IMDb > The Cider House Rules (1999)
The Cider House Rules
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The Cider House Rules (1999) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.4/10   36,345 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?

Down 9% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Director:

Lasse Hallström

Writers (WGA):

John Irving (novel)
John Irving (screenplay)

Contact:

View company contact information for The Cider House Rules on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

13 January 2000 (Australia) more

Genre:

Drama | Romance more

Tagline:

A story about how far we must travel to find the place where we belong.

Plot:

A compassionate young man, raised in an orphanage and trained to be a doctor there, decides to leave to see the world. full summary | add synopsis

Plot Keywords:

more

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 28 nominations more

NewsDesk:
(72 articles)

Caine: 'I won't win another Oscar'
 (From digitalspy. 12 November 2009, 12:49 AM, PST)

Oscar Award Winner Michael Caine Doesn't Think He's Good Enough To Win Again
 (From iCelebz. 10 November 2009, 10:58 PM, PST)

User Comments:

Caine's Rules more (378 total)


Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Tobey Maguire ... Homer Wells

Charlize Theron ... Candy Kendall

Delroy Lindo ... Arthur Rose

Paul Rudd ... Lt. Wally Worthington

Michael Caine ... Dr. Wilbur Larch

Jane Alexander ... Nurse Edna

Kathy Baker ... Nurse Angela

Erykah Badu ... Rose Rose

Kieran Culkin ... Buster

Kate Nelligan ... Olive Worthington

Heavy D ... Peaches
K. Todd Freeman ... Muddy

Paz de la Huerta ... Mary Agnes

J.K. Simmons ... Ray Kendall

Evan Parke ... Jack (as Evan Dexter Parke)
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements, sexuality, nudity, substance abuse and some violence.

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1 more

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Company:

FilmColony more


Fun Stuff

Trivia:

Cameo: [Colin Irving]Son of author John Irving plays Major Winslow, who delivers the news about Wally. more

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: As the train pulls up to the station at the beginning of the film the clang of the bell on the train corresponds to the engineer pulling the lanyard to swing the bell except for the last clang, the lanyard is not pulled. more

Quotes:

Homer Wells: They wanted a girl, Curly.
Curly: Nobody ever wants me.
Homer Wells: Oh, hey. Hey, come on. Come here. You know, you're one of the best, Curly, and we wouldn't let just anyone take you.
Curly: Dr. Larch wouldn't let just anyone take *any* of us.
Homer Wells: Well, that's true.
Curly: Nobody's asked for me, have they?
Homer Wells: Nobody special enough, Curly.
Curly: You mean somebody has?
Homer Wells: Only the right people can have you. Now what do you say we go unpack your suitcase?
more

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Frame on the Wall: The Making of 'The Door in the Floor' (2004) (V) more

Soundtrack:

All I Want Is Just One Girl more


FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
15 out of 17 people found the following comment useful.
Caine's Rules, 13 March 2000
Author: Steve Baker (s.baker@iig.com.au) from Cairns Australia

The Cider House Rules is a folksy tale about a boy from an orphanage and his coming of age. He's been trained to deliver babies at the orphanage by the benevolent Dr. Wilbur Larch (Michael Caine).

Notably this boy's passage into manhood necessitates him accepting the responsibility of also performing illegal abortions! Now there's a twist. John Irving, also wrote the books The World According To Garp and The Hotel New Hampshiire, made into films of the same name, as well as A Prayer For Owen Meany which was made into the puzzling Simon Birch, a film Irving vigourously disowns. Irving subsequently, in the case of Cider House, has also written the screenplay.

The actual cider house rules are a minor element of a rambling film that is full of such minor events.They are a non-consequential, ignored set of laws meant to govern the behaviour of the workers who bunk in the cider house on an apple farm.

But life's like that, or so John Irving and his film would have you believe. It's just that usually films concentrate a little more on life's more tumultuous moments.

Young Homer Wells (our budding unlicensed doctor) is played delightfully by Tobey Maguire (Pleasantville)with a sweet smile and sleepy eyes. Those of you who prefer your actors to be more dynamic might find Maguire to be too even, but in this film his style was just the ticket.

He's one of the boys who were never chosen to be adopted at the orphanage. There are some touching scenes centred around the children in particular not being selected, hovering with their bags packed.

Homer sets off to see the world with new friends Candy (Charlize Theron) and Wally (Paul Rudd). They had attended the orphanage for an abortion.

Homer sees the sea for the first time. He learns how to pick apples and to get on with his work mates. He has a romance. And he learns how to accept responsibility for his and other's actions away from the shelter of the orphanage. And that's about it. And that's just enough.

The mood of the film accentuates a dreamy continuance; years and seasons merge. Life goes on. The apples grow. Relationships develop. The scenery is beautiful. The black labourers accept their lot.

This is life (and death) seen from the personal; a snapshot of middle, rural America; a land where you're meant to just get on with it and accept your lot.

The Cider House Rules is sensitively directed and written with an emphasis on people caring for each other. It's a bit of a weepy. Even villains are given their good sides.

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