Anywhere But Here
|
List Price: Our Price: $4.60 You Save: $5.38 (54%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $2.28 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of Anywhere But Here
Movie Review: TEETERS ON THE BRINK OF WARM-FUZZ BUT HAS ITS MOMENTS
Summary: 3 Stars
Call me a sucker for soft squishy comedies but I had a good time watching this mom-daughter relationship yarn. It's every bit a chick-flick, simmering with pretty much every emotional relish that makes movies like it so dreary -- tears, hugs, generation-gap misunderstandings, emotional quibbles, boyfriends that never were but mom suspected, plus that very inevitable radio scene where the big chick/small chick croon along on a triumphant life-affirming note.
All this comes with one little twist though. The "We didn't come to Beverly Hills to struggle" mommie dearest here is the starry-eyed one. She hitches their wagon to LA and thrusts audition advertisements in the "Why can't we just be normal" daughter's face. The idea is to make the daughter a star, while the poor little one is perplexed with her mom's type-A complex.
Thankfully, most of it is handled with grace and just the right dash of fun moments to make it eminently watchable. The leads are great, especially Natalie Portman in her understated role, certainly a pleasant surprise when I think of her recent 'Closer' jig. Sarandon carries just the right kind of quirks to be a cheery if somewhat absurd mom.
Decent rental.
Movie Review: Not that bad!
Summary: 3 Stars
From the director who brought us The Joy Luck Club (Wayne Wang) comes another film about a mother-daughter relationship. Anywhere But Here stars Susan Sarandon as Adele August and Natalie Portman (fresh from Star Wars The Phantom Menace) as the daughter Ann.
Adele is frustrated by the small town life in Bay City, Wisconsin and escapes to Beverly Hills, California, in a second-hand Mercedes accompanied by her very unwilling and pensive daughter. Ann does not want to leave her family and friends behind, and can barely stand her mother, who is flaky, irresponsible and crass, although she means well.
Both mother and daughter tries to start a new life in California - finding a place to stay, going to school, finding a job, getting involved with men (willingly and unwillingly). Along the way, they find themselves in a love-hate relationship with each other and gradually realise they need each other even though they find each other frustrating.
I think this film has a number of good points and well crafted scenes, but overall I found it a bit slow. Certainly it did not grab my attention and focus as The Joy Luck Club, but still this is worth watching.
Movie Review: JUST PLAIN OL' GOOD MOVIE
Summary: 3 Stars
I like this movie a lot. However, I just don't get the point of the Mothers character. Yeah, she's a free-spirit with quirky tendencies, but they never really get to any point with why she acts like that, or if anything exciting will happen to her. For a moment I thought she was suffering depression in the scene where she just decides to vacuum rather than join her daughter (Portman) to a Christmas party. Besides that its a good movie. Lots of different scenes, which I like in all movies. Natalie Portman is a terrific actress and I will continue to collect all her great films like Beautiful Girls and Where The Heart Is.Movie Review: Whole Less than Sum of Stars
Summary: 3 Stars
Part of my wife's birthday celebration involved watching old "bad" movies on DVD. We bought this one in WalMart for less than $6. It was my favorite of the two as I've always liked Susan Sarandon, and have adopted Natalie Portman as a new favorite after seeing Garden State. The two play a typical mismatched mother-daughter pair--Susan ostentatious and Natalie reserved, as they live and learn in California after Susan decides that their small-town life in Michigan just won't be enough. Both actresses do a nice job, but the story's a little too pat for this to be a good movie.Movie Review: Like a tumblin' tumbleweed...
Summary: 3 Stars
Yet another mother-daughter road movie in the vein of Tumbleweeds! Why are they always driving through the Nevada desert on their way to California? Don't single moms ever drive through, say, New England, or maybe the Skyline Drive in Virginia? Or how about Oregon and Washington State? In any case, this episodic film maintains your interest well enough.