Hope Floats (1998)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Forest Whitaker

Writer (WGA):

Steven Rogers (written by)

Release Date:

29 May 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Cat | Moving In | Embarrassment | Cheerleading | Extramarital Affair

Awards:

3 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

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

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements.

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

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)

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: When Birdee first visits her father at the retirement home.

Quotes:

Birdee Pruitt: Childhood is what you spend the rest of your life trying to overcome.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "HBO First Look: Hope Floats (#5.6)" (1998)

Soundtrack:

Chances Are

Exquisite smarm

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 . ..