Overly concerned parents, uppity library clerks and security guards; officious social workers; vicious teenagers, malicious street thugs. Fred Ward finds life in his new school in Philadelphia to be quite difficult to adapt to, bullied by the class golden boy, then humiliated by him, and finally used by him for higher grades. He happens to meet the homeless Hume Cronyn in the library while trying to find a subject for his history class.
Cronyn ingratiates himself with Ward, giving him an honest overview of life of Benjamin Franklin, and soon, Ward is searching him out for advice and mature friendship. As he learns about Cronyn's past, he sees him in a different light, and as Christmas approaches, Cronyn faces different obstacles, but Ward finds his own humanity tested, quite a challenge for an embittered teen.
This complex drama of human nature shows Ward growing up because of the lessons he learns both on his own and from the street, including the aide Cronyn provides a homeless pregnant woman on the street. The interference of the social service agent in trying to keep Ward and Cronyn from hanging out is disturbing, and the uncaring nature of the library employees is disgusting.
There's more heart coming from the homeless community, reaching out to aide each other, while those who have a home, a family and a livelihood are mostly judgmental and heartless. Cronyn and Ward are excellent together, and you can see how Ward comes to see Cronyn as his grandfather. The film is a combination of social issue drama, strong character study and a few pathos that tug at the heart. Everybody has their story, Cronyn tells Ward, and if Ward doesn't remember anything but that, he's still come out a better person.
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