Director and producer: Dean Hamilton
Starring: Danny Aiello
Rick Aiello
Dee Wallace Stone
Mickey Rooney
Intoducing: Will Estes, Keegan Macintosh
Kris Kristofferson
Charles Martin Smith
Composer: Michael Conway Baker
Written by: Keith O'Leary
Rated: PG for some violence

The ROAD HOME is what hopes and dreams are made of, whether they can be had or not. Michael and John Murphy are orphaned after a horrible accident takes both parents. It soon becomes clear that the brothers will be separated by adoption, a scenario that is unacceptable to Michael since he promised his father he'd care for his sibling.

Ignoring the odds that only kids can ignore and after executing a bold plan, the brothers head for Omaha, Nebraska, where, it is said, a priest (Rooney) cares for orphans so that they can stay together. Smoldering sadism on their heels is a private detective (Smith), who was hired by the rich socialite (Stone) who wanted John for her son.

During the course of their inexperienced, and highly publicized trek, the boys stir up a Depression-ized country as it craves a bounty, and befriend a group of hobos who trek for a living. For a price, this rag-taggled bunch help the brothers get to Omaha.

You'll fall hard for this ensemble which is topped like a cherry by Danny Aiello. His high-class, low-key performance matches his Obie award and Oscar nods. He is joined by his real-life son, Rick, who plays the gruff-voiced Preacher, who sites the 'rules' of the road like Scripture. And you'll appreciate the others in the group as they see the job to its completion.

The music is a bit unsteady in the background, but the song "The Road Home" has a haunting familiarity to it. It coinsides with the last line in the movie said by Michael.

This is Estes' and Macintosh's first movie, and a difficult one to start with. But they turn in performances worth noticing, especially in the last scene when they realize they've made their dream come true. A tear-jerker: maybe. After all, how many of US have had dreams come true?