I watched this one night on TV when there wasn't much else on and wondered how they could make this film last nearly 2 hours? You get taken in by the emotion of it all, I found myself shouting at certain characters, like Mother for being so stupid to leave kids that young near a very deep well only covered by a plant pot? And the guy in charge who refused to listen to the guy offering him new water jet drilling ( maybe Jessica would have gotten out sooner? ) And then there was the guy sent to pull her out who was not strong emotionally. The only downside was the ending, it would have been good to have known more about what happened afterwards? All the acting was very good especially the actress playing the part of the mother.
7 Reviews
Well worth to watch
Stibbert27 August 2005
This is a truly good movie. It has managed to captured the event and the people in a special way. The acting and directing are good and the story is well written. There is a really good score by Mark Snow too in there, but at the most intense scenes there are no music at all. I believe that it was a very good thing to cut the music as the silence made the scenes more dramatic then any musical score would.
If you are a parent I believe this movie would be much harder to watch then if you're not. However, the story is touching no matter what. I'm no parent nor a very sentimental guy, but I find this movie very touching. The way people can care and the way anything is possible if you just want it bad enough.
The movie brings up several interesting things. Among them the power of the media. It was the media who made this story, and so they could have turned it in any direction, really. It was the media who made people care.
If you get the chance don't let this movie go unseen. Espesially if you're a parent.
If you are a parent I believe this movie would be much harder to watch then if you're not. However, the story is touching no matter what. I'm no parent nor a very sentimental guy, but I find this movie very touching. The way people can care and the way anything is possible if you just want it bad enough.
The movie brings up several interesting things. Among them the power of the media. It was the media who made this story, and so they could have turned it in any direction, really. It was the media who made people care.
If you get the chance don't let this movie go unseen. Espesially if you're a parent.
Only a Parent Knows
Zorro-325 December 2000
As I am a daddy, this movie was hard for me to watch.
Shoot! The event was hard to hear about when it happened and I wasn't even a daddy then.
There are many views of this event and many levels on which to examine it. Some of the possibly valid ways would sound mean. (For example if I wanted to, (which I don't!) I COULD say poor children die every day, and I don't know about it and don't suffer for it, the way I did for Jessica McClure, because they die in a common, rather than an unusual way, and they are further away, than she was, and don't get the expedient media attention that Jessica got. But I am not (at least not yet) that cynical.
But the thing that made this movie was the SOUND of the little two-year old girl hooting and hollering up the hole, from twenty feet below. And the look on her dad's face. (There, but for the grace of God, might I be.) I don't know how I could ever endure such a thing. But all one can do is endure it.
Shoot! The event was hard to hear about when it happened and I wasn't even a daddy then.
There are many views of this event and many levels on which to examine it. Some of the possibly valid ways would sound mean. (For example if I wanted to, (which I don't!) I COULD say poor children die every day, and I don't know about it and don't suffer for it, the way I did for Jessica McClure, because they die in a common, rather than an unusual way, and they are further away, than she was, and don't get the expedient media attention that Jessica got. But I am not (at least not yet) that cynical.
But the thing that made this movie was the SOUND of the little two-year old girl hooting and hollering up the hole, from twenty feet below. And the look on her dad's face. (There, but for the grace of God, might I be.) I don't know how I could ever endure such a thing. But all one can do is endure it.
Touching Story
Smith-4406 January 2006
I first saw this movie when I was about six years old. It had a profound effect on me. The story of Jessica McClure is one that will undoubtedly touch everyone who hears it. Jessica: Everybody's Baby vividly shows the events that took place on October 14, 1987. This is a movie that I'm sure will stay with me always. The movie begins with Jessica playing in the backyard. The majority of the movie is a heart-wrenching journey in which baby Jessica cries out for help while desperate paramedics struggle to rescue her. The emotional reactions of her family are also shown throughout the film. The ending is, in my opinion, the greatest part of the movie. I recommend having some tissues by your side.
Much more suspenseful than you'd think
SusieSalmonLikeTheFish20 December 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Who'd ever think that a full movie about a baby falling into a drainpipe would be so exciting, sad and suspenseful? For a Lifetime movie, Everybody's Baby gets really addictive to watch, because you wonder whether or not baby Jessica will even make it out alive. I was questioning throughout the movie if she'd live; this isn't Disney, Lifetime often has characters die in the end, but this movie isn't just about a baby, it's about how a town can put its differences aside to pull resources together and have the child returned safely to Cissy and Chip (Cissy was on the phone when Jessica got stuck). It's shockingly a true story, can you believe this actually happened? And I think that for a dramatized version of the story it was very well-acted and portrayed. Jessie Jones plays the role of the b*tchy, stuck-up doctor very convincingly, and Laura Loesch, who plays Jessica, did a great job, especially for an infant (if I was that age I'd find being in a movie set to be very stressful). I really loved the background soundtrack and wish I could buy it somewhere.
this is a nerve recking movie
nyobatusa23 February 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Amazing movie, a must watch movie for anyone. a true story of courage, team work, community support, strong will and hope. its so unbelievable yet it happened in texas town, america strong. i sure hope they watch out for these water pipes nowadays and everyone should secure their yards from such traps especially with kids around regardless it was pretty crazy to have a hole like that on the property...
Well above average TV movie
steeleronaldr1 April 2020
Warning: Spoilers
When I first watched this movie and I'll be honest wasn't expecting much. I was well aware of the event and followed it as it went down so I knew the outcome of it all. What I got was a amazing movie start to finish. Patty Duke, Beau Bridges and Pat Hingle are superb actor's and the story was written very well. In all the raw emotion, the courageous act's, the love that reached out and the professionals all come together and donate their time in rescuing a little girl. I was so intranced by this movie that I cried tears of joy at the end.
There are a couple scenes that urck you as people turning down volunteers and new equipment. A tough doctor who seems cold to what's happening. A mother who turned her back to little kid's and the fact that old water wells that were a accident waiting to happen that were exposed. In all the raw emotion alone will suck you in as you live every minute of the movie. They could have added so much more but staying with the basic formula worked tremendously. This is a must watch for anyone parent or not.
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