TV movie worth watching

Booky’s Crush (CBC) — The latest TV movie about Bernice Thurman Hunter’s Depression era girl heroine cements my opinion about what CBC and Shaftesbury are doing with this Canadian story: I like it. The cast is top-notch, with Megan Follows ruling the roost as Booky’s mom Francy, Albert Shultz showing up as Booky’s teacher and Follows’ husband, the always solid Stuart Hughes, as dad Thomas. Rachel Marcus’ Booky is thoughtful and sweet, and her work in Booky and the Secret Santa earned the girl a Gemini nomination.  The storyline sticks to the themes of romance and passion, with a dose of Depression worries tossed in of course. While Booky has fallen for her brother Arthur’s pal Georgie, and wants to take him to the upcoming dance, older sis Willa has the hots for a young medical student and Francy and Thomas are getting romantic too. Meanwhile, Arthur and Thomas are on the outs over Arthur’s love of drawing — not a smart career path in desperate times, his dad thinks. By the end of the story, many of the characters learn a bit about compassion, along with passion, and the lesson doesn’t feel tacked on. Here’s a sigh for the good-old, bad-old days. Premiers on February 15 at 8 pm on CBC.