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 3 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.

---

Plot Keywords:

teenager | teenage girl | f rated | bikini | nubile woman | 

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sex-related material

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 November 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cambio de vida

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$23,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,607,137, 14 November 1999, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$18,653,615, 20 February 2000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox 2000 Pictures,Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Hart Bochner and Bonnie Bedelia previously starred together in Die Hard (1988).

---

Goofs

In the scene where Adele wakes up Ann to go see the sun rise, they are looking West out on the Pacific Ocean, but the sun would be rising in the East, not the West. To view anything in that direction, they would be watching the sun set.

---

Quotes

Adele: When you were four years old your father left you in the middle of the night!
Ann: So what! You left my stepfather in the middle of the afternoon.

---

Connections

References Clueless (1995)

---

Soundtracks

Free
Written and Performed by Marie Wilson
Produced by Joe Hardy
Marie Wilson appears courtesy of Warner Music Australia

User Reviews

fine pairing; discreet directing

Susan Sarandon has amply shown that she is capable of turning her hand to most kinds of rôles and is especially adept at teaming up with youngsters. This is no less so in this film with the prodigious Natalie Portman: the two keep the film interesting when almost everything else is a rather blasé prêt-a-porté production, mostly due to Wayne Wang's rather uninspired directing, as well as a music score that has very little to do with the proceedings and did nothing to fill in any stop-gaps.

The film is saved precisely by the Sarandon-Portman tandem providing an energetic display of a mother, divorced, skidding along frenetically almost hysterically, and her adolescent daughter trying to keep her young head on her shoulders and pointing in the right direction. The result is an interesting clash of personalities, veering from the dramatic to the humorous in a style which is not far from being a `road-movie'. Indeed, frequently, reminiscences of `Thelma and Louis' come to mind as the film unfurls, though `Anywhere but Here' is several rungs lower down on the ladder.

Even so, my vote is slightly higher than the IMDb average. Hopefully we shall be able to enjoy a true drama with these two ladies in the future, but with a more exiguous director – Stephen Daldry, perhaps?