User reviews

Ordinary Angels is a compelling film that weaves together the threads of faith, family, and the unexpected miracles that shape our lives.

Similar to other films, Ordinary Angels is presented in such a way as to tug on your heartstrings.

Knowing the fragility of the young daughter who recently lost her mother, how could you not feel at least some empathy for the family?

You may even feel empathy for Sharon, the hairdresser who is seeking her own transformation and chance for redemption.

Sharon approaches her journey alongside Ed's family as one of altruism. Yet, she is battling her demons of alcoholism and an estranged relationship with her son.

Helping Michelle helps Sharon and even Ed in ways they might not have recognized.

Sharon brings her tough cookie, 'never stop at the first no' approach to fundraising for the family. Not only is Ed drowning in bills for Michelle, but he also has tens of thousands owed for the care his wife received before dying.

Through Sharon's tenacity, she helps the family cover part of the bill while having the hospital 'erase' a huge swath as well.

I couldn't help but think about all the families out there who are drowning in healthcare bills; unable to stay afloat.

I've heard about how anyone could be one medical emergency away from losing everything. Ed's family was on the verge of losing their home and even his daughter's life with no ability to afford the treatments she needed.

After helping them arrive at a 'clean slate' financially, Sharon doesn't stop as she recognizes there is more to be done.

Michelle will need a transplant (that costs a fair bit of cash) and to have the transplant she has a short window for getting to the hospital doing the operation.

After learning which types of people and companies would have a private jet, Sharon knocks on several doors to get people lined up.

She also leverages the local media to help tell Michelle's story.

Sharon's actions led to an extraordinary, miraculous outcome. Michelle survived and has been able to lead a life that touches many others.

The inspiration we can glean from Ordinary Angels is that each of us can contribute to the benefit of others. That you may need to ask a lot of people before you find someone who can and will help.

Based on a remarkable true story, ORDINARY ANGELS centers on Sharon Steves (Hilary Swank), a fierce but struggling hairdresser in small-town Kentucky who discovers a renewed sense of purpose when she meets Ed Schmitt (Alan Ritchson), a widower working hard to make ends meet for his two daughters. With his youngest daughter waiting for a liver transplant, Sharon sets her mind to helping the family and will move mountains to do it.

I only watched this because I like Hilary Swank, and she did not disappoint. In fact there was not a single bad actor in the entire film. From the receptionist to the 5 year old girl they all played a blinding part and made you totally absorbed and immersed in the story. A true story too.

It's a feel good story with no romance or magic or miracles, just plain people coming together to help other plain people out. It shows what can be possible when we all get together and really try.

I loved the real footage from the time which underscored how ordinary people with a little faith and a lot of human kindness moved mountains to save one little girl.

Believe in good.

A solid 8 from me.

Adam Ritchson & Hillary Swank both turned in top notch performances. Nancy Travis is solid as usual. The young ladies playing the sisters turned in great performances as well. The movie itself brought this grown man to tears. The mixture of both lead characters battling their demons only added to the movie's emotional impact. The struggle with addiction portrayed by Swank was heart wrenching and very believable. Ritchson's tears and anguish was a gut punch in reality. The mixture of love, loss, sadness, faith and joy has the viewer twisted emotionally throughout the film. I highly recommend this film.

Hillary Swank is endearing, amusing, and heartbreaking in this based on reality tale. Alan Ritchson is much more convincing in this much more heartfelt portrayal than anything I have seen him in before. He really makes you feel for the character. Even little Emily Mitchel is believable as the child with a deadly illness that can only be cured by a donated organ.

The story is compelling, especially considering it's roots in actual events. It also manages to be a little surprising in spite of the last-minute-miracle-based-on-actual-events genre tropes. What really makes this movie work is the great acting, tight direction, and cinematography that gets you right into the middle of everything.

It's feel good entertainment at it's near best.

This is a very touching film with very few surprises (there's little doubt how it will all work out). I don't think anyone with a pulse will be able to distance themselves completely from its powerful emotional impact, which is made possible by excellent performances by Hilary Swank and. Alan Ritchson. They are really wonderful in their roles. Ritchson manages to convey all the enormous pain he feels while maintaining a tough, stolid demeanor. His love for his daughters feels completely genuine. Swank gives yet another terrific performance as a woman with many serious problems of her own trying to help this struggling family. It is the Capra-kind of movie designed to make you feel better about humanity and, thanks to truly fine work by the leads, it succeeds.

Sharon Stevens is a co-owner of a salon and has a turbulent relationship with her disapproving son which is one of the reason she uses for her alcohol addiction. When she comes across a newspaper article about 5 year old Michelle Schmidt in need of a liver transplant and has just lost her mother, she decides to help out the family. She independently raises fund at her salon in a day but soon realizes that isn't enough. Ed the father has a larger debt due to the hospital bills and his income isn't enough to cut it. How she helps out the family in order to save the girl's life and even help herself with repairing the relationship with her son, forms rest of the story.

Based on the true events that occurred in 1994, Ordinary Angels is a straight forward tale of the triumph of humanity when people come together to help each other out. With Hilary Swank and Alan Ritchson leading from the front, ably supported by the rest of the cast including a cute Emily Mitchell as Michelle, Ordinary Angels succeeds in narrating a near 2hr story of one family facing the crisis with a committed Sharon being their angel. The old school narrative here works largely and it is much easier to connect with the family's situation. I always look forward to some of the real life footages during the end credits and that made this extra special.

BRAVO! TEN OF TEN STARS!!!! This is a wild ride with many ups and downs. It is a beautifully told story of a family struggling with insurmountable obstacles. The acting is brilliant. The young girls are very believable, and often hard to watch in their hardships. Hillary Swank deserves to win awards for her role. Alan Ritchson (7ft Reacher Actor) plays a wonderful father who will do anything for his family. Bring a box of tissues, this has several tear jerking moments. This movie will give you hope for humanity, it shows how the love of a community can get together to overcome anything. Perhaps the best film of 2024.

Just saw this in the theater and, wow... it was really good.

Alan Ritchson is perfect for this role... a dad doing everything he can to hold his family together... and Hillary Swank played a struggling hairdresser trying to find purpose perfectly. The cast was great, the writing well done, the cinematography and story... this is a movie that will take you on a roller coaster of emotions, from laughing to crying. At the end of the movie, our theater full clapped and cheered... you really get invested in it. Oh, and the two girls were wonderful. This would be a great movie to take your family to and a really good "date night" movie.

I'll definitely see it again.

Ordinary Angels is a pretty safe bet of a film. There's a dying girl. A stubborn and loving father doing his best in the face of adversity. An everyday hero who swoops in Erin Brockovich style and impacts their lives in unimaginable ways.

It makes for very inspiring, heart warming stuff that will be sure to have you reaching for the tissues at some point. It is very much marketed as a tearjerker film and it absolutely delivers on this front.

The filmmaking is probably overly cliche and doesn't really push the boat out too much. It also maybe overstays its welcome slightly with the runtime. These aren't huge issues as the narrative is really the driving force of the film, but these areas could have been tightened up.

The performance from Alan Ritchson is maybe one of the best elements of the film. He really sells it as the hard working father swimming against the tide to keep his family together. Hilary Swank is of course brilliant with a brilliantly written character. Any film with a dying child has the potential to be far too bleak, but her performance and character ensure this is never the case.

So although Ordinary Angels doesn't do anything particularly flash, it tells its story well with a couple of great performances to boot. The emotional core of the story is the real selling point, and this is executed very well making a watch well worth while.

I was excited when I saw the cast and I love real life stories.

Hilary Swank is one of my favourite actress as she did some amazing work mainly in her early years.

This is just a hallmark tv style drama sadly nothing special just a classic drama formula. Starts sad then gives you hope abd then down again.

Turns into a hollywood classic everything gets into its place like a well played tetris game.

I was really hopeful when I see over 7 rating.

Towards the end cliches gets overwhelming and kind of ridiculous but hey if a hallmark style drama is your thing then put the kettle on and get some kleenex ready.

I was really looking froward to this movie when I saw the trailer - it didn't disappoint.

Troubled Sharon (Hillary Swank), while struggling with her own alcohol addiction, finds a new calling in her life to help a family: Ed (Alan Ritchson) is a widow with two girls, one of whom has a liver disease and not only are the medical bills up the roof, but the little girl also needs a liver transplant. Sharon is a big-mouthed, loud and cheerful woman, also pushy, and someone who doesn't take no for an answer. Her assertiveness and lack of ability to respect boundaries makes her succeed in all the activities, fundraisers and meetings she organises to help the family financially. It is also something that you kind of question, whether it was actually true: did this family just let her in their home so easily? Accept the money and let her look after the girls too, when she was a complete stranger? .

Hillary Swank and Alan Ritschon have great chemistry, the dialogues are funny, with some scenes pretty hilarious. Some parts are really hard to believe, but overall it is an enjoyable movie.

This resent Amazon release is inspiring reflecting the best in human efforts. Community is essential. Most are unaware or ignorant of how important connection between people truly is. In recent studies many people were surveyed as to what they believe was most important in health. The vast majority responded that diet and exercise were primary reason for a healthy long life. Stats showed although these are important, human socialization is key to this. Not social media, email, Facebook or any other latest craze but physical contact with other people is paramount. It's who we are, a tactile species. Family, friends, co-workers and extended family is what keeps us going. This film typifies that human condition when a woman decided to intercede in a families loss and helps a dying child survive.

A heart-warming family entertainment starring Hilary Swank, "Ordinary Angels", based on a true story, is set in rural Louisville, Kentucky in the early 90's and centres around the family of Alan Ritchson's Ed character. Sadly, this is a family struck by tragedy as we quickly learn that after giving birth to two daughters, his wife dies only five years later. Even worse, their youngest daughter, has a life-threatening kidney disorder and because hard-working but hard-up family man Ed can't afford medical insurance, the bills for little Michelle's specialist treatment just keep piling up. His devoted mother pitches in to help but clearly the family is about to go under...

Which is where the town hairdresser, Hilary Swank's Sharon Stevens comes in. She too is a struggling single parent, although her apparent predilection for drink has estranged her from her teenage-musician son. It seems as if her life too is on a downward spiral until she crashes the family funeral and hooks up with Ed and his adorable daughters as a result of which she decides to help them out. This she promptly proceeds to do, beginning with a fund-raising haircut-drive in her shop. But she doesn't stop there and soon afterwards drops full-square into the family's lives and despite his initial resistance, uses her business head and sheer cussedness when it comes to negotiating deals to take charge of Ed and his finances to help them stay afloat.

But little Michelle's condition takes a turn for the worse to the extent that only a kidney transplant can save her life. It all ends up in a madcap race in terrible winter conditions to get the little girl to a hospital six hours away and will require the willing cooperation of a number of "ordinary angels", coralled together by Sharon, to hopefully save the day.

Even if one suspects that some of the action is ramped up to varying degrees for dramatic effect and I'll include in that the suspiciously contrived-looking sub-plot of Sharon's broken relationship with her own boy, you'd have to have a heart as cold as Kentucky snow not to be warmed by this tear-jerker as it reaches its nail-biting climax.

Swank is very good as the boozy Stevens who finds her own self through helping others and Ritchson too shines as the big man pushed to his limits but whose obvious love for his kids pulls him through.

All in all, despite perhaps over-stoking the fire at times, this feel-good movie will put a smile on your face even as you at times will doubtless dab a tear or two away from your eyes.

Hairdresser Sharon (Hilary Swank) who is a drunken train wreck, decides to turn her life around when she hears the news about Ed (Alan Ritchson) a recent widower, has two daughters, and one who is very sick, and without the proper help she could die. Now Sharon makes it her mission to raise enough money to help the little girl and save the family.

A great movie that is based on a true story, makes you realizes that helping others can help yourself in return. Hilary Swank once again delivers an Oscar worthy performance , and Alan Ritchson also proves himself quite well, proves he can do more than just be a tough guy action hero. And some supporting cast also do well, if your wanting to see an uplifting film, then give Ordinary Angels a look.

What a roller coaster ride this wonderful film is. I saw this at a mystery movie preview the other day. A real life story that plays with your emotions (the ups and downs that the movie-goer will witness) showing what people who care are capable of doing for their neighbors. It's a gem of a motion picture. Independent film director Jon Gunn has brought together Oscar winning actress Hillary Swank and Alan Ritchson (Reacher) and a wonderful supporting cast in a genuinely great, little flick! A must see and most will agree that this is a solid February release. Be prepared to hear some sniffles. Kudos Jon.

Hilary Swank turns in quite a strong performance here as Sharon Stevens. She's an hairdresser with a penchant for the bottle - and for denial - who just happens upon a rather sad newspaper article whilst buying her morning six-pack. The headline features the story of the young girl Michelle (Emily Mitchell) who has just lost her mother and whose father is having to come to terms with her own impending liver failure. After many years of medical treatment, the family are over $400,000 in debt and with the vultures closing in on them, she decides to raise some money to help them out. Father Ed (Alan Ritchson) is a proud man. Not stubborn, just determined that he will keep his family and his home together, so he slightly resents Sharon's self-appointment in his affairs. Luckily his mother (Nancy Travis) sees the sense in her activities and together they all work to raise the funds - and sort out the logistics - so they can secure a transplant for the youngster. Swank reminded me of Jane Fonda for much of this drama, and at times her characterisation of a woman with demons of her own is quite effectively annoying as she interferes at will. Ritchson also delivers potently and the young Mitchell evokes a combination of spiritedness and determination that provides this true story is quite a decent validation of just what can be achieved against formidable odds when driven by a can-do attitude, some human decency and an helicopter.

Tighten up your heartstrings for this new release because the film Ordinary Angels delivers a rollercoaster of scenes sure to unleash your deepest emotions. This well-crafted film offers such a mixture of highs and lows, almost in a magical way, that it definitely made its way onto my favorite films of all times. Viewers are in for a real treat with this masterpiece!

Based on an amazing true story, Ordinary Angels takes us on a journey to a small Kentucky Town where a bold, yet emotionally struggling hairdresser, Sharon Stevens (Hilary Swank), finds meaning to her life by helping a tragedy stricken family who are complete strangers. With the recent loss of his wife, Ed Schmitt (Alan Ritchson) faces yet another hardship when his youngest daughter must have a lifesaving liver transplant in order to survive her illness. With mounting medical bills and other expenses which the Schmitt Family cannot afford, saving his daughter's life seems out of reach until Stevens sets out to move mountains in making this happen. With renewed purpose, this "ordinary angel" brings her community together in this near impossible mission.

There is so much to love about this film! The cast, with both its lead and supporting actors, are dynamite and are an absolute perfect fit for their roles. Although some scenes are bitterly sad and required a box of tissues within reach, others I found to be comedic, which offered a great balance and some time for the tears to dry up. I was totally connected to the film from beginning to end as each scene delivers something so unique, setting off a gamut of emotions. A big two thumbs up for writers Kelly Fremon Craig and Meg Tilly, as well as for director Jon Gunn, for such a powerful timely film which is a true gift in a world so divided. Ordinary Angels reminds us that we must see beyond our flaws and appreciate one another, which I can certainly appreciate. This film is the perfect family movie one in which I will be encouraging families far and wide to watch!

Ordinary Angels delivers a message of faith within "community" and allows that faith to encourage good deeds for one another. God shows up in a big way when there is faith allowing for such a unique ripple effect. Serving within your community is a powerful tool and can result in significant positive change in people's lives. "Find a reason to be here and find meaning outside yourself."

I give Ordinary Angels 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 8 to 18, plus adults. Ordinary Angels is available in theaters now. By Dominic D., KIDS FIRST!

The Louisville, Kentucky area, the events depicted here start in 1993 and extend into 1994. Snippets as the credits roll show us glimpses of the real people and some of the activities depicted in the movie and some closer to the present. As often happens some things were changed for dramatic (movie-making) effect but the core story is factual.

Hilary Swank is good as Sharon, the woman with serious, unresolved issues, mostly a result of her frequent binge drinking. She has long contended she is NOT an alcoholic but has to come to grips with reality. Her core motivation to help strangers is part of her helping herself. She enters their lives when they need it the most.

Strongman and star as "Reacher", Alan Ritchson is the dad, Ed. He is required to be understated and diligent, but also tender to his two young daughters. He plays the part very authentically. He doesn't want help, he is a proud, hard-working man, but Sharon is the type that seldom takes "no" for an answer. (One of the daughters is played by a very young actress named Skywalker. I'd love to know the story behind her name.)

The core story is, after Ed's wife died his 5-yr-old daughter was diagnosed with a serious illness that would require a liver transplant. Ed was already deep in debt and it was only to mount up further. He is a good man but didn't see a way ahead, Sharon was the one who took control and helped him accomplish the impossible.

It was also nice to see veteran Nancy Travis as the grandmother Barbara. It isn't a large role but it is important and she is effective.

Good movie. While it has a faith-based element, it is more about friendship and how people banding together can solve the seeming impossible problems.

My wife and I watched it on DVD from our public library.

This is based on a true story. It's 1993 Kentucky. Ed Schmitt (Alan Ritchson) is forced to pull the plug on his beloved wife after an extended hospital stay. He is left with two daughters and a mountain of debt. His youngest suffers from medical issues and needs a liver transplant. Meanwhile, Sharon Stevens (Hilary Swank) refuses to accept treatment for her alcoholism. She reads about the little girl's troubles and decides to help.

For the first three quarters of the movie, this is a rather standard movie-of-the-week movie. There are some interesting bits. Mostly, it has all the standard underdog story material. Swank is doing her basic driven, troubled character. Ritchson is doing the strong, silent type. Both are solidly within their ranges. The movie does pick up the dramatic tension for the third act. I do wonder if that should occupy a bigger part of the movie. By the end, this turns into a good little tear-jerker.

My wife and I went to see this - admittedly, she was looking forward to this a lot more than I was - but I was curious about it based upon the previews. It just didn't grab me. It seemed like they condensed and rushed the storyline and as a result, it was just a poor production. Also, because it was rushed, I couldn't invest myself in any of the characters. I had no ability to care about any of them. If they had let the story take the path it should have, it probably would've been a lot more interesting. I have a hunch that there was a lot more to this story than what was displayed on the screen. It was a shame.