Love’s Unfolding Dream is a straight-forward television drama that stays true to its formula, but manages to entertain. Fans of shows like “Little House on the Prairie” or even "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" will find plenty to “love” in this story.
The film is the sixth installment of a series of made for television movies based on the Love Comes Softly novels by Janette Oke. I will admit that I haven’t seen the other films, but the filmmakers make sure to introduce who all the characters are in the opening minutes of the movie.
If you enjoy this one, I would recommend checking out the others for the full back story on all the characters.
Love’s Unfolding Dream was directed by Harvey Frost with teleplay written by Michael Landon Jr. (who has had a hand in all of the “Love Comes Softly” films and directed four of them) and Cindy Kelley. It stars Erin Cottrell (“Little House on the Prairie”), Scout Taylor-Compton (13 Going On 30), Dale Midkiff, Robert Pine, Victor Browne, Samantha Smith, and Patrick Levis (“The King of Queens”).
Love’s Unfolding Dream is described as a “coming of age tale” and follows heroine Missie Lahaye’s (Cottrell) strong-willed adopted daughter Belinda (Taylor-Compton) as she is determined to rise above what the conventional way of life and thinking says a woman’s place should be in the world.
Instead, she wants to pursue a career in medicine, and be more than a mother and wife. She believes that she can find a balance to be both and that she shouldn’t have to settle for just one.
As she is starting a journey to become a doctor, she meets and eventually falls in love with the town newcomer Drew Simpson (Levis). This twist sets up a complication for Belinda since she must try to discover if “following her dreams and listening to her heart can coexist.”
Love’s Unfolding Dream is rather predictable throughout the entire movie, but does maintain a certain kind of charm that will keep you watching. Much of the charm is from Taylor-Compton’s performance as Belinda.
The character is fresh and headstrong. She says what is on her mind and never backs down from an opinion that she believes is right. If you disagree with her, then she promptly offers several newspaper articles that you could go read to educate yourself. The character has come from nothing, but she doesn’t let that stop her from achieving her dreams.
The “women’s rights” issues gets a little heavy handed towards the end of the film (such as Missie teaching a woman to read despite the woman’s husband wanting her to stay uneducated and working), but it never gets too preachy.
The love story between Belinda and Drew also seems a bit forced, but this could be due to the film covering a lot of material while keeping the movie a brisk 88 minutes.
The DVD is a bit disappointing in the special features department, and only comes with trailers for Mama, I Want to Sing! and Garfield Gets Real. Since this is the sixth film in the series, it would have been nice to see some commentary from the cast and crew (especially from Landon) or even a basic behind the scenes feature.
Love’s Unfolding Dream will no doubt appeal to fans of the series (my mother loves these movies), and might even manage to win over a few new viewers. It is a rather formulaic period drama, but has lots of charm that helps you look past its short comings.
Love’s Unfolding Dream is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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