The premise of this film shows promise, but the story that director Martin Weisz chooses to tell ends up being far more wish-fulfilling fairytale, and less an examination of youth on the streets, and the contrast to lives of the 1% living next door. Thomas Dekker and Gabriella Wilde are really just not substantial enough actors to bring any gravitas to the product. Dekker is way too over the top, and never strikes a note of authenticity. Wilde is incredibly lovely, and mostly vapid aside from a few sparks of life she manages in the 2nd half of the film. In fact, its probably better to speed through the first half of this film, because it picks up considerably in the second half. Probably because that's when far more competent actors show up to help carry in the film, i.e Dreyfuss, Davidovich, and Luke Grimes playing the way too perfect son that falls in love with Wilde. On a side note, did no one ever consider switching the roles for Dekker and Grimes? I suspect if they had, you still wouldn't have had a very good film, but I think you would've had a better one. Pro's like Dreyfuss and Davidovich do manage to strike some sympathetic notes as the rich couple who appear to have the perfect lives, but in reality, also are dealing with loss and heartache. And I found myself rooting for the happy ending in spite of my head telling me how ludicrous it was. Chalk that up to some nice chemistry between Wilde and Grimes. And, the film does have an interesting soundtrack, so it had that going for it.
