DOOR TO DOOR
Released: July 14, 2002
William H. Macy ("Fargo" and "Magnolia") stars as Bill Porter, a real person from Portland, Oregon who triumphed over the odds as a door-to-door salesman who was born with cerebral palsy. Long before the internet or telemarketers - like back in the 1950s - the door to door salesman was a very regular feature in people's lives. And more personal too. With telemarketers and the internet, you lack the genuine care you'd get from a door to door sales rep. Bill Porter, as amazingly portrayed by Macy, defies all who said he'd fail as a salesman. All the people he encounters on a daily basis are represented here. There's the lonely widow (Kathy Baker), his frank and caring assistant (Kyra Sedgwick) and his relentlessly supportive Mother (Helen Mirren). For a touchy subject the director handles it well without getting too syrupy with sentimental scenes. Steven Schachter, a fine TV movie director, with Macy, really hits a home run with this telling of a very positive true story. It was produced for the US TNT Network and also featured on Canadian pay-TV during the Summer of 2002 so you may have to hunt this one down. It's worth it though, for Macy's killer performance alone.
90 Minutes
TNT/Warner Bros.