I love Friday movie nights. They’re the perfect occasion to unwind from a hectic week with those closest to you!
I’ve been doing Friday movie nights for as long as I can remember. On almost every Friday evening of my childhood, my parents, my brother and I would cart out the TV dinner trays, turn down the lights and plop down on the couch to watch a movie together. We’d laugh, cry, shout, cheer and smile both at what was happening on the screen, and at each other.
No matter what was going on in our busy lives (between work, skating practice, baseball games, piano lessons, etc.), Friday movie night was time we spent together just hanging out and bonding. I still do Friday movie nights now with my husband (and our cats)! I look forward to it all week.
If you and your family are like mine, and you’re looking for an uplifting Friday night movie suggestion, tune in to NBC at 8 pm tonight to see A Walk in My Shoes.
Nancy Travis stars this new made-for-TV movie playing Trish, a self-absorbed, busy English teacher who thinks there aren’t enough hours in the day. At the start of her story, she suspends one of her students from the basketball team for failing to hand in a homework assignment. When his mother tries to beg for another chance for her son, Trish scolds her for bad parenting. On her way home from the encounter, Trish gets in a car accident. While coming to, she gets a visit from a friendly stranger (who is most likely an angel) who tells her she’s about to go on a journey.
That journey is one of self-discovery and personal growth as Trish finds herself—literally—walking in the shoes of her student’s mother, a widowed Marine wife raising two sons on her own. She’s an overworked waitress facing eviction. At the same time, her son struggles to find his way after losing his father to the fighting in Iraq.
It’s an uplifting family movie with a poignant message about personal growth, and the importance of taking a step back from ourselves to be there for the people we love. That’s summed up in a particularly moving line of the film uttered by the friendly stranger: “When you help someone else, you heal yourself.”
Enjoy your Friday movie night!
