Waking Up Wally The Walter Gretzky Story

Product Description An inspiring true story about the world's most famous hockey Dad. Based on the book Walter Gretzky: On Family, Hockey and Healing written by the world's most famous hockey dad (Walter Gretzky) recounting his recovery from a stroke which left him without any memory of his son Wayne's hockey achievements or the influence he had on him in becoming a hockey legend. Amazon.com This inspiring and powerful story is based on the book Walter Gretzky: On Family, Hockey and Healing, a memoir about Gretzky's long, long road back from a stroke that caused him, among other things, to lose all memory of son Wayne Gretzky's superior accomplishments in hockey. The relationship between Walter (Tom McCamus) and Wayne (Kristen Holden-Reid) is no more or less important in this film, however, than Walter's jeopardized connections with other family members, including his daughter, Kim (Tara Spencer-Nairn), and wife, Phyllis (Victoria Snow). Walter spends a year in rehabilitation re-learning the basics--how to button a shirt, how to comb one's hair, etc.--but it's after that the selectiveness of his memory proves confounding and cruel, such as grieving anew the death of his mother and struggling to recall his influence on Wayne. A therapist (Matthew Edison) who practically becomes a member of the Gretzky family turns out to be a big help (and a romantic interest for Kim). But it's McCamus' amazing performance as a man who has lost large pieces of himself, and Snow's portrayal of a spouse who no longer recognizes the man in her bed, that carry Waking Up Wally emotionally. --Tom Keogh