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      Ellen Foster

      PG-13 1997 1 hr. 36 min. Drama List
      Reviews 50% 250+ Ratings Audience Score In this TV movie set in the American South during the 1980s, 11-year-old Ellen (Jena Malone) enters a life of hardship after her mother's suicide. Fleeing her abusive father, she goes first to live with her bitter grandmother (Julie Harris) and then is shuttled to one strange household after another, always beset by new problems and difficulties but gaining strength and insight along the way. The title of the film refers to her misunderstanding the phrase "foster family." Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

      View All (5) audience reviews
      Audience Member Okay, so I watched the whole movie and I have to say that I was wondering how good it was going to turn out but it was pretty dull, cloying, and not very compelling. The girl ends up having a happy ending when she finally has enough of her family and fights them. It made me cry happy tears and I did sob seeing her angry tears and her precocious acting when she cries, but the movie itself just doesn't pull much emotions. It's pretty saving that Jena Malone (Ellen) is doing a good job in the role but it's a shame the movie could've been better. I think I was crying moreso how good Jena Malone is. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 04/06/15 Full Review Audience Member This movie is about a girl(Ellen) who's mother dies,then she becomes stuck with her abusive drunk father,till Ellen is taken from him then goes from family member to family member in search of a stable happy home.Its a sad dragged out story of a girl that's unwanted by nearly everyone.Luckily she finds a foster family (hence Ellen FOSTER) and lives happily with them.I enjoyed this movie,it shows how cold hearted some people can be.Optimism-just when your about to give up....the sun comes out,kind of story! Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Totally sad tear jerke, but cathartic Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Audience Member This is probably the saddest movie I have ever watched in my life. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member [left] In my English class, we just finished reading Ellen Foster the novel. Our teacher showed us the movie to see how they compared. I give this movie a 1 for trying, but it was a terrible attempt. Way too over-exaggerated and plain dumb. The story skipped around so much it barely made any sense, and to make it worse they added scenes that weren't in the book when they could've very well just added parts from the book so the movie wouldn't skip around so much. The acting was poor, for every tear seemed force, and the cast did not seem into his or her role. This movie is terrible, and in no situation do I reccomend it, unless of course you have to take notes on it in English.[img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/smilies/rotten.gif[/img] [/left] Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Ellen Foster

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis In this TV movie set in the American South during the 1980s, 11-year-old Ellen (Jena Malone) enters a life of hardship after her mother's suicide. Fleeing her abusive father, she goes first to live with her bitter grandmother (Julie Harris) and then is shuttled to one strange household after another, always beset by new problems and difficulties but gaining strength and insight along the way. The title of the film refers to her misunderstanding the phrase "foster family."
      Director
      John Erman
      Executive Producer
      Richard Welsh
      Screenwriter
      Maria Nation, William Hanley
      Rating
      PG-13, TV-PG
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Sound Mix
      Stereo