Stars: Elisha Cutbert, Gabrielle Bont, Timothy Busfield
This Showtime production is a cute family film about a teenage girl named Susan (Elisha Cutbert) who discovers a time machine inside her elevator.
She accidentally travels back in time to 1881, ending up in a large Victorian house occupied by a girl, almost the same age, named Victoria (Gabrielle Bont), her younger brother Robert and their mother.
The story revolves around Susan’s attempts to return home and her fascination with the past and the troubles surrounding the Walker family in whose house she ended up. Mother Walker is being wooed by a man whom Victoria believes is a fortune hunter. The kids soon discover that they are, in fact, penniless and the mother is considering marriage to Mr. Sweeney in order to save her family’s good name and future.
Susan’s involvement, as she hovers between past and present, helps to dissolve the intended marriage while at the same time saving the family from financial ruin.
This is a safe family film; the adults are generally very understanding and kind. In fact, you sometimes get the feeling you’re watching characters from “Alice in Wonderland” talking. There’s no bad language and Susan is only just a little bit self-obsessed in the beginning. But we forgive her behavior because she’s only trying to emulate her late mother who was a well known actress. Timothy Busfield plays Susan’s understanding father.
Lotta says it won’t tax the brain but it’s fairly pleasant if you want something you can watch with your kids.