EVERYBODY LOVES TEXAS MOVIE REVIEWS HOPE FLOATS (1998) I rate this film 2 stars out of 5 Birdee Pruitt (Sandra Bullock) returns to her hometown of Smithville, Texas to live with her mother, when she finds out from a TV talk show that her husband (Michael Pare) has been cheating on her with her best friend Connie (Roseanna Arquette). The entire town now knows what happened to Birdee, their former high school cheerleader and beauty queen. Suddenly her life as a stay-at-home mom has been smashed and she must find solace and a new start. The film is off to an interesting start with this set-up. Since Connie has announced to the world this affair it becomes very interesting to me where this film will be going. Now she has to deal with her old friends and acquaintances from high school that seem to enjoy her downfall and spread gossip which rubs the event into her face. Deeply depressed, she runs into an old boyfriend, Justin Matisse (Harry Connick Jr.), who tries to help her through this bad time, and is still in love with her. Birdee must make a new life for herself, but will Justin be able to be a part of it? Now, the film loses speed and begins to drag. I would venture to say that three-quarters of the film is devoted to watching Bullock mope around. She is an actress of sunny disposition and ebullience - and she shines in roles that allow her to exploit these attributes. This role robs her of those gifts and we are left with a rather deadening characterization. There is only so much that one can take of watching this sad-sack wander aimlessly across the landscape. It is not just that Birdie is a drain, but that she actually seems to actively enjoy her chronic wallows in self-pity. The film should further be charged with criminal neglect for squandering the tremendous talents of Gina Rowlands who plays Bullocks mom in this badly written part. Connicks character is well-played, and he becomes a bit of an antidote to the Bullocks unending self-absorption. His romantic advances fail for awhile indicating that Bullock is having too much fun wallowing in her misery. In the end, and despite Connicks work, the film is an absolute mess. Bullock has had much better days and there are better entries in this genre that fill the bill. Hope may well float as the title suggests, but my hope was this film be be a better boat.
Posted on: Fri, 18 Apr 2014 10:01:31 +0000
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