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Anywhere but Here

Play trailer 2:26 Poster for Anywhere but Here PG-13 Released Oct 12, 1999 1h 54m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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63% Tomatometer 89 Reviews 55% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
In this adaptation of the Mona Simpson novel, single mother Adele August (Susan Sarandon) is bad with money, and even worse when it comes to making decisions. Her straight-laced daughter, Ann (Natalie Portman), is a successful high school student with Ivy League aspirations. When Adele decides to pack up and move the two of them from the Midwest to Beverly Hills, Calif., to pursue her dreams of Hollywood success, Ann grows frustrated with her mother's irresponsible and impulsive ways.
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Anywhere but Here

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Critics Consensus

The strong chemistry between Susan Sarandon and Natalie Portman as a mother and daughter trying to make a fresh start in L.A. helps to elevate Anywhere But Here above its occasional forays into melodrama.

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Critics Reviews

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Lisa Schwarzbaum Entertainment Weekly Rated: C+ Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Nell Minow Common Sense Media Solid story of independence for teens. Rated: 3/5 Dec 22, 2010 Full Review Geoff Andrew Time Out Portman is excellent, balancing wisdom and petulance, loyalty and imposition... Jun 24, 2006 Full Review Chuck Klosterman Akron Beacon Journal By the end of Anywhere But Here, everything has worked out perfectly (and predictably), but that perfection seems implausible and almost disappointing. Rated: 2/4 Oct 30, 2023 Full Review Laura Clifford Reeling Reviews Director Wayne Wang has delivered a solid entertainment, particularly for women, with Anywhere But Here. Rated: B- Apr 9, 2005 Full Review Louis B. Hobson Jam! Movies Adele and Ann are not easy screen characters to like, but they are easy to believe in -- especially in the skins of Sarandon and Portman. Rated: 3.5/5 Jun 7, 2004 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member emotionally heartfelt and wonderfully acted even 25 years later Sarandon and Portman have terrific chemistry and really know how to emote when they do it's a very strong story of a mother learning to let go of her daughter, something that we all must face at some point in our lives letting go, love, honesty, adjustment, inner conflict, self-doubt and attempting to rise above the inevitable ties into the plot dramatically well it's also a real tear jerker, too Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/13/24 Full Review Audience Member Worth seeing once just for the constant zing drummed up by Sarandon and Portman. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review david f I only watched this DVD cause it came packaged with another movie that I really wanted. But it was pretty good, with a solid, literate story and characters. It focused on women, which is rare enough in Hollywood, and on a mother daughter relationship strained by both poverty and eccentricity. It deserves an audience, I think. (It also had some late-nineties scenes in a Borders Books and Music that was an important time capsule for those of us who fondly remember that bookstore chain.) Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member A movie that is engaging and realistic. Hard to watch without shedding a tear. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review steve d The story is good enough but it is the chemistry between the actors that makes it work. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review brittney l Always been one of my favorites! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Anywhere but Here

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Anywhere but Here

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Movie Info

Synopsis In this adaptation of the Mona Simpson novel, single mother Adele August (Susan Sarandon) is bad with money, and even worse when it comes to making decisions. Her straight-laced daughter, Ann (Natalie Portman), is a successful high school student with Ivy League aspirations. When Adele decides to pack up and move the two of them from the Midwest to Beverly Hills, Calif., to pursue her dreams of Hollywood success, Ann grows frustrated with her mother's irresponsible and impulsive ways.
Director
Wayne Wang
Producer
Laurence Mark
Screenwriter
Mona Simpson, Alvin Sargent
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
Fox 2000 Pictures, 20th Century Fox
Rating
PG-13
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 12, 1999, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA)
$18.7M
Runtime
1h 54m
Sound Mix
Surround, Dolby Digital
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