Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

SnoopyStyle Ruby Lee Gissing (Ashley Judd) leaves behind her man in Tennessee to start anew in Panama City, Florida. It's off-season and she pleads for a sales clerk job from Mildred Chambers. She's befriended by Rochelle Bridges. Mildred forbids her to go out with her arrogant womanizing son Ricky. She secretly sleeps with him nevertheless. She struggles to figure out life. She gets involved with opinionated liberal greenhouse grower Mike McCaslin (Todd Field) while Ricky keeps hounding her.It's a great understated performance from Ashley Judd. Ruby is searching for meaning and her place in the world. There is a loneliness in her life that she's trying to fill. The movie is effectively laid back. The narration adds to the feeling of searching. It puts in words her internal struggles as defined by her relationships to men.

curtis martin ...and her only extraordinary acting job, too. I had high hopes for Judd when I saw this character study film ten years ago. In a movie that was about not much more than being able to read what was behind the main character's eyes, her performance was amazing. You could see everything on her face, in depth and detail. Should have garnered her an Oscar. But, this was a very, very subtle film, and until this year's "Lost in Translation," Oscar didn't really care for that kinda "European-y" thing. So, it's not for everyone, but this is a treat for those who love true film acting. Now Judd's just the girl that does all those lame thrillers and the occasional romantic comedy rejected by Julia Roberts.

galapagos1809 I cannot begin to describe how amazing this movie is. Suffice it to say, anytime I'm depressed about how unfair or futile things seem, this is the movie I go rent to put me in the right frame of mind. The background music makes you realize the easiness of existence and how simplicity provides for the greatest happiness. The Indian girl that sings is but one example of a character in this film who does not try hard, and is happy as a result. Persifina, the laundry co-worker of Ruby's (Ashley Judd) is another=-her eyes and smile could make the hardest person's day. I watch this movie and I dream of better days to come or of a good conversation with friends, and I realize that being alone--Ruby is alone quite often--isn't the same as being lonely. Recommended for anyone who enjoys a thoughtful lull of a movie.

samerain Ashley Judd in a career-making performance as a young woman trying to create a decent life for herself in a world full of lies, false values, empty commercialism, and ultimate boredom. The dialogue and editing are superb. One of the best American films of the 90s.