WHERE THERES A WILL

Take a grandmother with one last chance at life and a scheming grandson with one last con up his sleeve and you have one of the oddest—and most moving—family reunions on record.

Along a back road in Harmony, Texas is a home, grand in its time but showing its age—like the woman who inhabits it. The widowed Leslie Clyde Onstott (Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Marion Ross, Happy Days) has everything she needs: her afternoon soaps, a healthy bank account, her pills, a flattering old coot named Wheeler (Paul Michael, Batman) from Meals on Wheels, and a lovely young county caregiver in Annie Clark (Christine Elise, E.R.). But Annie’s not convinced of Clyde’s independence.

The proud yet accident-prone elderly woman needs someone to watch over her. Who better than a blood kin? Unfortunately, Clyde’s only living relative is Richie (Frank Whaley, Pulp Fiction), a successful L.A. doctor. Odd how quickly he accepts the offer to move to Harmony. Maybe it’s because Richie is a con man, neither successful, nor a doctor. On the run from a psychotic loan shark named Paulie (Dan Riordan, Ed Wood), he could use a hideout, a decent scam, and a nice inheritance. In other words—family.

Welcome to Hicksville, Doctor. It’s everything Richie dreamed of: a rich relative at death’s door and a new role as uncontested heir to her estate. On the other hand, it’s nothing he expected: a giving, maternal woman who cherishes the reunion, an occasion to learn the illuminating secrets of his late mother’s short life, a budding romance with the love-struck Annie, and the option to change his ways. Clyde’s life is in turnaround, too. Richie has given her back her youth, the courage to say “yes” to Wheeler’s long-overdue marriage proposal, and the opportunity to make amends with her own heartbreaking past. But Richie’s past is even harder to shake—Paulie’s shown up in Harmony to settle their score. What Richie needs now is the heart and the courage he never had and the forgiving support that can only come from those who love us unconditionally.

Full of wisdom and heart, unexpected humour and the unpredictable turns of life, Where There’s a Will is a film about the value of blood ties and the unbroken bonds we sometimes take for granted.