The finale is rose-colored and probably not credible, but the optimistic nature of Gavin O'Connor's screenplay (co-written with Angela Shelton), as well as his perceptive direction, makes the journey a fun, embraceable ride. We see Mary Jo trying her damnedest to make her life work, eventually falling into familiar patterns but this time learning from her mistakes. McTeer (who resembles Laurie Metcalf) isn't your typical tramp or "lover of life" she isn't unstable, and she's a good mother, but what she's trying so hard to get (a husband and a real home) doesn't always respond to her in kind. What starts out as a generic road movie-with hints of "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" besides-becomes an absorbing, intimate character portrait. Soon after arriving in Southern California, McTeer's Mary Jo Walker finds a decent job, begins making friends, and sees her daughter excelling in school for the first time however, a new relationship with a sexy but volatile trucker may put everything on the rocks. She and her preteen daughter drive from one state to the next, lighting in a motel room somewhere until a local romance blooms-and then high-tailing out of town when it predictably blows up. Reviewed by moonspinner55 6 / 10 The film's upbeat nature may strike some as false, yet the giddy handling in general is persuasive.īritish actress Janet McTeer gives a convincing, first-rate performance as a Southern woman and man-lover who can't find a good guy to love. That's also the reason why I give this movie a rating in between 7/10 and 7.5/10. It just wasn't too corny and had some very fine performances to offer. Yes, I even liked it and no I'm not a middle-aged housewife. Overall this is a nice movie that sure is a lot better than what I expected. Brown, who played Ava, she formed an excellent team. Janet McTeer was really excellent as the runaway mom and together with Kimberly J. But in the end it's still the acting that really did it for me. The fact that Ava wasn't the 'cute and lovely' kid who will bring her mother on the right track again by organizing a romantic date with a great man sure had a lot to do with the fact that I still enjoyed the story. The story isn't the reason why I liked it so much, although it could have been a lot worse. She has made friends at school and will soon act in a school play.Įven though this movie was rather predictable and far from original, I admit that I had a good time watching it. And indeed, that's the way it happens, but this time Ava, doesn't want to leave anymore. He's the same kind of guy as always, mom will fall in love again and tell that this one is different, but will end up running from him like she has always done. Mom immediately sees a new candidate husband in him, but her daughter already sees what is about to happen. But before they get there, their car breaks down and they need the help of a trucker to fix it. Now she will look for a decent man who will love them forever. And every time she promises herself and her daughter that everything will be different this time. That already says it all, but for those who are interested, I'll also explain why I liked it.Įvery time her relationship fails, Mary Jo Walker runs from town to town and from state to state with her 12 year old daughter. I only gave it a try because I didn't have much better to do and was only thinking about watching the first 15 minutes, just in order to be sure that it was one of the many. This is the stuff bad TV-movies, which have only one intention and that is to make the average housewife cry her eyes out, are made of. I mean, a movie with a story about a mother and daughter on the run for an abusive husband, is there a bigger cliché in the history of Hollywood? I really don't think so. I must admit that I didn't really look forward to this movie. Reviewed by philip_vanderveken 7 / 10 Some very fine performances and a story that isn't too corny make this an enjoyable movie
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