The Next Chapter in The Love Series Continues, as Dr. Belinda Davis Leaves Small Town Life for the Big City.
- Audio: English: 5.1 Dolby Surround
- Language: Dubbed: English / Subtitled: English & Spanish
- Aspect Ratio: Widescreen: 1.78:1
- Forced Trailers: Loves Collection Franchise Trailer, Bride Wars
- Trailer Farm: Marley and Me
Janette Oke’s tales of Christian pioneer romance continue with Love Takes Wing. Belinda Simpson (Sarah Jones, Big Love), struggling to recover from the loss of her husband and her faith, comes to a small Missouri town to become the local doctor. Her reception is cold–the locals are surprised to find that she’s a woman–and she’s immediately faced with a tough challenge in the form of an infection that is spreading through the town that has everyone frightened and eager to blame the local orphanage as the source. With the help of her best friend, Annie (Haylie Duff, 7th Heaven), and the town’s handsome young blacksmith (Jordan Bridges), Belinda fights to find a cure–and to open her heart to love and the Lord. The fight with illness makes Love Takes Wing one of the most dramatically successful stories of the Love Comes Softly series; in fact, both romance and religion are relatively downplayed in favor of the medical mystery. If anything, the movie’s dramatic heart is the relationship between Belinda and a feisty young orphan girl (Annalise Basso) in whom Belinda sees a younger version of herself. A strong supporting cast, including Patrick Duffy, Lou Diamond Phillips (who also directed), and the ever-dependable Cloris Leachman, lends acting heft. Fans of the series will find Love Takes Wing a solid addition, and newcomers seeking wholesome pioneer tales can enjoy it without any experience of the previous films. –Bret Fetzer
Buy “Love Takes Wing” For Only $8.53
April 2, 2008
#1
I’ve never read a “Love comes…” book and this is the first movie in the series that I’ve seen. It may be the last if this flick is any indicator of the quality of the others. The story is that of two lady doctors who come west to start their first jobs as physicians. One is recently widowed (though it took a long time for the story to get around to telling me it was her husband that she was mourning and not a brother or boyfriend). Perceived shortcomings: 1. The acting was mediocre to say the least. 2. What was with the main character’s hair? Was she wearing a wig or what? It looked like it and I just wanted to reach out and snatch it off of her head. 3. The townspeople take no issue with the fact that their new doc is a woman? What’s with that? 4. Lou Diamond Phillips, who directs the film, is cast in the roll of a belligerent townsman. His roll in the film just ends suddenly and left me waiting for him to reappear, do something else, show remorse, find religion, something, anything. It’s weird how his storyline just stops. 5. Suddenly, after an entire movie of Belinda telling the blacksmith “Oh get away, I’m too sad and self absorbed to be interested in a new guy,” BAM! he proposes and she says yes and they live happily ever after. 6. What is with the “I think it might be cholera” diagnosis? Every doctor in that time period would have known immediately whether or not it was cholera. Epidemics were common and feared. Good grief, 10% of the population of St. Louis was wiped out during the summer of 1849! Cholera works quickly and with its sudden onset massive diarrhea, drains the body of a great quantity of fluid in a short time. The cholera victims in the movie hung around for days while Belinda and her doctor companion and blacksmith buddy invented their own version of an IV set up – and that included ordering and waiting for a shipment of rubber tubing to come from who knows where to frontier Sikeston, MO. The writers would simply have had to google “cholera” to get some facts. 7. I take issue with the DVD case cover – there are no snow covered rocky mountains anywhere near Sikeston, MO. This movie is a waste of time.
April 2, 2008
#2
The first three movies in the series followed the books by Janette Oke to a tee. The director in movies
in 4-8 took way to many liberties.
In the books Belinda was Marty’s youngest daughter.
Melissa’s husband didn’t die either.
Also when is the last movie Love Finds a Home due out on dvd?
April 2, 2008
#3
In the first seen Belinda and her friend look like two models on their way to the next photo shoot. Not like doctors on their way to a town in the old west. I can’t stand the actress they picked to play Belinda. She was so expressionless and lifeless. I much prefer the darker haired actress of the prier film; she was spunky and full of life. This new girl was like “yes I’ll marry you” with absolutely no expression or emotion.
They turned the last two films into more feminist rhetoric then a Christian message. In fact there was no Christian message.
And what is with them making the first husband of every main character die????? It’s like a family tradition.
I enjoyed Patrick Duffy and Cloris Leachman but I didn’t like seeing Lou Diamond Phillips as the bad guy. Over all not a great story but not bad directing and a wide range of acting from really bad to great.
April 2, 2008
#4
I was so excited to see a new installment of the “Love Comes Softly” series on DVD. But what a disappointment! The character of Belinda no longer has red hair and is no longer fiesty. The new Belinda is too stoic and barely smiles in the entire movie. Cloris Leachman does a great job as the orphanage matron, but she cant save the movie. Even Haylie Duff does a decent job as Belinda’s classmate. Lou Diamond Phillips and Patrick Duffy were horrible too. The book is so much better: Belinda is not married, and follows Mrs. Stafford-Smythe (from the previous movie) to Boston to be her private nurse. I hope the next movie is better!
April 2, 2008
#5
I like this story very much. It reminds me of all the prejudices Americans have exhibited against women and orphans in earlier centuries. What I like best about it is the glorious soundtrack at the end, with a heavenly voice saying something like, “…if I love, can I heal again…” and I keep trying to capture the lyrics. I have tried to find this female voice and this sound track on Google, but have failed.
I think that other strong points in this CD are the villain, who is really very “villainish” and the hotel owner, who is also a very believable villain. The mayor is excellent in his part.
Belinda Simpson and the smithy are equally good but I find it extremely confusing being introduced to three different “Belindas” through three different CD’s.
Lillian is excellent in her part in this one, though not so much in the next CD. In this one, she is a winsome, really delightful child, just perfect for the part. One loves her, and wants to adopt her.
Cloris Leachman, as Miss Clarence is superb. Her acting throughout is as good as one could ever hope for. She has a really marvelous, mobile face that has a wide range of expressions that one really finds believable.
All in all, I am happy with this part of the series. But you must work hard to keep up the quality.
I am not a faith-connected person. I choose these stories because they are decent and make me believe that there is something inherently good in these stories. I try to take the religion stuff in stride the way I take any other extraneous element in stride. In other words, I see the sunrise, and it is the sunrise, not necessarily a metaphor for God. I think there are a lot of people like me.