Year:
2000
Studio:
20th Century Fox/Wind Dancer Productions
Feature:
3/5
DVD:
1/5
Feature
Where the Heart Is is the story of a young woman, Novalee Nation
(Natalie Portman), who is stranded at a Walmart by her boyfriend. She's
pregnant and manages to spend a few weeks at the Walmart before her
baby is born, being proclaimed "the Walmart baby" by the media and
public. And that's the beginning of her journey from being an underage
mother to becoming an adult.
Novalee is what would be termed "white trash", a poor uneducated
southern girl whose best prospect is finding a husband. But she is
kind, compassionate, independent, and resilient. And she has friends to
help her along the way, from the ever-pregnant Lexie (Ashley Judd) to
the wise hippie Thelma (Stockard Channing) to her best friend Forney
(James Frain).
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It's a good
movie. Through hardships and heartbreaks, Novalee and her
friends struggle along and make the best out of their lives. They may
be simple and poor but they're happy and at the end of the movie it's
nice to see that life can be wonderful for everyone, not just yuppie
kids living in the hustle and bustle of New York or Los Angeles.
Actors
This is the movie where Natalie Portman shines. I have only seen her in
a few movies, but in Where the Heart Is she stars and gets lots of
screen time acting out the homespun southern girl. And she pulls it off
wonderfully. Ashley Judd is also quite good in a supporting role,
playing a funny and interesting mother of several kids.
DVD
Nothing special. Music video for "The Beat of My Heart". Some trailers
and commercials.
Recommendations
I really liked this story. It's a drama and not much else. It's
interesting and you end up feeling good about life. |