Review of Dying to Live

OK, I'll admit it, I'd drink Linda Cardellini's bath water if she wanted me to, so this review might be a bit biased. All in all this flick is just 90 minutes of harmless fun with some decent acting, a few funny one liners from Jonathan Frakes and enough plot jogs (not quite twists) to keep you watching. Hayley Dumond gives an excellent performance as a HS girl who's life is cut short by the scheming, nasty Shannon Elizabeth. Jonathan Frakes, who plays an angel on a mission, arrives back on Earth to help her make the transition from her mortal life to her eternal life in the 'hereafter', but first he's got some work to do. Through his (Frakes) help, the real killer is finally caught and his work here on Earth is done. And if you've ever seen a movie or read a book that involves an angel returning to the 'mortal world' you can kind of figure out what's going to happen once all the clues fall in to place. Even if you figure it out ahead of time it's still an OK movie. Now, back to Linda Cardellini. In this flick she plays the cute, tough friend that she's played in a number of movies and TV shows already. If you've never seen her or experienced her work I'd advise getting a copy of the TV show 'Freaks and Geeks' - this woman is phenominal! Talented and heart-stoppingly beautiful, Ms. Cardellini can convey more emotion with her facial expression than most actors can get from five pages of dialog. She is truly amazing. Keep your eye on her, 'Scooby Doo' not withstanding, she is a tremendous talent. All in all, 'Dying to Live' is an interesting little made for TV movie made all the more watchable because of two female leads that you'll be seeing a lot more of in the future. Now, if Shannon Elizabeth could just act...