Harrison Ford, Brendan Fraser and Keri Russell star in the new melodrama Extraordinary Measures, the first film from CBS Films. Inspired by a true story, it is based on the life of John Crowley, a man determined to find a cure for his children's life threatening disease despite the risks to his family’s financial stability and other obstacles.

In the lead role as John Crowley is actor Brendan Fraser who at times looked goofy instead of serious and boy has he gained weight? Besides costarring, Harrison Ford is the executive producer on this project. It is also the first film since Return of the Jedi (1983) where Ford has not had his name first in the credits. Understandable, since he plays a supporting character as the doctor testing his theory that might help to cure Pompe, a rare genetic muscular disorder. I wasn’t familiar with this disease until I saw the film and I wish it gave a better introduction to how it works, but by the end of the film I kind of got it just not in the beginning. So, I went home and googled the disease and via a Reuters article I discovered that, “Pompe disease affects some 5,000 to 10,000 people worldwide, and often kills babies before they reach the age of 2. People with the disease are deficient in an enzyme known as acid alpha-glucosidase, which is responsible for breaking down glycogen, a form of sugar stored in muscle cells. When glycogen builds up in these cells it can cause swelling of the heart and other organs and lead to disability and death.”

The best part of the story is rooting for a cure to this horrible disease and seeing the process and money involved in doing clinical research. Although inspiring, at times the film felt like a Lifetime television movie rather than a theatrical film. Lucky for me, I like those dramatic Lifetime specials and enjoyed this story, however, it’s not one you necessarily have to see in theaters. I was also expecting the film to be a bigger tearjerker than it was and although it was definitely sentimental, it wasn’t unnecessarily so. Thus, my eyes were misty, but thankfully I was able to save my tissues.

Tara also runs When Tara Met Blog