Where the Heart Is (2000)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Matt Williams

Writers (WGA):

Lowell Ganz (screenplay) &
Babaloo Mandel (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

28 April 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Laughter is harder... Friendship is stronger... Trust is deeper... When it comes from the heart.

Plot:

A pregnant 17-year-old rebuilds her life after being abandoned by her boyfriend at a Wal-Mart in Sequoyah, Oklahoma.

Plot Keywords:

Wal Mart | Oklahoma | Pregnant | Birth | Tennessee

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Dylan Bruno	...	Willy Jack Pickens
Ray Prewitt	...	Tim
Laura House	...	Nicki
Karey Green	...	Rhonda
Natalie Portman	...	Novalee Nation
Keith David	...	Moses Whitecotten
Mary Ashleigh Green	...	Girl in Bathroom
Kinna McInroe	...	Wal-Mart Clerk
Laura Auldridge	...	Wal-Mart Assistant Manager
Stockard Channing	...	Sister Husband
Alicia Godwin	...	Jolene
Dennis Letts	...	Sheriff
James Frain	...	Forney Hull
Richard Jones	...	Mr. Sprock
Kathryn Esquivel	...	Mrs. Ortiz

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense thematic material, language and sexual content.

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Denmark:A | France:U | Germany:6 (w) | Hong Kong:IIA | Mexico:B | Netherlands:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:7 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Wind Dancer Productions

Trivia:

For the scenes filmed in Wal-Mart, various pictures of Natalie Portman as Queen Amidala in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) had to be removed.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: A member of the crews' reflection appears briefly in the mirror when Novalee is shaving her legs in the bathroom at Walmart. It clearly was not Novalee's reflection; as it was the wrong angle.

Quotes:

Lexie Coop: Brownie! Brownie! Do not lasso your sister!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "ER: Where the Heart Is (#7.21)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Only You (And You Alone)

A very good date movie.

Where the Heart Is is a special kind of movie. City of Angels, Message in a Bottle, and Where the Heart Is all have that special ingredient that just grabs the viewer and holds him or her until the very last tear flows from their eye. Natalie Portman is very well cast in her role as Novalee Nation, a 20 year old pregnant woman who decides to move to California with her boyfriend. The sad thing is, when her and her boyfriend stop at a Wal-Mart in the middle of Oklahoma, he leaves her behind, and moves on without her.

The movie follows her life after she realizes that her boyfriend has left her stranded, and is not coming back. A very unique screenplay allows this movie to radiate a love for Novalee, and allows the viewers to develop a friendship with her. Lexie Coop (Ashley Judd) becomes Novalee's best friend when they meet in the hospital after Novalee has her baby. Where the Heart Is has everything it takes to be a great movie. The choice of actors is superb, and the direction is wonderful. Of course with every movie made, at least all that I have viewed, there was a few things wrong with the movie. For instance, Novalee's mother abandoned her when she was about 8 years old. Right after she gives birth to her baby, her mother shows up by her side, and quite frankly, nothing ever becomes of that scene. It's completely irrelevant. Also, there is the whole living in Wal-Mart for six weeks thing to consider. I mean can that really happen?

At any rate, by no means should these `mistakes' thwart your intention of watching this movie, it a real tearjerker, and I believe the best date movie since For Love of the Game.