.

Sure it's predictable, but it's wonderful just the same. Why? We view a form of prejudice here which we usually associate with religion or race. No. Here we see prejudice among the social classes.

What a great plot. A wealthy lad about to graduate from Law School is assigned to help an impoverished single mom improve her life while facing a hostile environment.

She can't hold a job since her child is chronically ill with asthma. In addition, we see how employees, landlords and even the Medicaid system act among the downtrodden in society.

Our lad is hostile at the beginning to our young lady. His father, played to the hilt by Eric Roberts, is a big-shot attorney who has already carved out the ideal life for his son in the corporation after law school and the passing of the Bar Exam. Mom is an alcoholic because she basically would like to declare her independence and is sympathetic as our young guy becomes infatuated with our young lady.

The film is a gem since it shows you that power and money prevail in this society with dealing with a landlord and others. Of course, it helps to have friends up there to get a nursing scholarship for our lassie. However, the real success is that the two join forces in the end. In love and with so much to give to society, this is a remarkable film in that we see that the barriers to social classes can be broken. Only problem: Eric Roberts doesn't come down from his tower to acquiesce. Still, that's true to life.

Very highly recommended.

Not your typical boy meets girl story, but one of finding yourself as we'll.

[Xjayhawker · 10/10 · 7 February 2013]

If you are looking for a movie that will reel you in and create a sense that you may have experienced some of what they are going through but do it in a convincing narrative with heart tugs and some nice dialog,then this movie will appeal and satisfy. I would not put stock in anyone trying to relegate this to anything but a very well done piece of social commentary. I found it thoroughly enjoyable,satisfyingly better than I thought it would be. Watch it with an open mind and open heart. Give it a chance. Downplay whatever you may have read and enjoy. All the lead characters do a very good job and add real "feel" to their character whether it's rich folk or Medicaid folk, there is realism in their manner and portrayal. I highly recommend this little gem to all that would like to spend a couple of hours getting to know some people you may have passed on the street.

Stereotyped, predictable, clichéd ... no reason to like it. But I did.

[marzolian · 5/10 · 15 August 2010]

Very contrived plot. Almost the entire plot can be sketched after watching the first few minutes. Every character is a stereotype, even their names, and their actions and attitudes are entirely predictable from the first minute you meet them. I remember just one single surprise, and it wasn't much.

And everybody is just too gorgeous. The story might have have been halfway believable if two or three of the female characters had even average looks.

BUT ... for some reason I enjoyed it, despite all of the above. Maybe because it was late at night and my brain didn't want to work too hard. But the main characters are likable, and the right things happen, as Hollywood likes to do.

Exceptional Jody Lyn O'Keefe Performance and above-average writing puts this Hallmark in top tier of genre

[herbqedi · 9/10 · 3 November 2013]

Hallmark gives its audience what it wants by repackaging its single-mom- meets-guy-who-she-thinks-is-a-jerk-but-he-turns-out-to-be Mr.-Right patented approach in as many different ways as they can think of. They please their audiences even if the leads are generally plug-and-play, the plots predictable, and the production values threadbare.

Class qualifies for all of the above. But it's one of the best applications of the formula. The writing and dialog are a bit tighter and sharper than usual. The supporting acting including wonderful performances by Catherine Mary Stewart and Eric Roberts as the male lead's parents. The sick son is quite good as is the actress playing the Law School Professor (I remember her from My Family and Tortilla Soup) and the actor playing the male lead's best friend also give excellent performances elevating their characters above the norm. Ms. O'Rourke's sister is also well played.

But what elevates this the most is the eye-opening performance by Jody Lyn O'Keefe. Her interpretation of the very unglamorous and emotionally damaged underprivileged single Mom who never caught a break in life seemed totally and completely real. She was so good she could have been such a person in a documentary. Her transformation is never too easy or forced by the script. We feel her painfully and reluctantly experiencing rejection, then having to mask her scars and learn to hope and expect, then demand, better for herself. In most Hallmark movies, it's just part of the back story, here it actually seems real. Her eyes tell the saga of a woman who has experienced more than a more merciful God would allow. And when her son's needs make her put aside her skepticism to anyone willing to help even though she doubts at first his sincerity (with good reason), then later his ability to stand up to his father (with better reason), you feel these hard trade-offs and what they are doing to her.

Class is a classy effort by all and gets an A from me on the basis of a stellar performance by Jody Lyn O'Keefe.

Clichéd

[MIamiReviewer · 4/10 · 3 June 2015]

I'm only half watching this as I work from home today, but it's pretty bad and very annoying. The characters are superficially stereotyped: rich guy is selfish and bad, and needs to be saved by the poor girl, who is beautiful and good. Given the title of the movie, Class, and the reality that there are very different social and other behavioral differences between the various classes in this country (not to say that one is worse than the other, but it's a reality), i've never seen a poor single mom act more like they were raised in a wasp-y upper middle class home in the NE or west coasts. The actress seems like a rich person who is acting like an idealized version of a poor single mom. Not much like a poor single mom, though.

Also, I had to point out the glaring casting of the lead female, who the lead male initially deems so gross, sloppy, etc that she wasn't even a viable candidate for a secretarial job, until she gets a haircut and puts on a suit jacket, and he's like "wowzers, you be hot!" The lead female, not lost on me, is the same actress who played the super hot ex-girlfriend of Freddie Prinze Jr. in She's All That -- a movie with a remarkably similar premise. The fact that she was the super hot girl that the ugly-duckling-soon-to-be-made-hot new girlfriend was compared against, but now plays the too-ugly-to-be-a-secretary character here -- this is a painful irony that was not lost on me.

Engaging romance with some social commentary

[herrcarter-92161 · 8/10 · 30 October 2023]

This Hallmark movie, which came out in the days before Hallmark became formulaic, was quite an engaging drama, romance and social commentary. Most of us who grew up in a "normal" environment can't even comprehend what it's like for someone like Kylie in this movie, a former foster kid who made the mistake of getting pregnant with a loser, but was still able to pull it together enough to be a loving mother to her son, yet found herself faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles. This gave us a real glimpse into the harsh realities of Kylie's world, having to support a family as a single mom with few skills, having no decent insurance for her sick son, no leave policy to deal with his frequent medical problems, and no power to deal with the corrupt landlord of the building whose mold is causing her son's sickness. It's as much of a wake-up call for us in the audience is it is for our hero Whitt in the movie, who grew up in a life of wealth and privilege.

I thought the performances were mostly good. Jodi Lyn O'Keefe nailed it with her portrayal of hardened, cynical single mom Kylie. I also liked how she showed her tender side with her son. Justin Bruening was okay, though a bit wooden at times. Their relationship was decent, but could have used a bit more development. Did they have chemistry? Not as much as I might have hoped for, but maybe that's what the story demanded.

They made the dad out to be somewhat of a villain, perhaps too much so. I don't think his reactions toward Kylie were necessarily unreasonable. However, he clearly wasn't the warm, nurturing father that Whitt needed, and I liked how Whitt was, ironically, able to connect with Kylie of the level of not feeling loved as a kid, even though he technically had parents. Whitt had a good character arc, progressing from an entitled elitist who was intimidated by his domineering father, to a kind, compassionate person who was able to stand up to his father for what was right.

The scene at the end where Whitt proposes to Kylie and tells her that he loves her through her son Shane was a bit cringy. It would have been better for him to tell her without Shane there. There's no question that the kid would have been all-in for them getting together. Also, proposing marriage was just too sudden and too soon. That part of the plot definitely could have been handled better.

All in all, though, this was nice, feel-good story about two souls who are each lost in their own way, and who help each other to grow and who find love in the process. Definitely worth a watch or two.

Nice predictable story with some minor defeciencies

[Jackbv123 · 8/10 · 22 March 2021]

Points for a different approach to the story even though once we get into it, things are a little predictable.

Most of the acting was good. Justin Bruening was just about right in his role as Whitt. His character is supposed to be reserved and controlled and yet with hints of passion. Jodi Lyn O'Keefe plays Kylie as pretty much the same kind of characters, even at the end when there should be more excitement. I would have liked to see some more pronounced positive emotions. Even so there is a quiet chemistry there. Eric Roberts, as Whitt's father is the cliché domineering and slightly neglectful father. I thought this was too one dimensional.

There are two far larger issues than any romance in this movie. One is the whole inconsistency of healthcare for Medicaid and other lower income patients and there is another related social issue that comes up later. Any resolution to these is personal and not general.

The second is the role of God and faith. The preachy factor is low to mid-range. It is a nice sub-plot.

Later in the movie, we start get a flavor similar to one of the "royal" stories. Whitt is almost a kind of American royalty. The movie title is a double entrendre without any risque innuendo. There are definite class differences between Whitt and Kylie which are just as prominent as almost any of the usual "royal" movies.

There's more than one conflict issue. One is obviously predictable and the other is a bit of a surprise even though it is foreshadowed. They work together to bring about the resolution which is predictable yet it does provide an interesting and reasonable climax. The different subplots and themes are woven together pretty well.

Side observations: There is a variation on one of my favorite jokes - what is a sweater? What your mom gives you when she is cold.

The story suffers from what a lot of these stories do - the character with all of her personality quirks (flaws?) could not have gotten to where she is at the beginning with all of those personality traits. It's like her existence began at the beginning of the movie despite efforts to provide a touching backstory. This is a proud and intelligent woman. These things don't come without any of the confidence her head hunter claims she needs. The lack of confidence would make sense. This woman should be a beaten down person and ready to compromise far more than she is. She's intelligent, so she has to know that she needs to do certain things to survive. A perfect example of this lack is her quitting the job Whitt's friend's dad got her just because that's the way she got it. And if the kid's dad left before he was born, how did Kylie and Shane survive the amount of time reflected by Shane's age? Her attitude is deep seated and her employment issues have to go back a long way. The movie picks up like this problem has only just now come to a head.

The next mistake in the story is that even a high school kid would have known the Whitt should have started out with some coaching for things like interviews. Admittedly, Whitt didn't realize it yet, but she also needed some coaching on employee/boss relationships. Again, the woman is intelligent and she is desperate for her kid. These two things mean her attitude may be understandable, but not her predilection for showing it so brazenly.

But this is a rom/dram. Often reality has nothing to do with this genre. So I will have to disregard all that. All that stuff was just a vehicle to give the two principles time together. Once they get past the obligatory antagonism, they have a nice relationship. Another common deficiency in this type of movie is how quickly that antagonism passes. This movie was especially short in explanation as to why this happened.

Camera work is horrible

[eilraie · 1/10 · 23 May 2018]

To sum up this film is easy in a few words, looks like a college student film. The director did a horrible job at containing and catching the mistakes made by the camera department. Horrible acting and horrible techniques. Don't waist your time on watching this film.

Beautiful movie

[dawalker-54320 · 10/10 · 23 April 2022]

The only way I can see to improve this movie is to make it an hour longer. Every part was played perfectly. Other movies will have a hard time beating this one. I loved everything about it.