Anywhere but Here

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2:26

Anywhere but Here

PG-13

1999

1h 54m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

65%

Tomatometer

85 Reviews

55%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

In this adaptation of the Mona Simpson novel, single mother Adele August (Susan Sarandon) is bad with money, and even worse when it comes to making decisions. Her straight-laced daughter, Ann (Natalie Portman), is a successful high school student with Ivy League aspirations. When Adele decides to pack up and move the two of them from the Midwest to Beverly Hills, Calif., to pursue her dreams of Hollywood success, Ann grows frustrated with her mother's irresponsible and impulsive ways.

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Critics Consensus

The strong chemistry between Susan Sarandon and Natalie Portman as a mother and daughter trying to make a fresh start in L.A. helps to elevate Anywhere But Here above its occasional forays into melodrama.

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Dec 22, 2010

3/5

Solid story of independence for teens.

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Geoff Andrew

Time Out

Jun 24, 2006

Portman is excellent, balancing wisdom and petulance, loyalty and imposition...

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Emanuel Levy

Variety

Jan 2, 2006

3/5

As a depiction of a loving-turbulent relationship between a single mom (Susan Sarandon) and her rebellious teenage daughter (Natalie Portman), Wang's meller is nicely crafted but old-fashioned like Hollywood's weepies of yesteryear.

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Chuck Klosterman

Akron Beacon Journal

Oct 30, 2023

2/4

By the end of Anywhere But Here, everything has worked out perfectly (and predictably), but that perfection seems implausible and almost disappointing.

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Laura Clifford

Reeling Reviews

Apr 9, 2005

B-

Director Wayne Wang has delivered a solid entertainment, particularly for women, with Anywhere But Here.

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Courtney M

@Corey.am Mar 14, 2026

I don't understand the low score. I really enjoy this film. It is definitely one of my comfort movies. I watched it as a teen and loved it. I have just rewatched it again in adulthood and it still holds up. As a mother myself now, I can see so many different aspects of the film I didn't spot in my youth. I enjoyed this look into the relationship between this mother and daughter duo. Susan Sarandon and Natalie Portman give great performances. I highly recommend giving it a watch.

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Nov 13, 2024

emotionally heartfelt and wonderfully acted even 25 years later Sarandon and Portman have terrific chemistry and really know how to emote when they do it's a very strong story of a mother learning to let go of her daughter, something that we all must face at some point in our lives letting go, love, honesty, adjustment, inner conflict, self-doubt and attempting to rise above the inevitable ties into the plot dramatically well it's also a real tear jerker, too

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Ęxçëşș M

@ExcessMale Oct 27, 2022

Worth seeing once just for the constant zing drummed up by Sarandon and Portman.

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david f

@dfulmer Aug 10, 2021

I only watched this DVD cause it came packaged with another movie that I really wanted. But it was pretty good, with a solid, literate story and characters. It focused on women, which is rare enough in Hollywood, and on a mother daughter relationship strained by both poverty and eccentricity. It deserves an audience, I think. (It also had some late-nineties scenes in a Borders Books and Music that was an important time capsule for those of us who fondly remember that bookstore chain.)

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Jan 19, 2021

A movie that is engaging and realistic. Hard to watch without shedding a tear.

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steve d

@RT35616104 Jul 3, 2020

The story is good enough but it is the chemistry between the actors that makes it work.

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Wayne Wang

Director

Susan Sarandon

Adele August

Natalie Portman

Ann August

Eileen Ryan

Lillian

Ray Baker

Ted

John Diehl

Jimmy

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Anywhere but Here: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

In this adaptation of the Mona Simpson novel, single mother Adele August (Susan Sarandon) is bad with money, and even worse when it comes to making decisions. Her straight-laced daughter, Ann (Natalie Portman), is a successful high school student with Ivy League aspirations. When Adele decides to pack up and move the two of them from the Midwest to Beverly Hills, Calif., to pursue her dreams of Hollywood success, Ann grows frustrated with her mother's irresponsible and impulsive ways.

Director: Wayne Wang
Producer: Laurence Mark
Screenwriter: Mona Simpson, Alvin Sargent
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: 20th Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 12, 1999, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $18.7M
Runtime: 1h 54m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby Digital

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