Where the Heart Is (2000)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Matt Williams

Writers (WGA):

Lowell Ganz (screenplay) &
Babaloo Mandel (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

28 April 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Laughter is harder... Friendship is stronger... Trust is deeper... When it comes from the heart.

Plot:

A pregnant 17-year-old rebuilds her life after being abandoned by her boyfriend at a Wal-Mart in Sequoyah, Oklahoma.

Plot Keywords:

Wal Mart | Oklahoma | Pregnant | Birth | Tennessee

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Dylan Bruno	...	Willy Jack Pickens
Ray Prewitt	...	Tim
Laura House	...	Nicki
Karey Green	...	Rhonda
Natalie Portman	...	Novalee Nation
Keith David	...	Moses Whitecotten
Mary Ashleigh Green	...	Girl in Bathroom
Kinna McInroe	...	Wal-Mart Clerk
Laura Auldridge	...	Wal-Mart Assistant Manager
Stockard Channing	...	Sister Husband
Alicia Godwin	...	Jolene
Dennis Letts	...	Sheriff
James Frain	...	Forney Hull
Richard Jones	...	Mr. Sprock
Kathryn Esquivel	...	Mrs. Ortiz

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense thematic material, language and sexual content.

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Denmark:A | France:U | Germany:6 (w) | Hong Kong:IIA | Mexico:B | Netherlands:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:7 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Wind Dancer Productions

Trivia:

For the scenes filmed in Wal-Mart, various pictures of Natalie Portman as Queen Amidala in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) had to be removed.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: It's obvious by the long lists of husbands on the Bible's "Births" and "Deaths" pages - with dates of death spanning many years - that it is a family Bible belonging to the husbands. Though an attempt was made to make it look as though the names on the bible's "Births" and "Deaths" pages were entered at different times by using different pens, all the names are written in the same handwriting - Novalee's, as we see her writing Sister's name.

Quotes:

Moses Whitecotten: Have you thought of a name yet?
Novalee Nation: Well, I was thinking about Wendi with an "i."
Moses Whitecotten: Oh no, don't you dare.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "ER: Where the Heart Is (#7.21)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

What'd I Say

Very good in all areas

A harmless little "chick flick"? Nothing more than an attempt by Natalie Portman to try anything before she's pigeon-holed in her Star Wars persona and can't get other roles because of it (a la Mark Hammill)? No on both counts. Where the heart is will surely be labeled as a "chick flick", but the truth of any movie is that a good movie is a good movie, and a bad one a bad one, regardless of what it's target demographic is. Where the Heart Is is nothing short of a very, very good film. The story is original and the acting and dialogue are outstanding. Natlie Portman may best be known as Queen Amidala, but she should be known as one of the best young actresses in the business. She simply shines in this movie. I recommend this film to everyone.