Tuesdays With Morrie

By James Poniewozik

For NBC's snarky Will & Grace, the book of heartfelt life lessons from dying professor Morrie Schwartz (Jack Lemmon) to his ex-student, sportswriter Mitch Albom (Hank Azaria), has become phenomenon enough to merit a punch line (a wealthy client fires Will, blithely telling him to read Albom's book and appreciate all he still has). But for the unironic masses who've kept this memento Morrie a best seller for more than 100 weeks, ABC has needlepointed an Oprah Winfrey Presents telepic that's as earnest as life is short. However worthy the book, its carpe diem aphorisms don't translate well to a film that deploys every tear-jerking stratagem short of a poke in the eye.

--By James Poniewozik