Grand Guignol-on- trailer-wheels horror show.
Where the Heart Is (2000)
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Reviews Counted:94
Fresh:33
Rotten:61
Average Rating:4.7/10
Consensus: Poor script and messy plot undermines the decent cast.
Runtime: 2 hrs 10 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis:
A bathroom stop en route, at an Oklahoma Wal-Mart, changes Novalee's life forever. For when she leaves the store, she discovers that Willy Jack and the Plymouth are gone. Only her Polaroid camera...
A bathroom stop en route, at an Oklahoma Wal-Mart, changes Novalee's life forever. For when she leaves the store, she discovers that Willy Jack and the Plymouth are gone. Only her Polaroid camera remains in the parking space.
Alone and broke, Novalee surreptitiously moves into the vast store, borrowing food and supplies from its shelves. When she gives birth on the floor - and her hideaway is revealed - Novalee and her "Wal-Mart Baby" become instant celebrities. More importantly, over the next few years, Novalee finally becomes part of an unconventional, makeshift family comprised of her wonderfully eccentric new friends.
Now, with the family she always wanted, Novalee is transformed from a homeless teen to a successful and strong woman. She has finally found a home in this small town where fate has dropped her. -- © 20th Century Fox
Starring: Natalie Portman, Ashley Judd, Stockard Channing, Joan Cusack
Starring: Natalie Portman, Ashley Judd, Stockard Channing, Joan Cusack, Sally Field, James Frain, Dylan Bruno, Keith David, Mackenzie Fitzgerald
Director: Matt Williams
Director: Matt Williams
Screenwriter: Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel
Producer: Patricia Whitcher, Matt Williams, Susan Cartsonis, David McFadzean
Composer: Mason Daring
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Reviews for Where the Heart Is
The film worked for me. I think this is primarily because of the interesting characters and how they are brought to life by strong acting performances.
I enjoyed much of it based solely on the excellent performances put forth by five great actresses.
The director, Matt Williams, does little to keep the audience from jumping ahead of the script.
Aspires to be funny, poignant and inspirational, but real emotion seldom penetrates its sticky sugar coating.
It's too bad [Portman and Frain's] contributions, and those of many others, drown in a big glop of treacle.
Though Natalie Portman buoys the film with her heartfelt turn as the naïve heroine Novalee Nation, this cloying portrait of personal transformation has all the impact of a TV movie -- dotted with Wal-Mart commercials.
A swamp of clichés, contrivances, and cheap ham-and-cheese hero sentimentality.
The rubric for the genre that I've come to call the 'Oprah movie': slick, well-meaning, female-empowering, and just about as exciting and suspenseful as the middle label implies.
Latest News for Where the Heart Is
March 31, 2005:
Jason Patric Proves Himself a "Walker"
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| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 15% 15% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 45% 45% | Shorts |
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