Follow The Stars Home parents guide

Follow The Stars Home Parent Guide

This Hallmark's presentation beautifully illustrates the power and pitfalls of love.

Overall A

Starry-eyed, Dianne Parker eagerly accepts the marriage proposal of energetic Mark McCune, unaware that his quiet pediatrician brother David has romantic feelings towards her as well.

Release date May 6, 2001

Violence B
Sexual Content A-
Profanity A
Substance Use C

Why is Follow The Stars Home rated Not Rated? The MPAA rated Follow The Stars Home Not Rated

Run Time: 103 minutes

Parent Movie Review

Young and beautiful Dianne Parker (Kimberly Williams) appears to have a rosy future. Starry-eyed, she eagerly accepts the marriage proposal of energetic Mark McCune (Eric Close), unaware that his quiet pediatrician brother David (Campbell Scott) has romantic feelings towards her as well. The newlywed couple’s dreams soon come crashing down to earth when they learn their unborn baby has genetic abnormalities. The prospects of raising a child that will not be able to walk or talk is too much for Mark to handle, so he favors abortion as a way out. But Dianne is determined to give birth to their infant regardless of any disability. Faced with her final decision, the disillusioned Casanova chooses to sail away on his yacht appropriately called Aphrodite.

Too late to win Dianne’s heart, yet still wanting to help in any way he can, David steps in and volunteers as doctor for his future niece. He watches at a distance as Dianne finds happiness in sacrificing and giving all her love to her daughter Julia (Amanda and Caitlin Fein). To assist Dianne with some of the growing demands of the child’s day-to-day care, David arranges for Amy (Alexa Vega), a young girl from a troubled home, to be a “mother’s helper.” The new job provides the teen with friendship and sanctuary from the turbulent relationship her alcoholic mother has with a live-in beau.

As the characters try to navigate through life’s storms, the consequence of their decisions, whether wise or foolish, are obvious to all but themselves. The adult themes that surface are sure to spark family conversations about many real life issues, including dealing with death. Although alcoholism, abandonment, and domestic violence are not graphically shown, youngsters may be disturbed by the depiction of a puppy being stuffed into a pillowcase and thrown into a river.

Hallmark’s presentation of Follow The Stars Home (based on the novel by Luanne Rice), beautifully illustrates the power and pitfalls of love. Parents can happily let this entertaining drama with a little romance steer a course into their living room.

Directed by Dick Lowry. Starring Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Campbell Scott, Eric Close . Running time: 103 minutes. Theatrical release May 6, 2001. Updated

Follow The Stars Home
Rating & Content Info

Why is Follow The Stars Home rated Not Rated? Follow The Stars Home is rated Not Rated by the MPAA

Overall: A
A young woman learns lessons in life and love after the birth of her disabled daughter. This outstanding dramatic movie with a touch of romance contains little to no inappropriate content for families while providing numerous teaching moments.

Violence: B
Car collides with parked vehicle causing injury to characters. Pre-operating scene depicted. Minor bruises and scrapes shown on recovering accident victims. Character mentions deaths of parents. Character drops and breaks picture. Dream sequence depicts characters drowning at sea. Character is cruel to puppy. Bruise shown on woman’s arm attributed to domestic violence. Couple argues—slap heard but not seen. Man pushes child into edge of table. Character dragged by arm and forced into van. Character shoves another to the ground. Puppy stuffed into pillowcase then thrown off bridge. Character jumps from bridge to rescue puppy. Characters wrestle briefly in restaurant.

Sexual Content: A-
Married and unmarried couples shown dancing closely, and hugging and kissing. Man kisses woman on cheek. Unmarried couple lives together. Shirtless man shown in one scene.

Language: A
One term of Deity used as expletive.

Alcohol / Drug Use: C
Mention of opium den in China. Wine served onboard yacht as well as at social event. Woman smokes frequently, portrayed as alcoholic. Man brings home six-pack of beer at breakfast. Character claims pills and alcohol required to sleep at night. Car accident caused by drunk driver.

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Follow The Stars Home Parents' Guide

Why do you think Dianne was initially more attracted to Mark than David? What differences in character traits do the two brothers possess? What attributes and qualities do you feel make for a long lasting relationship?

The bruising on her mother’s arm distresses Amy, but the battered woman explains her boyfriend’s abusive actions were her own fault. Meanwhile, Amy feels she is to blame for her mother’s unhappiness. Who is really responsible for these situations? Why do people sometimes accept the guilt of others as their own?

Home Video

Related home video titles:

While You Were Sleeping is another romance about a woman caught between two brothers. Kimberly Williams also stars in Father Of The Bride I and II, while Alexa Vega can be seen in Spy Kids.

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