Here On Earth MPAA Rating: PG-13 Entertainment: +3 Content: -1

Good-looking, confident and rich Kelley Morse (Chris Klein) is about to graduate at the top of his class from an exclusive prep school in Boston. Instead of making a personal appearance, his father rewards Kelley with a Mercedes sports car. On a joyride through the countryside, Kelley and his buddies stop in a roadside cafe, where he meets waitress Samantha (Leelee Sobieski) and stirs up the wrath of her boyfriend, Jasper (Josh Hartnett). Soon the rich, city boys are challenged to a car race by the poorer, small-town boys and a horrific crash into a gas pump creates an explosion that destroys the cafe. Instead of basking in honors at graduation, Kelley is humiliated into spending the summer rebuilding the cafe alongside Jasper. He even lives in a very modest room over Jaspers family garage. Kelley and Samantha fall in love, but she is torn between her loyalty to Jasper and following her heart. In spite of its saccharine sweet, tear-jerking ending, teenagers and parents will find this touching love story worth the admission price.

Kelley evolves from a cocky smart aleck to a caring, unselfish young man. He has to face buried feelings of insecurity, loneliness and grief before he can understand how much richer Jasper and Samantha are because of their loving families. All three teenagers suffer consequences for reckless, irresponsible behavior. As punishment, the two boys are sentenced to help rebuild the cafe, while Samantha is reprimanded for running away one weekend with Kelley. Kelley's father also forces him to face his responsibilities like a man. It is heart-warming to see a family reflect a deep faith in God as they face a loved one's eminent death. The strong feelings between Samantha and Kelly lead to one scene of implied sex when the camera fades during passionate kissing. Later, sex is very obvious in a bedroom scene when the two spend a weekend alone in Kelley's Boston mansion. There is no nudity in HERE ON EARTH, although Samantha wears revealing, snug fitting tank tops. Six obscenities and two regular profanities, plus the teenage lovers' bedroom scene spoil the film's powerful pro-family themes.

Preview Reviewer: Mary Draughon
Distributor: 20th Century Fox, 10201 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035