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Where the Heart Is (2000) 6.5
Ratings:
6.5/10 from 20,433 users
Metascore: 30/100
Reviews: 228 user | 78 critic | 28 from Metacritic.com A pregnant 17-year-old rebuilds her life after being abandoned by her boyfriend at a Wal-Mart in Sequoyah, Oklahoma. Director:Matt Williams |
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Natalie Portman | ... | ||
| Ashley Judd | ... | ||
| Stockard Channing | ... | ||
| Joan Cusack | ... | ||
| James Frain | ... | ||
| Dylan Bruno | ... | ||
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Sue McCormick | ... |
Cake Supplier
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| Keith David | ... | ||
| Ray Prewitt | ... | ||
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Laura House | ... | |
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Karey Green | ... | |
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Mary Ashleigh Green | ... |
Girl in Bathroom
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| Kinna McInroe | ... | ||
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Laura Auldridge | ... | |
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Alicia Godwin | ... | |
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Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
Storyline
Novalee Nation is a pregnant 17-year-old from Tennessee heading to California with her boyfriend Willie Jack, but is abandoned by him at a Wal-Mart store in Sequoyah, Oklahoma. Novalee has no job, no skills and only $5.55 in her pocket, so she secretly lives in the Wal-Mart until her daughter Americus is born six weeks later. Novalee decides to raise her daughter and rebuild her life in Sequoyah, with the help of eccentric but kind strangers. Based on the best-selling novel by Billie Letts. Written by Stephen Hughes
Taglines:
Discover where the emotion is...the friendship is...and the laughter is... See more »Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
Rated PG-13 for intense thematic material, language and sexual content | See all certifications »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
28 April 2000 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
A Voz do Coração See more »Box Office
Budget:
$15,000,000 (estimated)Opening Weekend:
$8,292,939 (USA) (28 April 2000)Gross:
$33,771,174 (USA) (1 September 2000)Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Dolby DigitalColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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Written by Ann Roboff (as Annie Roboff) and Beth Nielsen Chapman
Performed by Beth Nielsen Chapman
Produced by Ann Roboff (as Annie Roboff) and Beth Nielsen Chapman
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Contains Natalie Portman's first on-screen love scene. See more »Goofs
When Novalee goes into the ladies' room at the library, when she realizes she's not pregnant, her hairstyle changes from a flip when she enters to a straight style when she leaves the bathroom. See more »Quotes
Lexie Coop: This old gypsy woman once told me that if you jump backwards nine times before the sun come up you won't be pregnant. Well, I jumped so far I had to take a bus back and then I had twins.See more »
Soundtracks
"Shake My Soul"Written by Ann Roboff (as Annie Roboff) and Beth Nielsen Chapman
Performed by Beth Nielsen Chapman
Produced by Ann Roboff (as Annie Roboff) and Beth Nielsen Chapman
See more »
For the first 1:15 or so, I was really enjoying this sweet and funny movie about a young girl (Novalee, played by Natalie Portman) dealing with being pregnant and unmarried, who is abandoned by her boyfriend (Dylan Bruno) and takes up residence (unknown to anyone) in a local Wal-Mart. After giving birth to the baby in the store, she is swindled and abandoned by her mother (Sally Field) but survives and flourishes thanks to the kindness of some rather eccentric strangers.
So far, so good. Very enjoyable. But the last 45 minutes or so really unravelled rather quickly. I questioned the need to continually bring us back to Willie Jack's (the baby's father) attempts to get a singing career going. None of his scenes really served to advance the plot in any way, and quite frankly, the guy was a loser who abandoned his pregnant girlfriend. I didn't care what happened to him - even though some of what happened was poetic justice - and the movie could have been shortened by 20 or 30 minutes
- without losing a thing - if all his scenes had been simply cut. I also
felt that it was totally unnecessary to include (albeit - thankfully - only for a few minutes) a theme about child molestation. Where did that come from and why? It made a relatively enjoyable movie very heavy, and it was a heaviness that - for me at least - never really disappeared. The end of the movie (revolving around the relationship between Novalee and Forney (James Frain) was also telegraphed quite early on.Having made those criticisms, the real highlight of the movie for me was Natalie Portman as Novalee. I wasn't familiar with this young actress until now, but she was marvellously cast as the sweet, innocent, naive young Novalee, and then showed a wonderful capacity to show her character evolve into a mature and independent young woman. (I have to say that, while the movie seemed to be trying to say she was a great mother, she seemed to spend a lot of time away from little Americus, but that's a minor point.) Portman was excellent, and I will look forward to seeing her again.
This rates a 6/10. Would have been higher, except for the weak second half.