A Stranger's Heart

It's rare that I finish a movie and wish I could get those eighty-five minutes of my life back. Sadly, this is one of those times.That being said, the movie does have one redeeming feature: Samantha Mathis does an excellent job of portraying the range of emotions Callie Morgan goes through, especially prior to her heart transplant. Otherwise, "A Stranger's Heart" is a fail on multiple fronts. Read on if you want to know why (caution: spoilers aplenty ahead).Little girl and her father sees her mother hit by a car and killed. Little girl and her father don't know how to handle the grief, which affects the girl physically as she matures. As an adult, she needs a heart transplant. She moves into the hospital and waits for a donor heart, meeting total boor of a man also waiting for a donor heart. The two receive new hearts at the same time from a couple who died in an automobile accident.Then it gets weird.The girl and the guy start stalking the young daughter of the couple who died in the automobile accident, who now lives with her grandfather. The whole justification for this is "cellular memory," a radical and widely excoriated theory that our life experience is wired into our DNA in addition to our brains. In other words, since the transplant recipients now possess the hearts of the couple who died in the auto accident, they care about little girl as if she were their own daughter.Here's the problem, though: If they truly cared about the little girl, would they show up outside her elementary school every day and stalk her like sick weirdos? Would they harrass the little girl's grandfather in an attempt to justify their actions? To make matters worse it's all wrapped in a Hallmark-esque (note, however, that this is *not* a Hallmark production) candy coating to make what is borderline psychotic behavior in my opinion seem perfectly acceptable and appropriate.Oh, and let's not forget the running gag with the sex doll in the first few scenes at the hospital.1/2 star.

Despite a couple of tragic moments, this is a feel-good movie. It is human nature to root for what is "meant to be," and this movie allows you to do that without disappointment.While some consider it to be far-fetched for two people who receive transplants from a husband and wife to fall in love and eventually connect with the deceased couple's orphan, such emotional changes and attractions do happen in transplant patients. Despite the fact that - in typical Hallmark fashion - you can predict at the beginning who is going to fall in love with whom, and that the little girl is going to eventually be in the mix, this is a very enjoyable movie to watch.Everyone in my crowd enjoyed the movie, and one wants to watch it again.

Sometimes Hallmark Channel movies are odd (odd like most Lifetime movies are). This movie is a romantic comedy which deals with the issue of organ donor/recipients and has moments of dark comedy among a group of patients waiting for their name to come up on 'the list' for transplant. The main story line however is the issue of whether or not organ-memory exists. On recipient gets cravings for foods she never liked but the donor did. The two main characters receive the hearts of a husband and wife and are both drawn to the surviving daughter. It is an interesting movie with a happy ending (unlike most Lifetime movies). I bought this DVD after seeing the movie a few times. I can watch this movies several times a year. It's a feel good movie

This was a beautiful, heart breaking, healing, and well told story. well acted and unexpectedly moving! I loved it.

great movie

I really enjoyed the twists and turns of this show. I'm an organ donor and it does me good to see how those choices can benefit others. The show made me laugh and cry but I will watch it again and again over the years. Thank you.

When I saw 'Return to Me' and enjoyed it so much that I had to own it. I felt the same way about this movie. It has taken two years to find a DVD copy, but I am glad I was able to get it. A great 'date' movie. Makes you laugh, cry, and feel wonderful.

great movie. been on tv quite a few times and i loved it. figured i would add to my collection. Peter Dobson great in this movie

A great film.. I have ordered another as a Christmas present.

Worth watching.

This movie is about the relationship between two people who are going through the emotional and physical challenges that come with having a heart transplant. The storyline brings forth the challenges in a very realistic way, perhaps even too realistic as it might influence people who need a transplant in a negative way. I would say that I now have a better understanding of what is involved in having an organ transplant, both for the recipients and the donors and their families. Depending on your view of organ transplants, this movie would possibly be appreciated, or not. At times, the movie moves quite slowly, but given the subject matter, that might be expected. Difficult decisions have to be made, and the results are not always optimistic when dealing with a transplant. There was a bedroom scene that made me feel that personal privacy had been invaded. Even though there was no explicit sex, it was implied and that is so unusual for a Levinson production. The story majored on "feelings" that the main characters acquired after the transplant, supposedly the feelings that the donor couple had for their daughter, who was still alive. That kind of portrayal seems suggestive of something that is not true and therefore conflicts with the reality of transplant surgery in the story. I'm not sure I would recommend this movie to anyone.