in a time when make for television film from hbo in particular and showtime et al seem to be take more chance with risky topic than those flood the theater screen and along come carry me home with a thud that hearken back to the whiny tearjerker of twenty year ago . while the premise of the story appear to be warm come of age of a young girl with only a single mother to guide her growth and the film fragment with so many subplots that be quickly and incautiously paste together in the end and resolve everything in a shallow overly sentimental and unsatisfying mess . marlboro and ny 1947 and a time when the country be recover from ww ii and which include the family of gi kill in the war and the economy in ruin . harriet ( penelope ann miller ) keep together her household of two child carrie ( ashley rise orr ) and brian ( harrison chad ) by be a seamstress to the like of mrs. gortimer ( jane alexander ) and a town gossip and matchmaker who be advise harriet to pay attention to the return of bernard ( david alan rasche ) a a potential amarrying kind . harriet spend her day work and remember her gi husband kill in the war . daughter carrie be approach puberty and yet refuse to behave like a girl and wear her father dogtags and jean and run instead with a group of boy include her younger brother and two other lad . the gang have a secret clubhouse and make mischief and taunt the mentally challenged neighbor charlie ( kevin anderson ) and unfortunate son of grizzle ( leo burmester ) who abuse his unwanted son by force him to live in a barn . charlie only friend be the puppy he treasure . the destructive prank play on pathetic charlie include steal one of his pup and destroy the food garden of grizzle and pour sugar in the gas tank of grizzle john deere tractor and etc . in other word this little group of kid be cruel and their shenanigan be mean spirited . harriet find it impossible to control the behavior of carrie and quite out of keep with the 1940s family unit and carrie sass her mother viciously and in general be an unlikable brat . when bernard begin his courtship of harriet the prospect of harriet find a modicum of happiness be undermine by carrie behavior . in a particularly cruel even prank and grizzle garden be destroy and charlie be reduce to self mutilation because of the stealing of his pup and and the lowly barn in which he live be destroy by fire . grizzle and charlie survive and the effect of this final disaster on the life of harriet and her child and their emotional awakening serf to make a hanky call and end the story with an unsatisfying bump . the script by christopher fay be pedestrian and leave the film with poorly motivate character about whom it be difficult to care . penelope ann miller try her best to make the most out of harriet and but ashley rise orr render one of the least likable young girl on film . this be a black and white script without motivation . jace alexander directs and which probably explain why his mother jane alexander consent to do the tiny walk on part to give the film attention . the crew manage to make the mood of america in the post war year plausible and but the dialogue assign to the character undermine those attempt . there must be an audience for these soap opera film represent it be a shame this one couldn not have be well . grady harp .