White Oleander
The Players: Michelle Pfeiffer, Renee Zellweger, Robin Wright Penn, Alison Lohman, Noah Wyle, Patrick Fugit, Taryn Manning; directed by Peter Kosminsky (Wuthering Heights)
The Skinny: Fourteen-year-old Astrid (newcomer Lohman) gets a series of foster home moms (Zellweger, Penn) when her capricious, feminist-poet mom Ingrid (Pfeiffer) kills her ex-boyfriend and goes to prison for life. Ingrid hits the streets, turning tricks and contemplating suicide, and befriends fellow foster kids, one addicted to heroin (Fugit) and one a punk rocker (Manning). She eventually gets the chance to have Mom back, but she’d have to lie about what happened.
The Bottom Line: Like Pfeiffer‘s similarly movie-of-the-week-minded dud of a few years ago, The Deep End of the Ocean, Oleander is based upon a best-seller recommended by Oprah Winfrey’s book club. With this kind of triple-blonde pedigree, plus Oprah‘s backing, this one’s sure to appeal to more than a few compassionate housewives.
Opens: Oct. 11
