Critic Reviews
Anywhere But Here (1999) Rank 3 Reviews
Expert Review Summary
based on (137) reviews
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filmcritic.com wishes it was Anywhere But Here
Baltimore City Paper (Luisa F. Ribeiro)
San Francisco Examiner (Wesley Morris)
San Francisco Chronicle (Edward Guthmann)
Edward Johnson-Ott
That Cow (Andrew Bradford)
Washington Post (Stephen Hunter)
So closely observed, so funny and so true to the junk that is everybody's real--as opposed to movie--life that it comes to feel like some kind of a miracle. ...read the complete Anywhere But Here movie review at Washington Post (Stephen Hunter)
The New York Times (Janet Maslin)
Wang once again works splendidly with actresses, and boy, does he have a lot to work with this time. ...read the complete Anywhere But Here movie review at The New York Times (Janet Maslin)
Jam! Movies (Liz Braun)
A subtle and unexpected pleasure, all nuanced performance and character detail. ...read the complete Anywhere But Here movie review at Jam! Movies (Liz Braun)
New York Times (Janet Maslin)
Mr. Wang once again works splendidly with actresses, and boy, does he have a lot to work with this time. ...read the complete Anywhere But Here movie review at New York Times (Janet Maslin)
A Guide to Current DVD (Aaron Beierle)
DVD Authority.com ("Fusion3600")
Detroit News (Susan Stark)
SPLICEDwire (Rob Blackwelder)
Movie Habit (Marty Mapes)
ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
Trailblazing is not one of the qualities anyone would ascribe to Anywhere But Here, the new motion picture from Wayne Wang (working from a script written by Alvin Sargent, based on Mona Simpson's novel). Yet, although the overall trajectory of the storyli ...read the complete Anywhere But Here movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
FilmHead.com (Matt Heffernan)
New York Daily News (Jami Bernard)
Boston Globe (Jay Carr)
Aims its big, bold mother-daughter conflicts straight at the heart by way of the tear ducts, and connects. ...read the complete Anywhere But Here movie review at Boston Globe (Jay Carr)
San Francisco Chronicle (Edward Guthmann)
Sarandon and Portman work beautifully -- together, negotiating a range of emotional keys that blend comedy and drama in the same moment. ...read the complete Anywhere But Here movie review at San Francisco Chronicle (Edward Guthmann)
Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Wayne Wang's "Anywhere But Here" is about a frustrated mother who believes she is rotting away in a small Wisconsin town. She buys a used Mercedes, shoves her teenage daughter inside, and drives them cross-country to Beverly Hills, where she will put her ...read the complete Anywhere But Here movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Xiibaro Productions (David Perry)
Palo Alto Weekly (Jeanne Aufmuth)
New York Post (Lou Lumenick)
Anywhere But Here is a wonderful showcase for Natalie Portman, who gives an Oscar-caliber performance. ...read the complete Anywhere But Here movie review at New York Post (Lou Lumenick)
National Post (--)
Palo Alto Online (Jeanne Aufmuth)
Movie Parables (Michael Elliott)
Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
The movie's interest is not in the plot, which is episodic and "colorful," but in the performances. ...read the complete Anywhere But Here movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Renaissance Online Magazine review
Teen Movie Critic (Vivian Rose)
Christian Spotlight on the Movies
Reel Film Reviews (David Nusair)
Reel.com DVD review (Marina Chavez)
DVD Net (Michael Chappell)
Screen It! Entertainment Reviews for Parents
Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)
Houston Community Newspapers (Gary Brown)
digitallyOBSESSED.com (Bob Mandel)
cinEncanto (Pablo del Moral)
The Cranky Critic (Chuck Schwartz)
The New York Times - Family Movie Guide (Peter M. Nichols)
Salon (Mary Elizabeth Williams)
Salon.com (Mary Elizabeth Williams)
B Fatt. & Lazy Movie Reviews
Newsweek (Jeff Giles)
Portman gives a superb, understated performance as a teen who gets whiplash from watching her mother's mood swings. ...read the complete Anywhere But Here movie review at Newsweek (Jeff Giles)
Movie Magazine International
Austin Chronicle (Steve Davis)
Houston Chronicle
Anywhere But Here brought me to tears often, but it was not that often when something sad happened. I think I was experiencing a transference of basic emotional truth across the membrane of the screen. That doesn't happen often, and I suspect I was ...read the complete Anywhere But Here movie review at Houston Chronicle
Reel.com (Rod Armstrong)
Movie Hell (Michael J. Legeros)
Matinee Magazine (Jason Clark)
The movie doesn't feel authentic, it's relationships are drawn in erratic, TV movie-like strokes. ...read the complete Anywhere But Here movie review at Matinee Magazine (Jason Clark)
Planet Sick-Boy (Jon Popick)
Spirituality & Health (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat)
Anchorage Press (Brenda Sokolowski)
The Boston Phoenix
Philadelphia City Paper (Sam Adams)
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Cinemaphile.org (David Keyes)
Nashville Scene (Donna Bowman)
eye WEEKLY (Gemma Files)
Film Freak Central
Scott's Movie Reviews (Scott Mantz)
Between the glitz of Beverly Hills, the glamour of Hollywood, and the glisten of Malibu, it makes perfect sense that so many people flock to Los Angeles every year to embrace the "California Myth". However, it takes a certain kind of person to pick up ...read the complete Anywhere But Here movie review at Scott's Movie Reviews (Scott Mantz)
Entertainment Today (Brent Simon)
The title might very well be an appropriate description of what more impatient filmgoers may be feeling after sitting through this frustratingly mediocre dramedy. ...read the complete Anywhere But Here movie review at Entertainment Today (Brent Simon)
Austin Chronicle (Steve Davis)
Cinematter (Matt Williams)
The Movie Mom (Nell Minow)
User Reviews
by Bradley Headstone... on June 02, 2008
In some ways, this movie is a real masterpiece. One of its really strong merits is that it does not try to pretend that a single mother (Sarandon) and her daughter (Portman) are so perfect. It shows that people can be loving and endearing even though ...
by One More Option on July 20, 2006
This is a movie about the ...
by Maya Wright on September 20, 2004
This movie is the best movie that I have ever seen! Its my favorite movie and I watch it almost everyday. The way the mother and daughter end up connecting in the end is just amazing. ABSOLUTELY NO COMPARISON TO TUMBLEWEED... ...
by Dennis Littrell on July 30, 2004
The mother-daughter bond, especially with an only child, is one of the strongest human bonds there is. Some say it's stronger than husband and wife. It tends to be intense and it almost always develops into a situation where neither side has the clear ...
by C. Millstone "Nig... on July 25, 2004
I think I saw this movie about two times.It's entertaining because the characters have depth. It is about a mother and daughter trying to find their place in the world. They move from Wisconsin to Beverly Hills. Ann,14, is upset about leaving home and ...
i loved this movie, it is my favorite movie and always will be. The only film i've ver cried in, and never forgot about from when i first saw it in theaters when i was 8. The plot in this movie is inspiring and unforgetable. The ...
by angelfacejuliasnu... on November 21, 2003
Its really good it shows what teens go through and what her mom is going through and how the daugther is the mom role and how disfuncanational things are. ...
by Peggy Vincent "au... on October 17, 2003
Susan Sarandon plays the part of an unstable mom looking for The American Dream to perfection as she hauls her far more stable, reluctant ...
by david holmes on December 16, 2002
Teaming a veteran, Susan Sarandon, with a relative novice, Natalie Portman, was a stroke of genius. They are truly a team, partly so as the characters, definitely so as actresses. Their performances are so convincing, so completely in step, and so loaded ...
User Comments
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