Anywhere but Here

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2:26

Anywhere but Here

PG-13

1999

1h 54m

Comedy

Drama

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Popcornmeter

64%

Tomatometer

88 Reviews

54%

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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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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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Solid story of independence for teens.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 22, 2010

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Geoff Andrew

Time Out

Portman is excellent, balancing wisdom and petulance, loyalty and imposition...

Jun 24, 2006

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Emanuel Levy

Variety

As a depiction of a loving-turbulent relationship between a single mom (Susan Sarandon) and her rebellious teenage daughter (Natalie Portman), Wang's meller is nicely crafted but old-fashioned like Hollywood's weepies of yesteryear.

Rated: 3/5

Jan 2, 2006

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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

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Laura Clifford

Reeling Reviews

Director Wayne Wang has delivered a solid entertainment, particularly for women, with Anywhere But Here.

Rated: B-

Apr 9, 2005

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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brittney l

Always been one of my favorites!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Wayne Wang

Director

Susan Sarandon

Adele August

Natalie Portman

Ann August

Eileen Ryan

Lillian

Ray Baker

Ted

John Diehl

Jimmy

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Anywhere but Here: Trailer 1

2:26

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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: 20th Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures
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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