Child Star - The Shirley Temple Story
Newcomer Ashley Rose Orr sings and dances up a storm in this made-for-TV movie from Disney. Based on Shirley Temple Black's autobiography,Child Star, the movie does an excellent job of depicting her life as a beacon of hope during the depression years. If Orr doesn't look exactly like the pint-sized dynamo (or act as well), she captures her effervescent essence--her sparkle--and is ably supported by Connie Britton and Colin Friels as her naive, if supportive, parents. The story falters when it skips to Temple at 15, three years after Twentieth Century Fox had severed its ties with her. As the movie ends, we see her returning to acting. It isn't made clear that this would only be a temporary return or that she would devote the rest of her life to politics. Until that point, however, this is a compelling portrait of the quintessential child star.--Kathleen C. Fennessy