Watch Decoration Day For Free

Excellent but underrated film

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This is one of those quiet movies, where nothing exciting or outlandish happens, and nobody's life is in ruins but it is all the better for it. One of the things I enjoy about James Garner is that he tends not to be in the movies that are all hot air and explosions. The layers of this story are slowly peeled back as the characters grow on the viewer until the viewer finds that they really care! It's well executed, beautifully and with simplicity and it all feels real. I don't care about how scenes are concocted or faked, the end result is a work of beauty and art, and I'm delighted to have had the chance to see it again. Real life is not a blockbuster, and this film captures the genuine friendship that exists between the people and we feel it. wonderful.

Late in his life when Robert Mitchum was finally receiving accolades for his career work, a reporter asked him why it took so long for such recognition. Mitchum replied, "Because there's nobody else left." The same might be said for James Garner, as people increasingly acknowledge his skill. Like Henry Fonda, Garner makes it look so easy and effortless that one tends to take his work for granted.In "Decoration Day" his character is similar to his laid-back hero in "Murphy's Romance." Garner can play wide emotional ranges as the script may call for, yet smoothly blend nuances to achieve a finely tuned product.Here the entire cast works in fine ensemble fashion, with Bill Cobbs being particularly strong as Gee. Perhaps real-life Purple Heart-winner Garner felt a special connection to this touching story about the aftermath of war.This was another worthy Hallmark production made especially for television.

One of those quiet movies that leave a deep impression. Garner is good, as always, and the supporting cast seem just perfect for their roles. It has a similar atmosphere to FIRST MONDAY IN OCTOBER with Walter Mathau. A feel good movie, and well worth seeing more than once.

Clever plot about misunderstandings might teach you something beyond the fact that prejudice is as apt to harm the practitioner as its target. Excellent performances by James Garner and Bill Cobbs as old friends estranged by the history of race in their community and nation.