Wordiezett So much average

Greenes Please don't spend money on this.

Micransix Crappy film

Tymon Sutton The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

tieman64 Directed by Wayne Wang, "Anywhere But Here" stars Susan Sarandon as Adele August, a delusional woman who leaves small-town Wisconsin for the fancy suburbs of Beverly Hills. Tired of a loveless marriage, and the inanities of small-town America, Adele hopes to find wealth, fame and love. Joining Adele is Ann (Natalie Portman), Adele's teenage daughter. Ann thinks Adele is nuts."Anywhere But Here" contrasts the mopey Ann with the relentlessly upbeat Adele. One wants to be in Beverly Hills, the other doesn't. One believes that fortunes are around the corner, the other just wants to return to Wisconsin. As the film progresses Adele's neuroses become more pronounced, become a form of abusive parenting, though we're always aware that Adele – at least on some level – intends for her actions to benefit poor Ann. Adele may be a narcissistic train-wreck, but a part of her genuinely believes that she is acting in her daughter's best interests."That summer I turned seventeen, and started planning my escape," Ann tells us early in the film. This notion of "escape" becomes the film's chief motif. Both mother and daughter are desperate to find greener pastures, but whether or not these pastures exist is left unresolved.Wang, incidentally, typically alternates between personal projects and anonymously directed, Hollywood trash. "Anywhere But Here" is one of his better mainstream pictures, thanks largely to Portman and Sarandon, who convey well a difficult blend of fragility and strength.8/10 – See "Scarecrow" (1973) and "Margaret" (2011).

leplatypus I'm honest: Sarandon irritates me. So she's the perfect choice here to play a exasperating mother. What's funny is that her daughter is one of my favorite actress, Natalie. I'm always amazed how Natalie can express her feelings so well and since such young age. Here, she has a heavy part because she cries more than she laughs. In fact, a bit like in "BTF III", the roles are reversed because the daughter is serious, hard-working (so acts like a mother) while the mother is playful, careless (so acts like a teen).No matter how problems pile up, it's good to see that the red line is never crossed between them because they always share their eternal bond of love. They shout together but they never split. I guess that's what love is about. Another funny thing came nearly at the end of the movie because it's only there that I realized that their story was a bit mine too: indeed, I quit also my familial dead end in the country to come to a city of light. As Nathalie and Sarandon, I hear about my roots more than I am with them but unlike them, my departure was smooth.Finally, if the movie begins like "Mulholland drive" (same shots of palm trees and scene at a coffee), it's really about the relationships. Unfortunately, the rhythm drags a lot and of all thousand of cities in America, they had to choose LA!

edwagreen Ideal part for Susan Sarandon here. She is basically a free spirit. She has had 2 unsuccessful marriages. She flees with her unhappy daughter, Natalie Portman, to the L.A. scene. She secures a teaching job there, but with her problems and social hangups, teaching is not exactly for her and her resignation soon occurs.This is a film dealing with a mother-daughter relationship gone completely awry. There is family tragedy and the two women desperately struggle to cope with life, each one wanting independence.The telephone scene with her father is so memorable. That's what happens after years of separation and another family.The ending is an attempt for the two women to get the independence they have both sought.

Rusty Shackleford OK, maybe it's because I'm a guy and the only reason I saw this movie was because I went with my wife, but this was the most boring movie I've seen in a long, long time. I don't hate chick flicks as long as there's a good plot, but this one needs a lot of work to make it interesting. About 15 minutes into the movie all I could think about was how uncomfortable the theater seats were. The only redeeming value of this movie is that Natalie Portman is hot... but this alone doesn't make a 2 hour movie worth sitting through if it's lame & boring. Perhaps it's a good mother/daughter flick but if you're a guy you'll hate it.