Product: Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story
Rating: 4.0
No, it's not the books -- but it stands on its own
I very rarely review any DVDs I watch, but I felt that I had to write one for Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story, since I almost -- almost -- didn't watch it, due to the reviews I read here at Amazon. Personally, I'm happy that I disregarded the majority of the reviews and decided for myself to take the chance. For me, it was worth it. Yes, this installment doesn't follow the books. But then, I never really felt that the later books ever reached the high plateau set by the earlier books either. And yes, there were some facets of the miniseries (most glaringly, Ann's unexpectedly vocal antiwar stance and the uncharacteristic whiskey consumption, which at least had the benefit of eventually being related, if not absolutely necessary, to the plotline) that diverged significantly from the direction which Ms. Montgomery had taken Anne's character. And yes, there was certainly a good bit of playing fast-and-loose with the author's timeline.On the other hand, if there was going to be a sequel, the time and cost demands of making such a production more or less required that the story could not follow the series of books. Just the basic setting up of the sequel as defined by the author would almost insist on a miniseries of its own, and let's be real: once Anne and Gilbert get married in the books, it's pretty well their children's story, and while I certainly can't speak for the other 300 reviewers for this miniseries, I myself can say that the reason I would -- and did -- watch any sequel to the first two installments was to see Anne and Gilbert finally get together. At least in this series, we did in fact see Anne and Gilbert together at last, finally the kindred spirits they were always meant to be. In fact, one of the major pluses for me for this series was that Gilbert actually played a major role in the plotline, rather than playing the peripheral character he has mostly occupied in both the earlier miniseries and the books. And I have to say, it was good to see Anne, for once, putting her entire heart and soul into her devotion to Gil, rather than constantly walking away from his own never-wavering devotion to her.Finally, let me say that I thought the performances were quite up to the standard set by the earlier miniseries. Of course, Megan Follows and Jonathan Crombie were admittedly more mature than they had been during the earlier miniseries, and that did take some getting used to. But I also felt that their ages seemed more appropriate to the ages of the characters at this stage in their lives than was sometimes the case with the second sequel. What did surprise me was how little Schuyler Grant had changed over the years. That girl must keep the Fountain of Youth in her backyard!All in all, I was pleasantly surprised with this final installment of Anne of Green Gables. I honestly felt that the first half truly did reflect a great deal of the charm and ambiance of the earlier miniseries, and while the second half does occasionally strain credulity (Anne has the strangest habit of running into old friends and new acquaintances at the most unbelievably convenient times and in the oddest locations), the story always kept my attention, and in the end, I was glad I hung in there.For what it's worth, my recommendation is to please do give this one a try, unless you're a dedicated book purist or you cannot bear the idea that favorite characters do grow up and change. You may or may not be glad you did -- but at least, like me, you'll have made that determination for yourself.