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Hope Floats (1998)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
29 May 1998 (USA) moreTagline:
When life fell apart, love fell into place.Plot:
A woman who comes back to her home town in Smithville Texas with her daughter after a very sloppy and painful divorce has to deal with the people in her town. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
3 wins & 7 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(10 articles)
Some Soundtracks Survive Movie Flops (From Studio Briefing. 20 July 1998)
Armageddon Hits No.1 At Record Stores (From Studio Briefing. 9 July 1998)
User Comments:
Exquisite smarm moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Sandra Bullock | ... | Birdee Pruitt | |
| Harry Connick Jr. | ... | Justin Matisse | |
| Gena Rowlands | ... | Ramona Calvert | |
| Mae Whitman | ... | Bernice Pruitt | |
| Michael Paré | ... | Bill Pruitt | |
| Cameron Finley | ... | Travis | |
| Kathy Najimy | ... | Toni Post | |
| Bill Cobbs | ... | Nurse | |
| Connie Ray | ... | Bobbi-Claire | |
| Mona Lee Fultz | ... | Teacher | |
| Sydney Berry | ... | Orange Julia | |
| Rachel Snow | ... | Big Dolores (as Rachel Lena Snow) | |
| Christina Stojanovich | ... | Kristen | |
| Alissa Alban | ... | Debbie Reissen (as Allisa Alban) | |
| Dee Hennigan | ... | Dot |
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Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements.Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
114 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Dolby DigitalCertification:
Iceland:L | USA:PG-13 (certificate #35821) | New Zealand:M | South Korea:12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Canada:PG (Canadian Home Video rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-8 | France:U | Germany:6 (w) | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud)MOVIEmeter: 
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Boom mic visible: When Birdee first visits her father at the retirement home. moreSoundtrack:
Chances Are moreFAQ
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Lensed by the great Caleb Deschanel, this buttery tale of love lost and hope found actually manages to rise above the excesses of its emotionally bombastic script. This is a weeper and the dirty tricks of the trade are apparent in all its manipulative confrontation, revelation and redemption scenes. Sweet like ice cream and sickening like a chocolate overdose, HOPE FLOATS is a delicious exercise in viewer survival.
The sun-dappled cinematography, though reliant on soft-focus, is beautiful like Romantic American oils. Shot in gorgeous earth tones, HOPE FLOATS is a stunning series of postcards, the better onto which graft the sickness of relationship disfunctions. The painterly still shot of the main character taking a photograph through a window still haunts me, as does the magnificent late sequence drenched in rain.
Thankfully for the viewer, the manichean script is brought to life with a breezy confidence by Forest Whitaker. This assured artist has worked with the likes of Jim Jarmush and Clint Eastwood, and it shows in his cool camera work and straightforward approach to material that is little better than the "reality talk shows" it twice decries. Himself an actor, the director pulled bravura performances out of his main cast.
For the real star of this show is the acting: from Harry Connick Jr's solid performance to the great Gena Rowlands spot-on delivery, it's all good. Mae Whitman devastates in her "money shot" and even the bit parts are interesting to watch. But with a glance, a crooked smile and a much improved body language, it is star Sandra Bullock who proves the real gem in a movie that sparkles with all the pretension of a jewellery store. The underplayed, devastating opening scene is worth a dozen scenery-chewing showpieces - and then some.
There is quite a bit of emotional baggage borrowed in PRACTICAL MAGIC here, but the underpinnings are far better. Fearless, engaged and precise, Bullock's performance is a virtuoso piece that makes watching HOPE FLOATS a real treat; I have never seen her more bold or more beautiful (even as a vamp in MISS CONGENIALITY) - she is absolutely gorgeous here.
Manipulation and honesty mixed in an effective, emotional pressure-cooker, HOPE FLOATS may just make you sick like a roller-coaster. But for anyone interested in Sandra Bullock, it is required viewing . ..