Synopsis
As with his earlier film The Joy Luck Club (1993), Chinese director Wayne Wang tackles mother-daughter relationships in this coming of age comedy-drama. Susan Sarandon stars as Adele August, a Bay City, Wisconsin, mother who longs for a more exciting and glamorous life in Beverly Hills, California. So she leaves her husband (Ray Baker) and packs her reluctant daughter Ann (Natalie Portman) into a gold Mercedes Benz, heading for L.A. When they arrive and move into an apartment they can't really afford, it becomes clear that Ann is the mature half of the duo, while Adele, a dreamer, is not firmly grounded in reality. Her plans include Ann's future career as an actress (a profession in which the girl has no interest) and landing a rich and handsome husband for herself, such as a dentist (Hart Bochner) who never calls Adele again after a one-night stand. When a family tragedy provokes a crisis between mother and daughter, the irresponsible Adele is forced to become a traditional mom for once.
What Critics Say
No holiday season is complete without Susan Sarandon doing the mother bit. In "Anywhere But Here," she's wacky mom Adele August, and the part affords much gabby outlet for her flirty comic gifts.
Natalie Portman has her innate, manic charm as the other half of this dysfunctional pair, daughter Ann. However, this too-pat film is merely a repetitive series of scenes of bickering between them, culminating in tearful cuddles.
Alvin Sargent's script does little to improve on Mona Simpson's unaccountably acclaimed book. (Sample line: "When life gets rough, and you only have a dime in your pocket, go out and get your shoes shined.")
Tamara Jenkins' "Slums of Beverly Hills" covered similar ground in far wittier, more affecting fashion. None of this, especially the Augusts' supposedly strained circumstances, is believable in the least. (They stay in shoddy motels but have a lavishly gifted Christmas.) Adele gets some rote romantic interest in reliable Hart Bochner, as an orthodontist named Dr. Spritzer(!).
Director Wayne Wang, now officially typed as a ladies' man, largely stays out of his formidable actresses' way. With cinematographer Roger Deakins, he's given the film a handsome look. The schizophrenic ugly/gorgeous vistas of L.A. are fully, if a bit glossily, captured.
*MPAA rating: PG-13, for sex-related material.
"Anywhere But Here"
Susan Sarandon: Adele August
Natalie Portman: Ann August
Ellen Ryan: Lillian
Ray Baker: Ted
John Diehl: Jimmy
Shawn Hatosy: Benny
Bonnie Bedelia: Carol
Faran Tahir: Hisham
A 20th Century Fox presentation. Director Wayne Wang. Producer Laurence Mark. Screenplay Alvin Sargent. Novel Mona Simpson. Director of Photography Roger Deakins. Editor Nicholas C. Smith. Music Danny Elfman. Production Designer Donald Graham Burt. Costume Designer Betsy Heimann. Art Director Kevin Constant. Set Decorator Barbara Munch. Set Designers Peter Harbour and Theodore Sharps. Running time: 1 hours, 51 minutes.
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