Where the Heart Is (DVD)

Natalie Portman, Ashley Judd, Stockard Channing, James Frain, Keith David, Sally Field, Dylan Bruno, Joan Cusack There's something incontestably irresistible about Where the Heart Is – it could be it's wholesome, almost cutesy values, it could be it's stellar support cast padding, or it could simply be the capricious, almost adorable performance by former child star Natalie Portman. In essence, I think it's a little bit of all of that.

Fairytale camouflaged as comedic drama (yes there is such a thing), the film centres on flushed mother-to-be Novalee Nation (Portman), suddenly left abandoned at a rural community department store when her squalid boyfriend decides he can't face impending fatherhood. The young lass has no choice but to camp out at the store every night – and eventually someone finds her. That someone is an ascetic librarian (James Frain) thankfully playing spot the blimpish female just as poor Novalee's water breaks.

From here on in, Novalee discovers she's gained a new life in the unanticipated stopover, in turn gaining a dependable friendship, and a surrogate mother of sorts in kindly Sister Husband (Stockard Channing) - Of course - all playing a big part in helping raise her newborn child.

Director Matt Williams has bought an even-handed adaptation of Billie Letts's best selling novel to the screen. Much like the book, it's not a film for the contemptuous, but one for those who think good does eventually come to those that deserve it.

Portman is a revelation in the role. More than the human prop she plays in George Lucas's Star Wars prequels, she proves here she's got quite a range – and delivers nothing but an immersing, almost film-stealing performance as Novalee. Equally as credible in lesser roles is the versatile Ashley Judd, the unassailable Channing and Sally Field, playing against type as Novalee's biological white-trash mumma.

The DVD looks nice, sounds nice - heck it is nice. The Aspect Ratio is 1.85:1 16:9 Enhanced, and the sound a crisp Dolby Digital 5.1. Extras include a music video and the film's theatrical trailer.

Rating :

Reviewer : Clint

Cast: Natalie Portman, Ashley Judd, Stockard Channing, Joan Cusack, James Frain, Dylan Bruno, Keith David, Sally Field, Richard Jones
Director: Matt Williams
Producers: Susan Cartsonis, David McFadzean, Patricia Whitcher, Matt Williams
Screenplay: Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel, based on the novel by Billie Letts
Cinematography: Richard Greatrex
U.S. Distributor: 20th Century Fox

In Where the Heart Is, actress Natalie Portman has found another role she can inhabit with unimpeachable aplomb. Since her feature debut in 1994's The Professional, Portman has been someone to watch, and has stolen scenes from more experienced performers in the likes of Beautiful Girls and Everyone Says I Love You. As Queen Amidala in last year's The Phantom Menace, Portman became a recognizable face, but the part gave her little opportunity to show much in the way of acting. However, in Wayne Wang's heartwarming mother/daughter drama, Anywhere But Here, she shone, and, with Where the Heart Is, she picks up where she left off there, giving the best performance of an already intriguing career.

Portman isn't just the foundation upon which this film is built; she's the glue that holds it together. Working with a first-time director, Matt Williams, from a script by shlockmasters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel (based on the novel by Billie Letts), Portman keeps things moving even when they descend a little too deeply into schmaltz. Thankfully, Williams acquits himself well behind the camera, and the Ganz/Mandel team turns out their most intelligent and low-key script in years. Wedded with Portman's superlative performance, these elements elevate Where the Heart Is to the level of quality, emotionally-satisfying entertainment.

Novalee Nation (Portman) is a frightened, seven month pregnant teenager on the road from Tennessee to California with her self-centered boyfriend, Willy Jack Pickens. When the couple stops at a Wal-Mart in Oklahoma so that Novalee can take a bathroom break, Willy Jack sees his chance to get away, so he abandons her with nothing more than a Polaroid camera and $5.55 in change. Novalee, homeless and alone, begins to establish a life in the community of Sequoyah, befriending the open-hearted Sister Husband and spending time at the library, where she captures the attention of the librarian, Forney. From dusk till dawn, she hides out in Wal-Mart, carefully recording every dollar and cent that she owes the company for food, clothing, and bed materials. Then, one rainy night, she goes into labor, and, with the help of Forney (who arrives on the scene after following her), she gives birth to a healthy baby girl. When she wakes up, she's in the hospital, being cared for by a perky nurse, Lexie, who tells her that she's an instant celebrity: the mother of "the Wal-Mart baby."

Where the Heart Is is as obvious a "chick flick" as they come. All of the typical elements are in place: the strong-willed heroine dealt a bad hand by life, the abusive and selfish men, and the supportive women. However, by subduing the melodrama to a tolerable level, the filmmakers have crafted a motion picture that should appeal to members of both sexes (testosterone-crazed males, a.k.a. "macho men", excepted). Of course, men will probably only venture into this movie when prodded by their girlfriends/spouses, but, two hours later, most of them will grudgingly admit that they enjoyed the experience.

The characters, especially the leads, are well-developed. Novalee never feels like a stereotype or a caricature - a label that often is applied to individuals in movies like this. Equally three-dimensional are the primary supporting characters: the upbeat but unlucky-with-men Lexie (marvelously underplayed by Ashley Judd, who gives a strong performance but never steals the spotlight from Portman), the shy, sensitive Forney (James Frain, fresh from Reindeer Games), and the hopeful, helpful Sister Husband (Stockard Channing). Only Novalee's good-for-nothing boyfriend, Willy Jack (Dylan Bruno) and his hard-nosed agent (Joan Cusack) are less than fully fleshed out. He comes across as the kind of guy Thelma and Louise would have driven over in their car, and she's someone who would have happily gotten behind the wheel.

For the most part, Where the Heart Is qualifies as a "small" motion picture where characters and a simple, straightforward storyline shape the focus and drive. The tone is predominantly lighthearted - there are a few tragedies, but the script does not dwell on them. There is also some humor, but the filmmakers wisely do not overplay that element. Occasional moments of levity can go a long way in a motion picture like this. Overt jokiness would damage the film's dramatic approach. There is one instance in which it becomes apparent that the movie has a legitimate budget: a tornado is every bit as impressive as the storms in Twister.

As one might expect, there are changes from Billie Letts' popular novel, although the heart remains intact. One of the more curious alterations relates to Novalee's numerical superstition. In the book, she is deathly afraid of the number "7". Bad things always happen when 7's are involved. In the movie, however, her phobia is of 5's. The Wal-Mart cashier hands her $5.55 in change before Willy Jack leaves her. She refuses to give birth lying on the floor in Aisle Five. And ominous events occur on the fifth day and fifth month after her daughter's birth. The reason for the change is rather obscure, although it may have something to do with shortening the film's overall time frame from seven years to five.

Where the Heart Is represents one of those rare instances when a voiceover narrative might have helped. The story spans five years, which means that there are sometimes gaps of months between scenes. Instead of using Portman's voiceover to provide links, Ganz & Mandel try another approach - one that often seems clumsy and forced. Two close friends will meet and "catch up" on what has transpired over the intervening time as if they haven't seen each other since the last time they were on screen together. While this technique might work once or twice, Where the Heart Is overuses it. It's a minor, but irksome, point.

Where the Heart Is is the story of someone who overcomes life's hardships despite overwhelming odds. She does not become famous, wealthy, or successful, but attains family and love - two things which were robbed from her as a child and which she has craved ever since. We spend five years in Novalee's company, but the time goes by quickly. Where the Heart Is is not perfect, but it works in almost every way that a character-based drama is supposed to. It is a simple pleasure.

© 2000 James Berardinelli

December 31, 2001

I had my doubts about this movie, I have to admit. I rented it before I bought it, but it only took me five minutes to realize this is a keeper. I thought Natalie Portman's portrayal of Novalee Nation was dead-on right; this girl has the gift of making us believe she really IS the character and not just an actor giving the part lip-service. I have to give very high marks to Ashley Judd, too, as her Lexie definitely has the right touch of independence and vulnerability that is rare in movies these days.

But the real scene stealers are Stockard Channing and James Frain. Channing's Sister Husband is just so ... funny, so interesting, so loveable. I laughed every time she prayed for forgiveness! And James Frain ... the best friend any girl would want, the man so many of us look for throughout our lives ... you find yourself HOPING long before the end of the movie that he and Novalee get together.

The nicest thing about this movie is that the vulnerability is written into each character. It's there, just below the surface, but the underlying strength and determination of each of them to make a better life is the basis of the friendship. True to small town life, each of them knows what's going on in the others' lives and the friendships are real, solid, strong, and true. Yes, it's a feel-good movie ... a chick-flick, if you like. But the basic fact is that it isn't about flash, glitz, glammer or excitement. It's about people who care for one another, who want to be there for each other. It's about LIFE!

K J Bedford

Where the Heart Is Details: Starring Natalie Portman, Ashley Judd, Stockard Channing, Dylan Bruno, and James Frain

Release Date:April 21, 2000

Where: Directed by Matt Williams

Screenplay by: Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, from the novel by Billie Letts

You're just going to have to accept that Natalie Portman and Ashley Judd are far too glamorous for the roles they inhabit in Where the Heart Is. It's an issue that probably won't hurt the film's reception: Remember Julia Roberts in Steel Magnolias? Your average moviegoer loves movie stars and wants to see a story he or she can relate to. If the two can reasonably mesh, even if the resulting product doesn't quite resemble reality, who's gonna complain? Big studio movies are escapism for most people to begin with. So you don't know any single mother of five on this planet who looks like Ashley Judd. You probably don't know any cops who look like Mel Gibson either.

Where the Heart Is is the latest film adaptation of an Oprah Winfrey-endorsed novel from author Billie Letts, and as such will have a built-in following: The movie tie-in novelization even features discussion questions at the end for the reader and his or her fellow Oprah-ites to use in their reading circles. The book is a reasonably engaging page-turner, with the requisite tragedies, small triumphs, and endorsement of the small joys of being a regular person. And it's a good deal more inspirational than that last Oprah book-turned-movie, A Map of the World, in which a family loses everything and must figure out how to be happy about it. Anyway, Where the Heart Is has a good deal of sap potential, as that which is merely sad in a book can always be made insufferable with the aid of a rousing score, or worse, an adult-contemporary country song.

Strangely enough, the movie doesn't go that route, possibly because it's written and directed by men. City Slickers writers Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, with director Matt Williams (the creator of TV's Home Improvement), have cranked up the humor and wackiness inherent to a story that involves giving birth in a Wal-Mart. What this amounts to is the addition of spit-takes, beer bellies, dick jokes, scenes of Joan Cusack punching people, in-jokes (a gratuitous reference to Portman's last film, Anywhere But Here), and "aren't these rednecks funny?" lines such as "You know, I once went into court and started defending the wrong person." It makes the whole thing go down easier, perhaps, but one wonders whether a sentimental tone might have done more justice to the book. Guess you can't please everybody.

Natalie Portman is Novalee Nation (yes, the names herein are about as realistic as the actresses' appearances), a young, pregnant teen with a superstition about the number five (a nonsensical change from the "seven" in the book, given that seven is a traditionally superstitious number, while five is the number of digits on the end of most human limbs, including those of Natalie Portman). Abandoned in an Oklahoma Wal-Mart by her good-for-nothing white-trash boyfriend, Willy Jack (Dylan Bruno, looking like a refugee from Boys Don't Cry or Gummo), en route to California from Tennessee with nothing but $5.55 to her name, Novalee decides to set up camp in the store itself, hiding in a closet at closing time to emerge at night, lay out a sleeping bag, and subsist on the ample snack foods available, of which she keeps careful count, fully intending to pay Wal-Mart back at some future date.

During the day, Novalee gets out into town, where she meets the friendly locals, including Sister Husband (Stockard Channing), a religious but not fanatically so earth-mother type; Moses Whitecotten (Keith David), a kindly baby photographer; and Forney Hull (James Frain, of Hilary and Jackie), the sardonic town librarian who's too smart for his surroundings but tied down by his terminally ill sister. These well-meaning folks all become major assets when Novalee's baby arrives one dark and stormy night and she gets swept up into a brief media circus as The Wal-Mart Mom. Letters of support and condemnation come flooding in, as does a job offer from Wal-Mart, and Novalee's deadbeat mother (Sally Field, chain-smoking and sporting just the right excessive amount of makeup).

Meanwhile, Willy Jack has been thrown into prison for his involvement with an underage teen runaway, and spends his ample free time composing country songs. Upon his release, he signs a deal with ball-busting Nashville agent Ruth Meyers (Joan Cusack), who cleans him up and gets him on the radio. But some people can't change; Willy Jack soon starts to revert to his sleazy mannerisms, and it's clear his rise won't last.

The film covers a period of five years in all, following Novalee's transition into adulthood, her growing friendship with a local nurse (Judd), and her ambiguous relationship with librarian Forney, who loves her but can't bring himself to say it. There's tragedy and triumph, and the surprising message that good-looking men are bad, while plain-looking shlubs are loyal and fun (again, chalk this one up to the male writers and director). There are also a couple of really good casting choices: Channing is perfect as the mother figure; character actor Richard Jones equally good as her live-in love; but the best of all is Forney, who in a typical Hollywood movie would be played by a hunk, say Billy Crudup or Joaquin Phoenix, in a bad haircut and glasses to symbolize nerd-dom. Here, he's portrayed by James Frain, an English actor (although you wouldn't know it from this film) who's a dead ringer for a young Michael Stipe, thus epitomizing sensitive sarcasm from the get-go. The character's scenes have been cut down from the book, but he remains the best character, and that's as much to Frain's credit as it is to the writers'.

It's Portman's film to make or break, however, and she's basically a good choice: as someone who has played wise beyond her years in virtually every film role since her debut in The Professional, she effectively takes Novalee through the five-year journey into adulthood. Her accent is also spot-on; those who cringed at her "kinda-sorta" English accent in The Phantom Menace need not fear her Southern twang, although its similarity to King of the Hill's Luann makes it occasionally more risible than perhaps it should be. Unfortunately, her well-documented aversion to love scenes is obvious; what little we see here makes the similarly inhibited Neve Campbell look like a porn star by comparison. And co-star Judd may have a look too similar to Portman's: As Novalee grows older, she starts wearing her hair the same way, and that can lead to confusion in some of the wide shots.

The most significant omission from the movie is a sense of Native American spirituality, which touches both Novalee (inspiring her budding photography skills and love of nature) and Willy Jack (who in the book is helped by a mystically inclined Indian cellmate when his heart stops beating). Eliminating the book's relevant Native American characters does simplify things, as their characteristics are simply added to other principals, but it seems a significant tonal change, and is especially incongruent given that the name "Novalee Nation" is most likely Indian in origin. The book's most significant insight is also lost, a nicely written scene in which Novalee discusses with Forney how you suddenly realize you're an adult when you find yourself doing something only adults do. There's less of Wal-Mart in the movie too, but that's probably just time constraints; what we do see is a loving look at trash Americana: disgustingly bright corn-dog ads, Super Big Gulps, Icee machines, and everything anyone could need to camp out in the middle of a large department store at night. That last item may quickly become an anachronism, however, with more and more Wal-Marts going 24 hours, or at least closing later than nine. Give Billie Letts a lot of credit for realizing that Wal-Mart has become the community center for a lot of small towns, and give Wal-Mart credit for going along with the gag, in print and onscreen.

dallasobserver.com | originally published: April 27, 2000

5-4-00

"Star War's" Queen Amidala herself, Natalie Portman continues to amaze in "Where the Heart Is," a film that has as much sap as it does heart. The actress, who is coming off of her critical success in "Anywhere but Here," and commercial success in "Episode One," portrays Novalee Nation, a 17 year old pregnant woman from Tennessee who heads for California in a rusty and beat-up car with her boyfriend Willy Jack Pickens (Dylan Bruno), who seeks a singing career.

On their way to California, nature calls for Novalee, who seeks refuge in an Oklahoma Wal-Mart's bathroom-a trip that turns out to change her life forever. "Willy Jack, who had parked in a spot to wait for her, leaves her stranded in Oklahoma with nothing but a Polaroid camera.

Alone with nowhere to go, Novalee decides to move into the discount department store, borrowing food, supplies, and testing out their aerobic equipment. During her stay she meets up with Forney (James Frain), the town's librarian who is caring after his ailing sister, and Moses Whitecotton (Keith David) as the store photographer, who later influences Novalee to pursue a new career path, not to mention a meaningful name for her child. One evening stay at Wal-Mart takes Novalee down a new path-she gives birth on the store floor, and in doing so-becomes an instant celebrity with her newborn, Americus, known simply as the "Wal-Mart baby." In the midst of the media coverage and balloons from well wishers (as well as some religious groups who condemn her for having a child out of wedlock), Novalee meets several influential people in her life, including her long lost mother (Sally Field, in a superb cameo) who makes a brief appearance to try and steal her thunder-or more specifically, her money (which was given generously by Wal-Mart as a thank you for all the publicity). Without a mother to help her through the beginning stages of motherhood, Novalee becomes friends with Lexie (Ashley Judd), a nurse who names her children after snacks, (ie. Praline), and Sister Husband (Stockard Channing), a woman whom she had first met at the Wal-Mart, a mother-figure who offers her a place to stay. From there, the film takes Novalee and the film's supporting players on a journey for the next several years to try and grow as people and professionals-Novalee pursues a photography career, and is in turn, pursued by Fornie who wants to take his close friendship with Novalee to the next level; Lexie tries to find Mr. Right in all the wrong places, and through the hiring of talent agent Ruth Meyers (Joan Cusack), Willy Jack tries to make it as a musician.

Proving that she can carry a film on her own, Portman-with a convincing Southern accent-delivers a touching performance as Novalee. Like the business' best actors, she makes her character seem real. The audience can empathize with her character when she is left stranded at the Wal-Mart, and soon-after living there. Here, Portman shows Novalee to be good-hearted in that she keeps a log of items that she has "borrowed" from the store to survive. Another scene where Portman delivers is when Novalee is once again left stranded, this time at a hospital, when her estranged mother, who had just told her that she would take care of her and Americus, fails to show up. In a surprising supporting role, Ashley Judd shines as Lexie, a woman who has spent her whole life looking for Mr. Right, but winds up having the gentleman not only leave her, but leave her withchild. Despite her limited screentime, Judd also has one of her most compelling scenes on camera. She is heartbreaking when she finds out that a man, whom she met at a gas station and thinks is the perfect guy for her, turns out to be something she never bargained for.

The perfectly cast James Frain, who last appeared in the Ben Affleck-starrer "Reindeer Games," convincingly portrays Fornie as a man who had been wallowing in his own self-pity for having given up college to care after his ailing sister, until Novalee brightens up his life. He also shows the more time he spends with Novalee and Americus, the more he falls in love with the both of them.

Rounding out the cast are several wasted characters. Despite displaying bitchy-ness at its best, Cusack is wasted as Willy Jack's agent. Willy Jack's portrayer successfully plays the white trash scum that he is supposed to be, but once again is not given much screen time to establish himself as a good actor. A notable wasted performance goes to Channing who gets this year's "most annoying actress award." Despite several nice moments, like excepting Novalee in her house and not passing judgement on her, the actress is just plain distracting as Sister Husband.

The problem with "Where the Heart Is" is clear: the script by the usually reliable and always funny Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel ("Parenthood" and "City Slickers"). The scribes, who adapted the story from Billie Letts' novel, try to do too much by manipulating the audience by tugging at the heartstrings. They do this by making this dramedy feature unnecessary characters and subplots, ie. if they wanted to kill of a supporting character-why do it with a tornado? It is also not clear why Director Matt Williams or the writers decided to consistantly put several scenes of Willy Jack's quest to become a rock star-perhaps it was just to get Cusack some screen time. It doesn't work, and is a total distraction.

Despite Williams, co-creator of such television hits as "Roseanne" and "A Different World," losing himself in a soapy and flawed story-as many moviegoers will too-he does make a sucessful transition from the tube to the screen by drawing a solid performance by Portman, and doing a nice job with Cinematographer Richard Greatrez, who last filmed "Shakespeare in Love." Both can be credited with adding to the hometown feel of the film. When all is said and done, "Where the Heart Is," is a lackluster film that is only saved by the gifted Natalie Portman, and several noteworthy cast members. The film has heart but plays like a soap called, "Days of Our Poor White Trash Lives."

Grade: C+

(Mixed/Positive - No Spoiler) from "Dark Horizons" site.

1. The Performances. It seems like Natalie Portman just keeps getting better and better as an actress. After her (deserved) Golden Globe nomination for her work in "Anywhere But Here," she finally gets her chance to carry a film as pregnant 16 year old Novalee Nation. And she does it admirably. While she doesn't have a single great scene to salvage a mess of a movie, like she did in "Anywhere But Here," her performance buoys what could have been a sentimental mess of a movie into a solid and touching tale.

Ashley Judd manages to turn white trash into gold as Lexie, a woman who can't seem to find the right man, and who can find plenty of wrong ones. Stockard Channing is excellent as always as Sister Husband, the woman who takes Novalle into her home and heart. Two small parts steal the show, though. The first is Sally Field, who has an unbilled cameo as Novalee's mother. Sadly, you see most of her (very funny) work in the trailer. The other is Joan Cusack. Perhaps, finally, her work in this, will result in her making that jump to starring roles. She's hysterical and tough as nails at once--not an easy combo to pull off.

The true breakout from the film, though, is James Frain, who plays Forney--Novalee's love interest. He gets a strong dramatic plotline and does some excellent work. In fact, no performance in the film really hits a false note.

Lone Star Rising

Natalie Portman dishes on dorm life, vegetarian Tex-Mex and her first grown up love scene.



by Justine Elias

Seventeen Magazine - June 24, 2000

She won't have to play handywoman today, but Portman has had to learn many new skills to portray the heroine of Where The Heart Is, a movie that is equal parts girl-on-the-road adventure, coming-of-age story and homespun romance. She plays Novalee Nation, a pregnant, small-town teen who, after being abandoned by her boyfriend, hides out in an Oklahoma Wal-Mart until she can make some sense of her turbulent life. Along the way, Novalee finds some eccentric friends (played by Ashley Judd and Stockard Channing) and a new love (British actor James Frain of Elizabeth). For the movie, which opens this month, Portman has to convincingly pretend to have a baby, become a responsible parent and develop into an ace photographer. If that sounds like a lot, consider this: The two hour film spans five years in Novalee's life, from age 17 to 22.

Since Portman gives birth in the movie, one of her greatest challenges so far has been learning to deliver-not just a great performance, but a baby. To make Novalee's labor pains look real, Portman asked her father, an obstetrician, to take her to work for a day. "I saw two deliveries," she says, still sounding awestruck. "And I had to learn how to hold a baby. I even learned how to make them cry: You tickle their feet. The nurse taught me how to do it. I felt so bad. I was tickling them and whispering, 'I'm sorry.!'"

Born in Jerusalem, the only child of a physician and a homemaker, Portman grew up outside of New York City and attended public schools. She broke into movies as a pint-size outlaw in 1994's The Professional. This time around, Portman plays one of the adults, and a series of tiny actress-from three-month-old babies to four-year-old- Mackenzie Fitzgerald-take turns playing Novalee's daughter, Americus. "Mackenzie's so cool," says Portman. "When I started The Professional, I was 11, and I turned 12 halfway through. I wonder if Mackenzie and the other kids will even remember this experience."

Rather than starring in the many teen-oriented movies and TV shows that she was offered after receiving raves in The Professional, Portman opted to work on more sophisticated projects, which she completed during her summer vacations. One exception was her stint on Broadway in The Diary of Anne Frank-a demanding but high-profile after-school job. Amazingly, her rigorous performance schedule didn't stop Portman from graduating high school on time, and with honors, in 1999. (For the scoop on her experiences as a college freshman, see "Where the Dorm Is.")

Portman has already costarred with Oscar-winning actors such as Susan Sarandon (in Anywhere But Here) and Al Pacino (in Heat), and held her own alongside Oscar-nominated special effects (in Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace). But in Heart, she is for the first time a true leading lady. "This is the oldest character I've played, by far," says Portman. "I constantly have to remind myself to act more mature."

In the past, Portman turned down roles that required love scenes, saying they weren't necessary, but in Where The Heart Is she plays a character who is sexually experienced-even though most of that experience takes place offscreen. When Portman first read the Billie Letts novel upon which the movie is based, she didn't worry about portraying someone whose life was so different from her own. "I saw it as a Wizard of Oz-like story about a young girl on a journey," says Portman. "Along the way, she meets these crazy characters who become her family. It's not a movie about young girls getting hurt by boys. It's not a warning. It's more about the power of being a good person, and I like how sincere it is in that belief. Being a well-intentioned, good human being can lead you to a place where you can be happy, and build your own family, even if you were not blessed with that when you were born."

James Frain, who plays Novalee's best friend, loyal defender and, eventually, romantic interest, jokingly refers to himself as the movies "older man." At 31, he's impressed with Portman's maturity. "She started so young that it makes me feel like I began acting too late," says Frain, whose British accent is transformed into a Texas twang in the film. Since Novalee comes from Tennessee and ends up living in rural Oklahoma, Portman is also working to perfect her drawl-and to steer a pickup truck. "I've only been driving for about three months," admits Portman, who learned in her family's car last spring. "When I drive the truck, I get to go really fast. It's not a stick shift, thank God, but it's a lot of car."

Though Frain and Portman turn up the heat on camera, in their downtime they do their best to hide from the sun. Portman often seeks refuge in her trailer. "I love Austin. But it is hot-really hot!" she says. (Note: This from someone who spent several weeks in the Sahara Desert making The Phantom Menace and next summer will reprise her role as Queen Amidala in Star Wars: Episode II.) "I'd never been to Texas before this," she adds. "But people are exactly as you would expect them to be-really friendly, and I hear y'all a lot. You totally see guys walking across the street in cowboy boots and tight jeans. It's not like that here, because Austin's a college town, too." Though she is far from the East Coast, Portman is seldom out of touch with her parents and friends from home. Several pals, including actor Shawn Hatosy, who played her cousin, Benny, in Anywhere But Here, have dropped by the set.

Something Portman has acquired a taste for during filming is Southern and Tex-Mex cooking-minus all the meat dishes, since she's a vegetarian. "One nice thing about Austin is that it's pretty vegetarian-friendly. Restaurants I've gone to have a lot of vegetable dishes," she says. One nonveggie menu item that took her by surprise is chicken-fried steak. "I'd never heard of that. I imagined steak wrapped in chicken and fried but it's actually steak that's fried like chicken, with breadcrumbs on it. Why wouldn't you call that fried steak? There's also chicken-fried chicken which is just chicken. That's bizarre."

Less strange is the city's cool music scene. Portman spends her precious days off shopping for CDs and seeing bands at local clubs. Most nights, though, she's in bed early. "I only have 12 hours from the time I get home to the time I get picked up in the morning," she says. "Usually I wash my face and go to sleep, or go out to dinner and go to sleep. Sometimes I wake up earlier in the morning, but it's really hard on me. I like to sleep as long as possible." Hopefully, Where The Heart Is will turn out to be as much of a sleeper as she is.

A surprising lineup of stars assists Portman along the way - Ashley Judd, Stockard Channing, both radiant and loving, and while they may make mistakes in their lives, they know their mistakes and embrace them. Judd's character has little enough reason to be positive and upbeat, but she is, and Portman benefits from her company. These women show us that adversity need not make us hard or mean or anything but stronger. That is pretty much what the movie is about, and I say it is a chick flick because I think that women are more likely to bounce back to being kind when they have been rocked by tragedy than men - now don't get all riled up, hear me out. Men traditionally do keep their emotional business to themselves, and while we have made great strides towards equality in this arena in the past half century, I still feel that women can pull off this kind of mustered up grace than men in bulk. I would like to add that James Frain's character, Forney, is one such evolved man, so it's not just a big "guys are scum" movie, believe me! It was directed by a man, does that help, guys? Guys?

Surprise! It's Sally Field! Other stars (or soon to be stars) popped into my home town of Austin to shoot this movie, like Joan Cusack, Keith "Franks and Beans" David, and James Frain. Oh James Frain! What a marvelous character you have to play in this movie - and so well, too! Dylan Bruno plays the shiftless creep boyfriend that knocked her up and abandoned her, and despite having such a two dimensional character at first, he carries off the acting coup of a lifetime by giving Willy Jack much more to do than just ditch little 17-yr.-old Novalee.

A technical note: They shot a terrific tornado scene - I was clutching my bag in primordial terror (I have a near-phobic fear of the things) - the light was perfect, the sudden onset of hail, the charge in the air - marvelous! Austinites - Dante's Inferno and Jazz are in Nashville, watch for set dressing in Cusack's office. There are a jillion kids in this movie, and yet the movie doesn't devolve into squishy kid-ville either. It is balanced and handled nicely. What Erin Brockovich did to make white trash look pushy and sexy, these ladies make it look gracious and sexy. Women who have had hard times don't need to walk around like Shirley MacLaine with a hot flash, like she was ridden hard and put away wet - and it's a valuable illustration.

The story, while being almost anachronistically altruistic, has a "based on a true story" feel about it, although Billie Letts' novel is purportedly fiction. Oh certainly, some things seem too good to be true, or too bad to be true, but the overriding message is we reap what we sow. Maybe that person that hurt us doesn't feel the sting of regret when we wish they would, but ultimately they will pay the higher cost for having taken the low road. It's this moral truth that makes the story seem the most real - sure, it's how we wish things could be, and yes, they never seem so in these instant gratification days. Setting it in a slow-paced small town forces us to slow down too, and we nestle in to the characters and story like a warm cup of tea. The screenwriter Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel have worked together (for better or for worse) 5 times and the director has no discernible filmography - yet the movie feels comfortable and familiar (not a retread).

It's a great movie, not as nice a date movie as Return to Me but definitely a super movie to see with the gals (even if you are a guy) - and a wonderful example of the value of goodness. For moms with daughters, it can show them that being strong isn't being stupid, and friendship matters most of all. The more I think about it, the more I liked this movie. Go see it. And support Texas filmmaking.

year=2000
mpaa=PG-13
studio=20th Century Fox
director=Matt Williams
runningtime=120
myrating=Full Price Feature
Posted by cinerina at April 28, 2000 12:00 AM