The Trip to Bountiful

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The Trip to Bountiful

PG

1986

1h 47m

Drama

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100%

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10 Reviews

85%

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1,000+ Ratings

Carrie Watts (Geraldine Page) may be old, but she suffers no shortage of spirit. When her carping daughter-in-law (Carlin Glynn) and overprotective son (John Heard) forbid her to travel alone from Houston to her childhood home in Bountiful, she strikes out anyway. Learning that trains no longer stop there, she takes a bus instead and en route meets a young woman (Rebecca De Mornay) with whom she shares both secrets and memories. Little does she know that her family has alerted the police.

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Dolores Barclay

Associated Press

The cast is marvelously filled out with John Heard as Ludie and Carlin Glynn as Jessie Mae As an ensemble it is as fine a cast as one could want.

Oct 22, 2018

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

The movie surprises us: It's not really about conflict between the generations, but about the impossibility of really understanding that you are even a member of an older generation, that decades have gone by.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jan 1, 2000

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Carrie’s exploits slowly-but-surely possess a far more engrossing and emotional bent than one might’ve initially anticipated.

Rated: 3/4

May 21, 2022

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Mattie Lucas

From the Front Row

Page's performance is so strong that it grounds the film when it threatens to disappear into its own nostalgic haze.

Rated: 3/4

Jun 3, 2019

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

In this small, sharply observed tale from Horton Foote, the great Geraldine Page plays an elderly widow, who longs to go back to her idyllic small-town roots; shapeless, the film is mostly a showcase for its actors.

Rated: B-

Dec 31, 2006

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Chuck O'Leary

Fantastica Daily

Rated: 4/5

Oct 9, 2005

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Isaiah Y

Worth watching just for Geraldine Page's greatest performance of her career

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/05/25

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Stephen C

Success in 1 hour and 47 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Happy 39th anniversary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $6,000,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/04/25

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Mark C

Quite frankly I consider this film one of the finest ever made if not the best.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/18/24

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isla s

This film features the quote 'if only I could not worry' - this is something I can very, very much relate to, being quite an anxious person. It's about an elderly lady who decides to up sticks and travel back to a place that holds many old memories for her, after she tires of her sons partner somewhat nipping at her heels. It's certainly a bit cheesy at times and a little slow for the story to build pace. It has the feel of a TV film about it, a Hallmark channel film (perhaps it was one? not sure). We watch as the lady opens up about her past, her mistakes etc. It's somewhat poignant at times. Not an overly appealing watch overall maybe, as in it isn't a big Hollywood blockbuster type film, the main character is someone it'd be hard not to empathise with and feel sorry for at times certainly - it mainly works well thanks to the decent performance given by Geraldine Page. The film focusses very much on her vulnerability in a social context. For the first half an hour or so of the film I wasn't sure what I thought about it but I was quite keen on it by the end. Yes, I reckon this is worth looking at if it sounds of interest. It may make you think about how we treat and regard older people perhaps.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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david f

A small-scale portrait of a family confined to a tiny Texas apartment for too long and about to explode.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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steve d

Extremely slow and not at all interesting.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Peter Masterson

Director

Geraldine Page

Mrs. Carrie Watts

John Heard

Ludie Watts

Rebecca De Mornay

Thelma

Carlin Glynn

Jessie Mae

Richard Bradford

Sheriff

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Synopsis

Carrie Watts (Geraldine Page) may be old, but she suffers no shortage of spirit. When her carping daughter-in-law (Carlin Glynn) and overprotective son (John Heard) forbid her to travel alone from Houston to her childhood home in Bountiful, she strikes out anyway. Learning that trains no longer stop there, she takes a bus instead and en route meets a young woman (Rebecca De Mornay) with whom she shares both secrets and memories. Little does she know that her family has alerted the police.

Director: Peter Masterson
Distributor: Island Pictures
Production Co: Bountiful Film Partners
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 24, 1986, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 19, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $6.0M
Runtime: 1h 47m

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