I caught this movie on Lifetime, but it had the Hallmark network feel to it. Sometimes this type of film can be overly sentimental, but I found this one to be wonderful as it emphasized the importance of taking time to love one another. Maureen O'Hara, at 80-something and looking great, plays a schoolteacher who becomes involved in the life of a former student and his wife. As a woman whose great love ended before the relationship could fully develop, she imparts what she has learned to them about what's really important in this world, and what really stays with those we leave behind when we go into the next one.

O'Hara is really inspirational. Her voice and acting are strong and her no-nonsense portrayal keeps "The Last Dance" from being cloying in any way. You really grow to love this woman and all she stands for. The flashback scenes are well cast.

A nice movie to catch, especially around the holidays.

It's an ode for good teachers! It's a film that asks you to slow down and inhale the best scents of life's memories quoting Cicero's line about actors leaving the stage quietly after achieving their best! It's a film that brings to mind Mazursky's "Harry and Tonto" and Bruce Beresford's "Tender Mercies".

The story is great and performances real. Maureen O'Hara in her eighties is really wonderful to look at (compare her withered hands to her great face) and to hear. Her enunciation of spoken English is a treat for the ears.

The film is more of a play on film but the editing is so smooth that you feel one scene weaves in to the next. The film does not stun you but endears you psychologically. The film involved the work of three writers at three stages. Probably Beth Polson had much to do with making the story good for cinema, may be it was Dalene Young. The film is great because of the contribution of three good writers, a charming Maureen O'Hara and fine editing. The direction of Kevin Dowling and the cinematography of Larry Reibman, though not outstanding, was above average.

Maureen O'Hara gives a quiet, confident and masterful performance as a retired schoolteacher, Helen Parker. We gradually learn about Helen Parker's past as she become reacquainted with one of her former students, Todd Cope. Todd Cope, Todd Cope's family, and we discover the importance of not getting caught up with the details of life and to slow down to appreciate what life has to offer.