Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Highly Overrated But Still Good

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Natalie Portman and Susan Sarandon play off each other beautifully in this easy going mother/ daughter drama that pulls a switcheroo on the traditional roles.Sarandon stars as Adele, a fairly wild, out of control dreamer, who decides to leave Bay City, Wisconsin with her daughter Anne, a grounded realist, in order to try and get a teaching job in Beverly Hills.If one was to summarize the script to this film in one word, it would be under developed. I mean, it's all there, a mother-daughter relationship with a role reversal, a love interest for both, a struggle between the two with a resolution, but this film just seems to happen and then end.You'll find yourself wondering what any of the side characters are doing in this story apart from making up numbers. The big strength is the performances from Sarandon and Portman and the way they relate to each other. The two play off each other beautifully, with Sarandon giving a fearless performance as an irresponsible, out of control, immature mother that allows Portman to make the most of her role as a responsible, careful young woman growing up and maturing with considerable dignity. This film earned Portman her first Golden Globe nomination, and is an interesting watch for any of her fans. The highlight in the film of the two together is the scene where Portman has to comfort her mother after a painful break-up with the realization written all over her face that this is an absurd reversal of the natural order.Most of the supporting cast are wasted, with Hart Bochner a particularly grievous waste. So big is Sarandon's performance and so arresting is Portman these characters would have dissolved into the background anyway, but it is frustrating that the script doesn't put the time into developing the side characters. While the film explores sex, death and small town boredom, we don't really know any of the characters these issues are effecting.Anywhere but Here is worth watching for the excellent performances from the leads, and its easy going tone. Probably not one to go out of your way to track down, but certainly worth watching on cable.

If it wasn't apparent before it should be clear now: Susan Sarandon as an actress is Meryl Streep's equal. She is a commanding actress in an inimitable way. Through the medium of the movies, audience get to part take in what makes Meryl Streep, what empowers Tom Hanks, what captivates a Susan Sarandon. For the older generation, that would be a Jimmy Stewart, a Burt Lancaster, a Katherine Hepburn. This sets apart legends from merely good actors. As good as she is, whether Natalie Portman would reach this plateau is anyone's guess. But for now lets just celebrate the lady who is already there - the inimitable Susan Sarandon !

For a library check-out, "Anywhere But Here" is about par. It might be worth a viewing to kill time if it's bad weather outside - might be. The acting and directing in it is not particularly remarkable, nor is the story which seems more like writing and scenes splashed together. I fell asleep during the first watch which during a well-made movie, I never do. Upon re-watch to catch the parts I missed, I didn't think the movie was horrible, just soppy, syrupy melodrama. I didn't really care for any of the characters or their predicaments, and don't particularly enjoy watching mother/daughter Portman/Sarandon's arguments and make-ups repeating over and over. I thought the whole family background and in-fighting was terribly overcooked and was thrown together. The music was schlock. On second thought, give this a pass if you're trying to decide to watch.

Talented screenwriter Alvin Sargent sadly cannot get any engaging ideas cooking in this artificial trifle about a wayward mother and her mature teenage daughter trying to make their lives work in Los Angeles despite mom's flighty behavior. Apart from several good sequences, I didn't quite buy Susan Sarandon as a flake (she's too intrinsically smart and focused to be passed off as this devil-may-care lady), and her naturally grounded personality is a bad fit for the role of an irresponsible parent. Natalie Portman fares much better as her kid, and yet there's a creepy aloofness to her work (and some of her scenes, such as the one where she asks a boy to strip, are misguided and uncomfortable to watch). Certainly not an incompetent piece, "Anywhere But Here" does have moments that work, but it isn't an embraceable film, nor has it proved to be an important one. ** from ****