Digging To China MPAA Rating: PG Entertainment: +2 Content: +3

Ten-year-old Harriet Francovich (Evan Rachel Wood) has a unique spirit of adventure as she seeks to escape from the confines of home. Her mother is an alcoholic who runs a motel. When their car breaks down, Richard Troth (Kevin Bacon) and his mother have to spend some time at the motel. Ricky, as he's called, is retarded and his mother, who has cancer, is taking him to a home where he can get better care. Harriet befriends the young man who's mental age is close to her own. Harriet's mother dies suddenly in a car wreck and she learns that Gwen (Mary Stuart Masterson) is more than a sister. When Ricky doesn't want to go to the home, and Harriet wants to run a way from hers, they leave together and find an old train caboose in the woods to live in. But when Ricky gets sick, Harriet goes back to Gwen for help. And Gwen doesn't understand the relationship between Ricky and Harriet which causes further problems. But in the end, everyone has learned a little about accepting people who may be different, but they're still people. This enjoyable little coming to terms with life story is not for everyone, but it's a refreshing change from special effects and non-stop action films.

Harriet has an imaginative curiosity. When she reads in the "National Enquirer" that UFOs are supposed to land at a certain time, she packs a bag to volunteer to be taken. She also tries to literally dig through the earth to China, but only gets as far as the electric line. Her mother escapes in alcohol, which Harriet waters down. Gwen is portrayed as promiscuous, seen in the motel room with a shirtless man on the bed and Harriet comments about her helping him feel better. Another scene shows Gwen playfully kissing a man who later comes to the breakfast table. While Ricky is a special friend to Harriet, Gwen misunderstands the relationship and is somewhat fearful of Ricky. But in the end, begins to see Ricky in a different light. Ricky's mother tell Gwen he knows right from wrong and he tells Harriet, he's not supposed to "kiss girls or touch myself." Harriet helps Ricky fulfill a dream when she takes him to her school for a day so he can be "as smart as everyone else." Harriet uses a crude phases to irritate Gwen and another to describe a piece of food on her fork. But overall, this is a humorous and touching story about acceptaing the real world. Although the main character is a ten-year-old, the film will most likely bore young teens but the story is acceptable for all but the youngest audiences.

Preview Reviewer: Paul Bicking
Distributor: Legacy Releasing