This low budget melodrama is surprisingly effective, portraying a truly touching relationship between a father and son and the troubles they face domestically and financially. For once, the familial drama comes not so much from stock dysfunctions (although the father and mother are divorced), but each making sacrifices for the other's well-being. Tears in the movies often come more from goodness than sadness; certainly that is the case here, where the heartwarming central relationship carries the film through a parade of peripheral cliches that sink other movies but leave this one largely untouched.