Comfort and Joy

Description

High-powered singleton Jane Berry is focused on the important things in life, such as advancing her career and spending a bundle on fashionable shoes. But then a car accident on Christmas Eve changes her forever: Jane wakes up after the crash to discover that she is a married stay-at-home mom with two kids and a passion for charity work. Is she dreaming? Crazy? Is this a strange twist of fate?

Customer Reviews:

Fine Holiday Fare.......2007-08-25

A Lifetime Original Movie, this is a very similar film to Nicholas Cage's "Family Man." Nancy McKeon plays a very sucessful, yet emotionally unsatisfied, corporate executive. She is the epitome of the "21st century woman"- independent, powerful, beautiful apartment, expensive car- but is she really happy? Her empty relationship with a co-worker and dysfunctional family make it especially difficult to just plow through the holiday season without taking stock of what her life has become. Despite her outward success, the unspoken question in her mind is " How did I get here?" The idea of a different life is put to the test when she has an accident and wakes up in an alternate reality as a wife, mother and pillar of her community. She also sees how her different life choices affect those around her. The alternate life does not come without its compromises (no expensive car or clothes in this version of life), but do the pros outweigh the cons? Are the benefits of this "new" life enough to make her stay? Are the experiences in the alternate life fulfilling enough to make her want to jump ship and set her sights for a new shore? I won't answer that question. You'll have to see how it turns out for yourself. It is a great movie for anyone who has ever wondered "what if" or who has thought that "the grass is always greener on the other side." It is a story about finding your life's balance and knowing that, whatever you choose, does not come without its sacrifices. Those sacrifices, however, if it's the right choice for you, are a small price to pay for true happiness and living your best life.

Solid Christmas Fare.......2007-03-09

I love movies that offer the "what if" scenario. Nancy McKeon is down to earth and very likeable in her lead role. As the film begins, McKeon is presented as a very successful career woman, who lives alone. On her way home from the office, on Christmas eve, her car hits a patch of black ice and she swerves out of control, bumping her head in the process. What follows is akin to the plot in "The Family Man" (although not as well done). The man that rushes to her aid, claims to be her husband. He ushers her into the house across the street, despite her arguments, where two solicitous children begin calling her "mom." McKeon embarks on a journey to discover what is real and what is fantasy. It was a cute show.

a great contemorary love story.......2007-01-23

this time, she makes the right choice. geat christmas love story.

Comfort and Joy.......2007-01-20

This is a great family movie, the plot is interesting, and has enough elements of an old fashioned Christmas to make you feel warm and sentimental. My family watches it every year at Christmas and sometimes once or twice in between. Nancy McKeon is a wonderful actress!

Charming Christmas Tale With Supernatural Elements.......2006-12-21

I think at one time or another we have all had a dream (or nightmare), about suddenly finding ourselves in a world where either everyone we know and love suddenly dont recognise us or that complete strangers know and love us but we have absolutely no recollection of who they are. This theme was probably handled most famously in the immortal "It's a Wonderful Life", where James Stewart's character of George Bailey had a unique opportunity to see what life would have been like for others if he had never lived. Lifetime's Christmas television movie "Comfort and Joy", explores a similiar theme where the main character Jane, a driven materialistic career woman played by Nancy McKeon, after enduring a car accident on Christmas Eve suddenly finds herself propelled 10 years into the future into a whole life she does not recognise and doesn't really at first want. All the confusion, anguish, and soul searching by Jane makes for both amusing and touching viewing and Nancy McKeon does wonderful work as the young women suddenly discovering she has a husband and two children and a whole new lifestyle she never imagined was possible or desirable. Ably supported by one of my favourite television actors in the talented Steven Eckholdt as Jane's equally confused husband Sam, this pair of telelvision veterans work beautifully together depicting a couple having to literally start from scratch again in building their relationship as the Christmas festivities fast approach.

Martha Stewart: Martha's Favorite Cookies, Vol. 10/Comfort and Joy

Average customer rating:

Great DVD

Martha Stewart: Martha's Favorite Cookies, Vol. 10/Comfort and Joy
Starring: Martha Stewart
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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General | Television | Genres | DVD | Video

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DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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General | Instructional | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B000H6SXN8
Release Date: 2006-11-07

Customer Reviews:

Great DVD.......2007-06-14

Martha instructs how to make each dough and bake to perfection. The cookies are delicious and the recipes double easily.

This is a great video to have on hand whenever you need a refresher course in how to make a perfect cookie.

Life Time (14 Pack) Baby for Sale / Comfort and Joy / Confessions of an American Bride / Gracie's Choice / Homeless to Harvard / The Liz Murray Story / I Do (But I Don't) / Obsessed / Sex and the Single Mom / She's Too Young / The Plain Truth / Widow on the Hill / Lies My Mother Told Me / Murder in the Hamptons / Ambulance Girl / Mom at Sixteen / Too Young to Be a Dad

Average customer rating:

Life Time (14 Pack) Baby for Sale / Comfort and Joy / Confessions of an American Bride / Gracie's Choice / Homeless to Harvard / The Liz Murray Story / I Do (But I Don't) / Obsessed / Sex and the Single Mom / She's Too Young / The Plain Truth / Widow on the Hill / Lies My Mother Told Me / Murder in the Hamptons / Ambulance Girl / Mom at Sixteen / Too Young to Be a Dad

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Product Description

Life Time Original Movie - Plain Truth, A Look at Plain Truth with the Cast and Crew - Additional Scene Life Time Original Movie - Baby For Sale , A Look at Baby for Sale with the Cast and Crew - Addtional Scene Life Time Original Movie - She's too young , A Look at She's Too Young with Cast and Crew Life Time Original Movie - I do (but I Don't) , A Look at I do (But I don't) with Cst and Crew - Additional Scene Life Time Original Movie - Homeless to Harvard , Interview with LIZ Murray Life Time - Murder in the Hamptons -,Special Features: A look at Murder In The Humptons With The Cast And Crew Life Time - Sex And The Single Mom,Special Features: A Look At Sex And The Single Mom With The Cast And Crew Life Time - Gracie's Choice ,Special Features: A Look at Gracie's Choice with the Cast and Crew Life Time - Confessions of an American Bride, Special Features: A Look at Confessions of an American Bride with the Cast and Crew - Additional Scenes Life Time - Comfort and Joy -,DVD Bonus: Cast and Filmmaker Interviews Life Time - Obsessed ,Special Features: Behind-The-Scenes Interviews Life Time - Widow on the Hill / Lies My Mother Told Me ,-Special Features: - A Look at Widow on the Hill with the cast and Crew - A Look at Lies My Mother Told Me with the Cast and Crew - Addtional Scenes on Both Life time - Ambulance GirlLife time 2 disc double feature (Mom at Sixteen / Too Young to Be a Dad),Special Features: A Look at Man at Sixteen with Cast and Crew

Average customer rating:

Christmas Isn't Christmas Without Ice Cream
Now on region 2 DVD
Horribly underrated.
Oft Overlooked Christmas Gem
Sweet, funny and intelligent film

Comfort and Joy [Region 2]
Starring: Bill Paterson , Eleanor David , Clare Grogan , Alex Norton , and Patrick Malahide
Director: Bill Forsyth
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B0002W19VA

Customer Reviews:

Christmas Isn't Christmas Without Ice Cream.......2005-09-13

Yes, an Ice Cream Mafia War. This is the high art that Bill Forsyth was so well-known for in the 1980s. Fabulous performances by all, as a DJ gets drawn into an ice cream war, helping him to get over heartache at the holidays. I don't believe CP Grogan as an Italian girl (nightmare accent when speaking Italian!), but she's gorgeous and they're all funny and it's worth it just to hear the partriarch say, "Mr. Bunny."

Now on region 2 DVD.......2004-10-10

This brilliant film is now available from amazon.co.uk in region 2 encoding for less than seven pounds plus shipping, and includes a director's commentary track!

Horribly underrated........2004-09-08

Comfort and Joy (Bill Forsyth, 1984)

It's kind of hard to describe the appeal of Bill Forsyth's fourth (yes, there was one before Gregory's Girl) feature film, Comfort and Joy, without sounding like a raving lunatic. Not that that's ever stopped me before. A popular radio DJ, Alan 'Dickie' Byrd (Bill Paterson [Foyle's War, Truly Madly Deeply]), has his girlfriend Maddy (Eleanor David [White Hunter Black Heart, he Wolves of Willoughby Chase]) move out on him a few days before Christmas. While trying to get over it, he spies a gorgeous woman in an ice cream truck and, on a whim, pursues her, and it, to the outskirts of town, where it's attacked by a band of masked robbers. One of them recognizes Alan, which gets him involved in a turf war between the rival ice cream vendors Mr. McCool and Mr. Bunny. Which results, of course, in everyone around him thinking he's utterly mad.

While it's not Forsyth's best work (that title is reserved for Housekeeping), Comfort and Joy is, well, a joy. Forsyth's use of visual tricks and sight gags makes for a wonderful experience, and as for the plot, well, what can be better than warring ice-cream factions? An overlooked gem that's begging for a DVD release. **** ½

Oft Overlooked Christmas Gem.......2004-01-10

A real crime that this isn't available on DVD, as this is my all time favorite christmas movie. Quietly funny, sad and sweet, and the perfect antidote for a lonely christmas. Nice soundtrack by Mark Knoffler, full of quirky oddball performances, and a hilarious "Mr. Bunny" jingle that will stick in your mind whether you want it to or not ("hello folks!").

Sweet, funny and intelligent film.......2002-12-29

This is a thoroughly enjoyable film that I remember seeing on cable in the mid-1980's, wondering why it never got the attention that other films from the UK get. In the same vein as Bill Forsyth's "Local Hero," this film doesn't star any American actors, just good, Scottish character players. Bill Paterson, (probably best known to American audiences for his bit roles in "Crush" and "Witches") portrays morning drive DJ Alan "Dickie" Bird, whom we meet a week before Christmas--the day his girlfriend leaves him. Depressed and lonely, Alan looks for meaning in his life. Along the way, he stumbles upon a nasty turf war over ice cream (between the "Mr. Bunnys" and the Mr. McCools") and gets sucked in the middle. Set in modern Glasgow at a popular radio station (by the way, the radio station scenes are realistic) this film includes a lot of light, matter-of-fact ironies and funny moments (check out Alan's precious BMW at the beginning of the film and at the end; the xylophone player and the vocalist at the ice cream plant; and the shirts Alan's audio engineer wears). Enjoyable any time, but a shame this film will probably never be available on DVD. My favorite Christmas movie of all time.

Average customer rating:

Christmas Isn't Christmas Without Ice Cream
Now on region 2 DVD
Horribly underrated.
Oft Overlooked Christmas Gem
Sweet, funny and intelligent film

Comfort and Joy
Starring: Bill Paterson , Eleanor David , Clare Grogan , Alex Norton , and Patrick Malahide
Director: Bill Forsyth
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B00005JNOU

Customer Reviews:

Christmas Isn't Christmas Without Ice Cream.......2005-09-13

Now on region 2 DVD.......2004-10-10

This brilliant film is now available from amazon.co.uk in region 2 encoding for less than seven pounds plus shipping, and includes a director's commentary track!

Horribly underrated........2004-09-08

Oft Overlooked Christmas Gem.......2004-01-10

Sweet, funny and intelligent film.......2002-12-29

Comfort and Joy [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg. 2 Import - Great Britain ]

Average customer rating:

Comfort and Joy [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg. 2 Import - Great Britain ]
Director: Bill Forsyth
Manufacturer: StudioCanal
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000E9UBEM

Product Description

Great Britain released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. Languages: English (mono) Synopsis: Writer/director Bill Forsyth's follow-up to his best film, Local Hero, is another comic exploration of a man undergoing a personal crisis. In Local Hero, the American played by Peter Riegert finds himself enchanted by the people and ambience of a Scottish village he has been dispatched to purchase for an oil company. In Comfort and Joy, Alan (Bill Paterson) is a Glasgow radio disc jockey whose air name is the chirpy Dickey Bird. After Maddy, his girlfriend (Eleanor David), walks out on him at Christmas, he's spurred to re-evaluate his life. Looking for more meaningful work than spinning pop tunes and offering inane chatter to his geriatric listeners, Alan decides to make a radio documentary. He chances upon a local rivalry between two ice cream companies, who are sabotaging each other's trucks in an effort to monopolize the market. Attracted to Charlotte (C.P. Grogan), the daughter of one of the company owners, Alan finds himself playing peacemaker rather than documentarian. That this cold war takes place in the dead of a bitter Scottish winter is only one of Forsyth's many sly touches. Special Features: Commentary Interactive Menu

DVD:

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