Foster

Zooey (Toni Collette) and Alec Morrison (Ioan Gruffudd) - a bookstore owner/occasional children's book writer and the owner/operator of Morrison's, the family's old fashioned toy company, respectively - want to have a baby, but have been unable to conceive ever since the accident two years ago, with the doctors believing the inability to conceive being a psychosomatic problem in not being to move on from the accident. The accident also coincided with other issues emerging in their lives. Alec took over running the family business then when his father, who started the company fifty years ago from nothing, passed away, and with the changing market in the overwhelming demand for electronic toys which Morrison's cannot compete with the global corporations, the company has been facing increasing financial challenges, with Alec having mortgaged their house to the hilt without telling Zooey merely to keep the company barely above water. And despite considering the other their one true love - they who were high school sweethearts - they have lost the fun that once characterized their relationship. With the baby issue, they decide - at least Zooey does with Alec being a little more skeptical about the idea - to consider becoming foster parents when Zooey receives the pamphlet for Lange's Foster Home. Shortly after Zooey and Alec meet with Mrs. Lange (Hayley Mills) at the home and walk away being noncommittal but having filled out the application forms, Eli (Maurice Cole), a seven-year-old boy who they saw from afar at the home, shows up on their doorstep telling them that he has been sent by Mrs. Lange as their foster son, their application which has been expedited. With Mrs. Lange temporarily incapacitated, Zooey and Alec are unable to confirm if what Eli is telling them is the truth, and thus are somewhat forced to take him in. An unusual child who always wears a suit, Eli seems to be as comfortable in the world of Sesame Street as he is in the world of Fleet Street, and slowly overtakes their lives. Coinciding with Eli entering their lives is meeting time and time again Mr. Potts (Richard E. Grant), a seemingly homeless person living in Chelsea Gardens across the street from their house, and who gives clue after clue that he knows all about their lives, including the accident. It may be no accident that both Eli and Mr. Potts entered their lives at this time, they who may be able to help deal with the issues that are currently plaguing them.