Movie Review: "When We Last Spoke", Starring Melissa Gilbert and Corbin Bernsen

I have been a big Little House on the Prairie fan since I was really little and a fan of Psych since I was a teen, so when I received an email about reviewing a movie starring Melissa Gilbert (from Little House) and Corbin Bernsen (from Psych), I jumped at the chance!

“When We Last Spoke” recently won Best Picture, Best Narrative, Best Supporting Actor, and more at the Crown Awards at the National Religious Broadcasters 2021 Christian Media Convention and is a heartwarming story of faith, family, and forgiveness, based on a book by Marci Henna. Common Sense Media provides this description of the movie:

Ruby (Melissa Gilbert) and Walt (Corbin Bernsen) live in rural Texas in 1967 when their son James (Donny Boaz) goes off to serve in Vietnam. Shortly after, his frazzled wife Marguerite (Julia Denton) arrives at the farm to dump their young girls, Juliet (Darby Camp) and Evangeline (Chandler Head). Almost without feeling, she’s off to revive her New York singing career. Ruby and Walt don’t hesitate to do the right thing — they’re loving, generous, understanding, and practical. The girls, missing their dad and now their mom, too, thrive under Ruby and Walt’s care. Great-grandmother Itasca (Cloris Leachman), half lucid and half immersed in visions of her late husband, is also dumped on the couple, this time by Walt’s impatient brother. She, too, is taken in and cared for. Cut to present-day (1996) Juliet (Lacy Camp), who never left town and has embraced small-town life. She’s now the enthusiastic local radio host, and trying to bring younger sister Evangeline back to town to see the fading Walt one last time. The incident that ruptured the sisters’ relationship and supposedly drove Evangeline (Alicia Fusting) away is revealed later, but it doesn’t prevent a warm revival of their sisterly affection. Back and forth from the 1960s to the 1990s, dramas play out, deaths are revealed, lessons are learned, and small-town values are hailed.

“When We Last Spoke” is available for viewing on Amazon Prime, where the official movie description is as follows:

In 1967, two sisters are abandoned and raised by grandparents in the town of Fireside. Humor, heartbreak and triumph are served with whipped cream and lots of local nuts in this heartwarming tale of family, friendship and forgiveness.

I watched this film together with my two littles who are 6 and 4, and it did a masterful job of capturing even their attention. They laughed at the wonderful sense of humor in the movie, enjoyed the dance party Ruby has with her granddaughters, took one main line away from the movie that they are still repeating and giggling over, and even were sucked in to the sadder parts of the film, as well. Anna, my 6 year old, at one point leaned over to me and empathetically said, “That was really sad”, but even so, she still seemed to thoroughly enjoy the movie.

We thoroughly enjoyed this film, and I highly recommend it as a great pick for your next family movie night! You will laugh, you will cry, you will say “Aww!” over the marriage of Ruby and Walt, and you will come away with a deeper understanding of the beauty and importance of forgiveness.

If you would like to enter to win a free digital download of the film, leave a comment below sharing why you’d like to win!

*I received a link to a complementary viewing of this film in exchange for my honest review.