Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Alfre Woodard | ... | Juanita | |
Bonnie Johnson | ... | Ms. Berman | |
Jordan Nia Elizabeth | ... | Bertie | |
Acorye' White | ... | Rashawn | |
Blair Underwood | ... | Blair Underwood | |
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Michael Jones Sr. | ... | Man on Bus Bench |
Marcus Henderson | ... | Randy | |
LaTanya Richardson Jackson | ... | Kay-Rita | |
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Anthony Matheson | ... | Conga Drummer |
Katie Killacky | ... | Ticket Seller | |
Taborah Johnson | ... | Passenger | |
Brian K. Landis | ... | Bus Driver | |
Ashlie Atkinson | ... | Peaches | |
Lindsley Register | ... | Candice | |
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Donald 'Spec' Campen Jr. | ... | Old Guy (as Donald 'Spec' Campen) |
Fed up with her life, Juanita leaves her grown kids behind and hits the road in search of a fresh start.
Juanita (Alfre Woodward) is stuck in a rut: her grown-up kids are serious wasters and her husband is long gone, leaving just her imagination and the elderly patients she nurses for company. When one patient dies, she takes the decision to change her life completely by buying a one way Greyhound ticket to nowhere - well nowhere she's ever actually heard of anyway. She finally lands in a hamlet called Paper Moon and is instantly pressed into service cooking for a Native American at his struggling and theoretically French restaurant.
This story perhaps works better as a novel. The pace is slow and the plot holds few surprises. As another reviewer says here, the movie lacks oomph. Everything is competent - nothing is special. At times it's quite funny and at times uplifting, but never exactly exciting. 6/10