I was expecting this movie to be really good. Just by watching the previews of it made it sound like it was interesting, and boy was it. Thora Birch does an excellent job of portraying Liz Murray, a young woman who beats all the odds. She grows up in a broken home with two drug addicted parents who do nothing for her or her sister. Kelly Lynch is amazing as a mother with serious problems. The story really draws you in and it's sad. You want to feel sorry for her, but then you also wonder why she didn't pick up her life earlier than she did. I am so glad I watched this movie. It was truly inspirational.

I remember hearing about Liz Murray on Oprah back in 2004. I also remember she was the first recipient of Oprah's Chutzpah award and was inspired by her story. Naturally, it was only right of me to be curious about the film made about her life, and since I was not able to see it back then, I decided to fork out the money to buy the actual movie online last year. I'm so glad I did because it truly is one of the most inspirational films I've seen. The film has no pretense about it, it doesn't paint Liz Murray as this big heroine or self-pitying sermonizer, her story just was what it was - she realized her situation and took steps to eventuate to success out of grand resilience. She overcame a great deal of hardship to make it out telling her story to the world. Anecdotes that really convey her situation; about doing her homework on the subway train, juggling twice the amount of course work, trying to deal with her family situation of drug-addicted parents, shoplifting self help books and of course it goes without saying - being homeless.

The performances are terrific, especially Thora Birch - off the back of her comedic role in Ghostworld - really shows her range here and her portrayal is determinedly solemn. Also, an honorable mention to the girl who plays young Liz.

I'm also glad this story wasn't made into some big Hollywood production - it would have come across too schmaltzy.

Generally, made for television movies are on a level below theatrical endeavors. However, `Homeless To Harvard' is a surprising and welcome exception. Without question it is one of the best made for television movies ever produced. This true story of Liz Murray continually strikes your primal emotional chord throughout the movie. The story is told in a stark realistically convincing manner. Excellent performances are turned in by Jennifer Pisana and Thora Birch as Liz at slightly different ages and by Kelly Lynch as Liz's alcoholic and drug addicted mother Jean. Unfortunately, the world has an ample supply of dysfunctional parents. Most often, their own children use them as an excuse to be equally dysfunctional. How uplifting to have a child use their parent's dysfunctional behavior, not as an excuse to sink into oblivion, but rather as a reason to not follow in their footsteps. This movie is all about choices. Anyone of any age who watches this movie will be left with absolutely no excuse to wallow in self pity. While this movie is a remarkable endeavor, it could have been even better. Understandably you can only fit so much content into a movie. Moreover, I'm certain that the writers included all of the key elements of Liz's life. However, this movie would have stood in a class by itself if only they had delved into Liz's true character. They did an exceptional job of depicting the decadent life that she was subject to, her reactions to it, and her existence within it. However, you don't get to see inside of Liz to actually know what she's all about. In addition, I sensed that we were shown a slightly whitewashed portrait of Liz in contrast to her true self. I suspect that she was in fact a little less innocent and a little more tarnished and troublesome than she was portrayed to be. If there's one unanswered question lingering on viewer's minds, it has to be: Why, after overcoming such insurmountable adversity, did she end up leaving Harvard? All that aside, 'Homeless To Harvard' is truly a triumph of the human spirit movie. This will be a treasured prize for your DVD/VHS collection when it becomes available.