Outstanding film describing how a family came together to sacrifice for their middle daughter who sustained paralysis from a neck injury.While it is true that the older daughter suffered depression from this ordeal, this is a story of definite perseverance and great fortitude upon the outstanding parents in making sure that their daughter was able to attain her full objective.It showed you the rehabilitation center that the child was in and how they wanted the parents to accept the girl's fate. It glossed over the bureaucracy of Medicaid, but again perseverance prevailed.How many mothers would do what the girl's mother did for her? We see community coming together to assist the stricken family.Finally, we see our paralyzed girl attain love only to find disappointment. Yet, the motivation was there to go on.An excellent, inspiring film.

Christopher Reeve (1952-2004) was an actor best known for his starring roles in the Superman movies and the tragic horse riding accident in 1995 that left him quadriplegic for the rest of his life. Besides acting, he also did some directing, notably The Brooke Ellison Story, a TV movie based on the life of a real person of the same name.The story begins at around 1990 when the Ellisons, a suburban family of five, receive sad news about their young daughter Brooke (Vanessa Marano as a kid; Lacey Chabert as a young adult): she has been severely injured after being hit by a car. It soon becomes clear that she will remain paralyzed from neck down and need a breathing apparatus for the rest of her life. The resilient Brooke is not someone to give up easily though and insists on continuing her schoolwork, eventually graduating from high school and entering a prestigious college, all the while being assisted by her loving mother Jean (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) and supported by her father Ed (John Slattery), as well as her siblings Kysten and Reed (played by Jenson Goins and Devon Gearhart as kids; Lauren Barrett and Ryan Hudson as young adults).As can be guessed, a lot of crying and sentimental music is to be expected, like in any inspirational story of this type. It is easy to imagine this having been a very personal project for Reeve who died before the film was aired, but unfortunately it doesn't try to provide anything very impressive or to expand the boundaries of the "inspirational biopic" genre. Brooke herself is portrayed as so perfect and eager to keep living that it is difficult to see any real tragedy about her; it is well known that human flaws are what make people and fictional characters fascinating, but sadly Brooke seems to have very few of them. Likewise, the other most interesting aspects of the story are barely hinted at: the frustration of Brooke and her self-sacrificing mother, the stress on the parents' marriage, the budding depression of the big sister Kysten... There would have been potential for decent drama, but perhaps the insistence to make Brooke's story a positive example prevented the writers from handling the darker details in a worthwhile way.The overflowing positivity and inspirational message are probably best suited for viewers who are parents themselves and thus extra-sensitive to tragedies involving children. Anyone looking for decent dramatic writing is most likely going to be disappointed, but I guess this type of movies have their own devoted audience as well. The Brooke Ellison Story doesn't bring anything unexpected to the table, but if that is a good thing to you, you may well end up liking it.

I did not know anything about Brooke Ellison before my viewing of this, so I can't talk about how accurate it is. I have not read the book, either. With a subject like this, it can easily degenerate into a manipulative mess, so jam-packed with high-concentrate corn that you might need to have it surgically removed afterwards. This manages to steer clear of that, at least almost completely. Whether it be constant vigilance or some other cause, they produced a movie that is honestly an inspiring tale(crap, now I sound cheesy). The plot is well-written, and develops nicely. The acting is all quite good, and Chabert definitely delivers a solid performance. I can imagine that Reeves connected to this story on a deep and personal level, which could help explain why it's so well-directed. This wasn't as bleak as it could be, and ends up practically being a feel-good flick. I also found this to have somewhat less drama than, well, than what one might expect from the, you know, genre(as well as what it deals with). But hey, if this was closer to how it happened, and they didn't feel the need to add more, then they did exactly what they should. I recommend this to anyone who wants a well-done film about being a quadriplegic, that isn't dark and that anyone, of nearly any age, can watch. 7/10

I was very moved by this movie. This movie did show us that Brooke Ellison is an inspiration, but for me Jean Ellison is as much of an inspiration as her daughter, if not more of one. Should I have children, I pray that I can even be half the mother to my children that Jean Ellison is to her children.Jean Ellison has truly raised the bar on mothering. What's more, is that Brooke appears to see this, and she seems to truly appreciate being blessed with such a wonderful mother.Lacy portrayed Brooke wonderfully. I am a little peeved that Vanessa (the young Brooke) has not been getting the accolades she deserves. She was amazing!! Such a young person being able to act so well that you can't conceive she's acting and not actually the character she's portraying is simply mind-blowing. I felt the exact same way about Lacy during her years on "Party of Five." The casting director is a genius to have picked Vanessa and Lacy to co-portray Brooke!!