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Have you ever had a baby while living inside a Wal-Mart? No? Me neither. First I'm not a woman, so having a baby would be pretty difficult and weird. Second, why not have it in a more upscale place like Nordstrom. Well anyway, none of that matters when it comes to the review of Where the Heart Is, directed by Matt Williams (I don't think it is the baseball player with the same name). The movie stars Natalie Portman (from Star Wars: Episode I) as a pregnant 17 year-old heading to California from Tennessee with her sleazy boyfriend Willy Jack Pickens (Dylan Bruno, Saving Private Ryan). Well when they stop in Sequoyah, Oklahoma at a Wal-Mart for Portman's character Novalee Nation, the boyfriend ditches her. With little money and no friends or family in town, Novalee gets locked in at the Wal-Mart the first night on accident. But after that she lives there until giving birth to a baby girl. Novalee then becomes a celebrity, moves in with a strange old lady named Sister Husband (Stockard Channing, Practical Magic), and gets a job at the local Wal-Mart. Plus she meets this bright but socially inept guy named Forney (James Frain, Elizabeth) who works at the library, and also helps to deliver the baby. While this is going on, the old boyfriend gets arrested, spends time in jail, and then becomes a country singer. Then even later in the movie he falls on hard luck again. While this happens, Novalee and baby have cycles of good and bad luck ranging from a tornado destroying the trailer to having the insurance money pay to build a new house. From having her baby kidnapped to learning photography from Moses Whitecotten (Keith David, Pitch Black) that leads to an award. But through all of this is Forney. Other actors and actresses in this film are Sally Field as Novalee's mom (a very brief appearance), Karey Green, Ray Prewitt, Alicia Godwin, Ashley Judd, Dennis Letts, and Richard Jones as Mr. Sprock (a lot like Mr. Spock but no R or pointed ears). Overall I liked the film, but a couple of items bugged me. First I hate superstitions and the whole thing about bad luck revolving around fives was a bit unbelievable. Second, I think they (the screenwriter Lowell Ganz and the novelist Billie Letts, whomever did it) were a bit harsh on the first boyfriend. So subtracting those things gives Where the Heart Is six couches for the About-Movies.com rating. Oh ya, and there is no nudity. Aloha. Last updated: Thursday, March 20, 2008 02:49:47 AM |
