The Whole Wide World (1996)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Dan Ireland

Writers:

Novalyne Price Ellis (memoir One Who Walked Alone)
Michael Scott Myers (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 December 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A true story about the true love of the greatest pulp fiction writer of all time.

Plot:

In Texas in the 1930s, young schoolteacher Novalyne Price meets a handsome, eccentric, interesting young man named Robert Howard...

Plot Keywords:

1930s | Courtship | Friendship | Writer | Texas

Awards:

6 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Robert E. 'Bob' Howard
Renée Zellweger	...	Novalyne Price
Ann Wedgeworth	...	Mrs. Howard
Harve Presnell	...	Dr. Howard
Benjamin Mouton	...	Clyde Smith
Michael Corbett	...	Mayor Booth Adams
Helen Cates	...	Enid
Marion Eaton	...	Woman on Bus
Chris Shearer	...	Truett Vinson
Leslie Berger	...	Ethel
Libby Villari	...	Etna Reed Price
Sandy Walper	...	Mammy
Dell Aldrich	...	Mrs. Hemphill (as Dell F. Aldrich)
Elizabeth D'Onofrio	...	Mrs. Smith
Antonia Bogdanovich	...	Teacher

MPAA:

Rated PG for a substantial amount of mild language and mature thematic elements.

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Iceland:L | Australia:M | Sweden:11 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Cineville

Trivia:

The infamous kiss shared between characters Robert E. Howard ('Vincent D'Onofrio (I)') and Novalyne Price (Renée Zellweger) was only shot once. The kiss shown in the movie is a cut and edited version of their single take.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Enid says that Bob Howard thinks he's "Max Schneling" when he is pretending to box. The German boxing champ's name was actually Max Schmeling.

Quotes:

Robert E. 'Bob' Howard: To make life worth living a man or woman has to have a great love or a great cause... I have neither.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Conan: The Rise of a Fantasy Legend (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

Black Stompers

Painful to Watch...

It's a good film, but it's absolutely painful to watch, as you repeatedly wish they'd put aside their insecurities and get together. The best screen kiss in recent memory is in this film and it gives you a taste of the power they would've had if they would've always stayed together, instead of straying alone. One of the most emotionally abusive films of the last year, it's more of a realistic romance instead of the perfect one featured in films such as "You've Got Mail". This and many other films serve as a reminder that most great romances are not without torturous actions from both halves.