This is a wonderful movie on so many levels. Bob Hoskins is phenomenal as Jack, a man who has lost his job and lost his wife, squandered his relationship with his son. He is drinking all day, neglecting his cherished messenger pigeons, and being sneered at by the neighborhood delinquents. In steps Florrie--an 8 year old girl who has moved in next door. She is naturally curious and fearless, and she not only befriends Jack, she tells him that he smells and that his house is a disaster, and she actually wakes him up and he gets himself together. So much so that Florrie's mom has him babysit for her. His across the street neighbor notices the bear is out of hibernation and she starts cooking for him. He starts to talk to one of the boys who sits on the street drinking all day, and offers him something to do--he gets him involved with the pigeons, and he gets him a decent job. Suddenly Jack is a player. even his son is talking to him again.
Well, that all starts to crumble. The neighbors in his lower middle class neighborhood think he has ulterior motives befriending children. Turns out his friend Stephanie used to be Stephen. The cops come around when Florrie goes missing and he is the center of a neighborhood witch hunt--which soon gets turned around, and he manages to end up all right. His young friend tells him never mind her past, Stephanie is a good person, and he'd be a fool to walk away from her--which he decides is very good advice. Everyone in his sphere ends up better off, and it is a good tale of what people who are retired can do for their communities, and what some of the barriers might be to getting it done.
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