It's hard to say who's more amazing — Bill Porter or the man who plays him in the TV movie "Door to Door."
The telefilm, which premieres Sunday, July 14, at 6, 8 and 10 p.m. on TNT, features an astounding performance by William H. Macy as Porter, the man born with cerebral palsy who overcame his challenges to become a successful door-to-door salesman.
Macy (who co-wrote the script with director Stephen Schachter) does in the movie what Porter did in life. Upon meeting Porter, it was difficult to see past his cerebral palsy. Upon seeing Macy as Porter, it's difficult to see past the makeup that sticks out his ears, the limp in his gait and the labored speech.
For about 30 seconds, that is.
Macy pulls off what might seem a nearly impossible task: making viewers accept him in the role almost instantly.
And it's a movie that's quietly inspiring, much in the same way that Porter's mother (British actress Helen Mirren, who is also wonderful) inspired him to not let his cerebral palsy be a handicap.
"Door to Door" doesn't make too much of Porter's accomplishments. More than four decades of his life unfold in vignettes, revealing a relatively simple guy who lived a life that is extraordinary in its normality.
In a letter to TV critics, Porter said, "I think it's just a great movie about a guy who loves to sell!"
There are no action scenes — it's mostly quiet moments in the life of a man who made people forget his challenges. Who became a part of their lives. Who became their friend.
That plays out in a series of stories about Bill and his customers that evolve over the years. There's Gladys (Kathy Baker), the lonely woman to whom he made his first sale and who becomes one of his best customers. The bickering neighbors whose feud is resolved — with Bill's help — in a most unexpected way. The gay couple to whom Bill counsels patience and forgiveness.
And the young woman, Shelly Brady (Kyra Sedgwick), whom he hires to help conduct his business but who becomes his friend and surrogate family. (Brady wrote the book, "Ten Things I Learned from Bill Porter.")
"When I finally got to see the movie with my good friend Shelly Brady," Porter wrote, "we both laughed and cried."
So will you.
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com