Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003)

Thanks for the memories!

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

This is the best movie since I ever seen which is positive and fantastic.The girl's father is a intemperant and her mother is a woman who doesn't care about her own daughter, so at first the girl went out to play and smoked everyday.She studied very careless and had no hope about her life . But after her parent died,everything changed. She began to leave her bad friends far away and studied hard. When she told her friends that she wants to go into college and the college is Harvard,almost everyone said ,"you are crazy!" She didn't care about the query ,she just kept studying hard. She is homeless but full of hope, she just has one dream that she wants to go into Harvard. She has no money to pay for the tuition and finally she got a special scholarship because of her hard working . Yes,finally she succeed and she changed her life by her own. After watching this movie, i think maybe everyone can change their life themselves,even no parents affording. There are too much things that we don't like or don't want ,but we can't choose by ourselves. Anyway you can make your life to be the shape like your imagination. It's a fantastic movie especially for teenagers in my opinion.Every time you face some difficulties you can not stand ,then you will think about this movie, to make you cheer up!

Sometimes TV movies out do themselves, this is one such.A truly inspiring true story, is almost unbelievable. I believe that the protagonist will go on to do great things, I am sure she will make a great mark in society and that we will hear from her again: perhaps the source of a sequel! To come from such a background to excelling so impressively is an inspiration, the sort of movie that could be used as a motivation tool.The production values and the acting - particularly that of Thora Birch - are very impressive.I would recommend this movie to all.

I had only seen Thora Birch in "Ghost World" (where she was also quite good) and so felt she deserved credit for this TV movie which was based on a true story.Kelly Lynch and Michael Riley portray Liz Murray's parents who are both drug addicts living in squalor in a NYC apartment. I am not certain why Lynch often gets these roles. In "The Jacket" she had a similar role, but she is nonetheless believable.Liz Murray attends school, and while being an excellent student, has difficulty with her emotions, sadness, and unstable home life. Eventually her mother contracts AIDS, and must either live with her father, or some form of assisted living. Murray apparently managed on her own. She studies hard, takes AP college courses, and sleeps overnight in abandoned subway cars. (Anyone who has seen the NY city subway system know this is no small feat).Birch is believable, and looks the part; with all the odds against her she does well, graduates high school, and is offered a scholarship to Harvard. The fact that this is a true story is positive, it is nice to see a movie with a decent message for kids with real reasons why they should stay in school. 9/10.

"Homeless to Harvard" tells the true story of Liz Murray who went from living with her druggie parents in a Bronx slum and living on the street while dumpster diving for food to earning a degree at Harvard University. This gritty TV flick is narrated by Thora Birch who registers a sterling performance as the wan, slump shouldered, stringy haired teen protag whose mother's death from AIDS set her free to focus her brain power and determination on academic success. Though this film is a worthy testament to the success of Liz Murray it is, in the final analysis, just another rags to(intellectual) riches story. Not that big a deal with an obvious made-for-TV "feel", "Homeless to Harvard" is inspirational fodder for teen females and a worthy watch for Birch fans. (B-)