Where the Heart Is

Rating:
Summary: sentimental without the sap
Review: Pregnant teenager Novalee Nation is abandoned in an Oklahoma Wal-Mart on a trip to California with her no-good boyfriend Willy Jack. She lives in the Wal-Mart for several days, and is rescued by he local librarian Forney when she goes into labor in the store.

She is adopted and absorbed into the community where she befriends a cast of characters including the exuberant Lexie Coop, played by Ashley Judd, who names her kids after snack foods, and Sister Husband (Stockard Channing.) Novalee discovers a talent for photography and starts to make a career for herself while raising her daughter.

Meantime, Willy Jack has found an agent and becomes a country singer under a new name. For years, he and Novalee don't cross paths but you know they will.

This is a sweet story that is realistic, and it is beautifully shot in the Midwest without romanticizing the hard times the community goes through. Natalie Portman is gorgeous in both her beauty and her talent. This flick is a winner!

Rating:
Summary: Where The Heart Is
Review: Natalie Portman is my all time favorite actress. She is beautiful in a natural way that she doesn't hide. Her and Ashley Judd are wonderful in this movie. Novalee Nation (Portman) is left in a Wal-Mart parking lot by her no good boyfriend, Willy Jack Pickens (Dylan Bruno). Novalee meets alot of people like Sister Husband (Stockard Channing) Lexie Coop (Ashley Judd) and Forney Hull (James Frain) who becomes Novalee's love intrest. I adore this movie. Watch it, and you will too!!

Rating:
Summary: Can't help but watch this movie over again.
Review: This is an excellent movie about the human spirit and cause and effect. Willy Jack left Novalee Nation selfishly and in effect, he landed in jail, got dropped by an agent after is was discovered that he stole the rights to a song from an inmate, and ended up paralyzed. Neither Willy Jack nor Novalee knew where they would be headed as they were on the road.
Novalee, being abandoned by her mother and boyfriend, found friends along the way in her new state that would mold and change her life. She also had to deal with the fear of being abandoned and learning to love.
This movie touched the human soul and it touched mine. No matter what obstacles are, there are never dull moments in life.

Rating:
Summary: all in all a rare and origanlly cute movie
Review: I didn't think I was going to like this movie. I didnt get a chance to see it in the theater so I actually rented it when it came out. Its really cute Natalie did amazing It was totally believable. Its no oscar winner but its still an awesome chick flick.

Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: "Where the Heart Is" is a touching story of Novalee Nation,a young unmarried pregnant girl trying to make a living. She also happens to be the mother of the Wal-Mart baby. To find out all the other true to life heart warming experiences in this young dreamers life buy Where the Heart Is.

Rating:
Summary: Nat is a great actress
Review: I heard quite a few people complain about Natalie Portman's acting in the Star Wars films, but she is a great actress. This film, Where the Heart Is would be an small taste of how good she is. I love her movies, there enjoyable to watch.

Rating:
Summary: What strength and love can do...
Review: This wonderful movie stars the lovely Natalie Portman in the role of Novalee Nation .When Novelee is abandoned by her lowlife boyfriend Wily Jack ( Dylan Bruno) in far off small town , where she is pregnant , penniless and alone , things look pretty bleak.
She gives birth in the town's department store before being rescued by the reclusive librarian Forney Hall (James Frain). After waking up in the hospital she is cruelly tricked by her long lost mother Lil (Sally Fields) before being helped by Sister Husband (Stockard Channing), who takes her in and the nurse Lexie Coop (Ashley Judd) .
Novalee and her daughter with the help of their new friends make for themselves a life in the town and soon Novelee shows her own metal and always rises to the challenge of helping her friends when they are in need.
I wont spoil the plot but we see some very interesting times from there on.

Ultimately this movie gives us the message that anything can be overcome as long as you are with people who care , that the most desperate situation can suddenly turn around when we least expect it and that life in a small town can be just as interesting as in any big city.

Rating:
Summary: changed my life
Review: i rented this expecting oddness but i loved it. its incredible what acting can do to a weak plot. i was very surprised. meet nova lee the nice girl who was abandoned by two people she loved her mom and her boyfriend sounds exactly like my ex whos going out with a complete jerk her other ex todd who is the same as dylan brunos charector. just an aspiring country singer who is a deadbeet too. i have to reccomend this to her. that way she can see her man in dylan bruno. rent this if u just got done with a breakup. i now own it and try to watch it every single day.

Rating:
Summary: Pace and style drag movie and its case down
Review: There are movies you really want to like but can't. This is especially true of movies that are gentle and well intentioned but not well made. Where the Heart Is falls into this group, although it should appeal to some viewers who are less worldly and more forgiving than myself.

The movie opens in the boondocks of Tennessee. A very pregnant Novalee Nation [Natalie Portman] and her redneck boyfriend, Willy Jack [Dylan Bruno] are about to take off to California in a beat up old car. Why is it that such characters in the movies invariably head for the Golden State? Is it some kind of rule of script writing? In Oklahoma, Willy lets Novalee go into a Walmart to buy some shoes and promptly leaves her there for reasons that go mainly unexplained. Broke, tired and hungry, she literally lives in the store for six weeks. During the hours it is open, she wanders around town meeting various eccentric characters. One is Thelma [Stockard Channing], a recovering alcoholic who runs the local welcome wagon. She becomes a mother figure to Novalee. Another is Forney Hall [James Frain], who is the assistant librarian. His sister is the head librarian but is always too drunk to work. One rainy night Novalee goes into labor in the locked up Walmart. Forney, who's been following her, jumps through a window and rescues her. In the hospital she meets Lexie {Ashley Judd], who seems to be the head nurse. Since Lexie has had five children by five different fathers, it would seem that her training did not include birth control. Novalee goes to live with Lexie, and soon she and her new friends are having enough trials and tribulations to bring down an entire herd of elephants.

The problem is the script, which leaves the talented cast to perform as best they can. The story borders on being incoherent, with many scenes being simply skits or vignettes poorly strung together. There are too many stops and starts. As a result, it is hard to get close to these people, no matter how much trouble they are going though. What is exceptionally irritaiting is that the movie's style makes the characters almost dull when they could have been interesting.

Where the Heart Is based on a novel by Billie Lotts. I'm not familiar with it, Since it was one of Oprah's Book Club's selections, I assume a lot of people are. Only these readers can know how faithful the movie is to the book.

Rating:
Summary: Really good movie
Review: This film had it all, humor, sadness, romance, joy, friendships, southern accents, etc. Since everyone did a good job describing the film, I'll just offer my opinions.It was a surprise, and I really liked it. Natalie Portman, Ashley Judd and Stockard Channing, all gave wonderful performances,and this is a quiet, down home flick that should be enjoyed slowly. No rushing through. :)