I put this on for my teenage neices expecting to be mildy entertained and we all loved it. The story (as described by other reviewers)is a universal theme that has been done before and will again because it is so important for all of us. Here, it is deftly managed, the story enriched with developing incident from, for example, the paper boy's accuracy, heating a moon pie, to the names (Mr D, the barely noticed basketball team name on the singlets - the Angels). There are many relationships developed in this story with consequent character growth. I particularly liked the lack of histrionics a la Dead Poet's Society and a welcome lack of soaring violins. Instead we have deft touches such as Mr D's "I'm spoken for" when his relationship with a fellow teacher is budding. The strong emotional subtext is leavened with humour in Mr Warner's obsession with Mr D and his seemingly effortless gift for Life with a big L. There is no cheap play for the emotions here only the well-crafted evoking of a response to a set of characters experience when faced with the question "How long do we have?" It made me think about how long I have - not that long - and how I would prefer it to be. Those reviewers who found this movie predictable and cheesy just sounded as sour as green apples to me, and missed the meaning and skill in this little gem by a country mile.