Anywhere But Here (1999)

A mother and daughter search for success in Beverly Hills.

Director:

Wayne Wang

Writers:

Mona Simpson (book), Alvin Sargent (screenplay)

Stars:

Susan Sarandon, Natalie Portman, Hart Bochner

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Susan Sarandon	...	Adele August
Natalie Portman	...	Ann August
Hart Bochner	...	Josh Spritzer
Eileen Ryan	...	Lillian
Ray Baker	...	Ted
John Diehl	...	Jimmy
Shawn Hatosy	...	Benny
Bonnie Bedelia	...	Carol
Faran Tahir	...	Hisham Badir
Shishir Kurup	...	Hisham Badir (voice)
Samantha Goldstein	...	4 Year Old Ann
Scott Burkholder	...	Man with Mercedes
Yvonna Kopacz Wright	...	Assistant Hotel Manager (as Yvonna Kopacz)
Eva Amurri Martino	...	Girl on T.V. (as Eva Amurri)
Kieren van den Blink	...	Girl on T.V.

Storyline

Fed up with her small-town Bay City existence, Adele August leaves her family and second husband and heads for Beverley Hills with her daughter. The teenager resents the move and her mother's always flamboyant behaviour and in turns plans to get away to university on the east coast. Mum's plans are different - she wants a movie star for a daughter.

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Plot Keywords:

friendship | beverly hills california | family relationships | los angeles california | audition | 

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Taglines:

A story of a mother who knows best... and a daughter who knows better.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sex-related material

Details

Official Sites:

Fox

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 November 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cambio de vida

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills High School - 241 Moreno Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$23,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£64,964 (UK) (3 December 1999)

Gross:

$18,653,615 (USA) (18 February 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox 2000 Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In this film, Susan Sarandon calls Natalie Portman Pooh Bear. In Beautiful Girls, Timothy Hutton calls himself Pooh Bear and calls Portman his Christopher Robin.

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Goofs

At the end of the movie, when saying goodbye at the airport, we can see a mother with her baby at the background who walks out the scene in the middle of the conversation between Adele and Ann. Some seconds later she is again in the same point. It occurs between 1:42 and 1:43 time of the film.

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Quotes

Peter: I wrote some songs! You want to hear one?
Ann: Not now, Peter.
Peter: You want to feel my pulse? It's beating really fast.

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Connections

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Amity"
Written and Performed by Carly Simon and Sally Taylor
Produced by Don Was

User Reviews

Good movie takes you on journey of discovery for a mother and daughter...

This film was a new direction for Natalie Portman. A much more adult role, though she comes to it from the traces of a child in the movie itself. Ann,(Portman) and Susan Sarandon, who plays her newly divorced mother, Adele, travel from a small town in the middle of nowhere to Beverly Hills. There these tortured souls try to come to terms with their new life and their new relationship as Portman's character grows up. Unknowingly at first to Adele, she grows up and becomes a better mother for it.

Ann sees her mother telling her she wants to be an actress, or so she thinks. Adele uses that crutch every time there are problems in their lives. We see their struggle as mother and daughter come to terms between themselves and with being alone, having left their old lives behind.

The acting is top notch from both of them. They seemingly become mother and daughter before your eyes. You can almost feel there is a bond there beyond the actual movie.

Though this movie really doesn't take us to any new ground in these types of films, the fact that the acting is well done, and the story isn't too flawed, let's me recommend it.

I will say however, it will probably go away soon, I don't believe it can have the staying power needed for a huge Christmas season of movies starting in a week or so. See it now before this happens if you like either of these actresses.