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Unhook the Stars

Play trailer Poster for Unhook the Stars R Released Nov 1, 1996 1h 43m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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82% Tomatometer 22 Reviews 47% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Widowed mother Mildred (Gena Rowlands) must suddenly redefine herself and find an outlet for her nurturing side when her adult daughter moves out of the family home. Though Mildred thinks she's found her purpose when her neighbor, overworked single mother Monica (Marisa Tomei), asks her to look after her little boy, J.J. (Jake Lloyd), she has great difficulty learning to strike a healthy balance between giving selflessly to others and remembering to take care of herself.
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Unhook the Stars

Critics Reviews

View All (22) Critics Reviews
Lisa Schwarzbaum Entertainment Weekly Rated: B- Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Emanuel Levy Variety Nick Cassavetes' first feature celebrates the acting grandeur of his mom Gena Rowlands, casting her in the lead role as a older woman who would rather stick to her independent lifestyle than be dependent on her kids; I wish the script were better. Rated: B- Sep 1, 2006 Full Review Geoff Andrew Time Out A sensitive, honest, touching study of the seemingly limited options faced by a woman whose age belies her energy, enthusiasm and ability to enjoy herself whenever the opportunity presents itself. Jun 24, 2006 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews ...a quiet, gentle drama that benefits from its raft of above-average performances... Rated: 3/4 Oct 27, 2024 Full Review Chuck O'Leary Fantastica Daily Rated: 2/5 Oct 6, 2005 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Jun 15, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (26) audience reviews
Audience Member Directed by Nick Cassavetes and starring Gena Rowlands, Marisa Tomei, Gerard DePardieu, Moira Kelly, and Jake Lloyd Widowed mother Mildred must suddenly redefine herself and find an outlet for her nurturing side when her adult daughter, Ann moves out of the family home Ann has had enough of her not acting like a grown up wanting a real job and not having to take care of her forever Though Mildred thinks she's found her purpose when her neighbor, overworked single mother Monica who lives with an abusive boyfriend who asks her to look after her little boy, J.J. she has great difficulty learning to strike a healthy balance between giving selflessly to others and remembering to take care of herself Tomei and Rowlands make quite the friendly duo each figuring out how to move forward The movie kinda stagnates in spots though Plus the poster never really happens at any point Basically there's a lot of heart-to-heart talks between these two, mainly it's Mildred making her own choices and lifestyle rather than depending on her children The script needed to be better but it is still a touching study of having your options limited We should all have the opportunity to enjoy ourselves not letting age beling us Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member A touching, true-to-life drama. Gena Rowlands is terrific as usual. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review ashley h Unhook the Stars is a disappointing film. It is about Mildred, an elderly woman who has spent her life caring for others. Gena Rowlands and Marissa Tomei give terrible performances. The script is badly written. Nick Cassavetes did a horrible job directing this movie. I was not impressed with this motion picture. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member A very life affirming coming-of-age story about an elderly woman who learns to stop taking care of others and start living her life. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member I know u shouldn't judge a book (or movie) by its cover or title but this is one of my favourite movie titles and a reel good com-dram. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Unhook the Stars is a good first picture by the multi-talented Nick Cassavetes, but it isn't always a fun watch. Some aspects are a little cliched, and the characters are hardly relatable. But it is the acting that helps make the film thoroughly watchable. Gena Rowlands and Marisa Tomei give stellar performances. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Unhook the Stars

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Cast & Crew

Georgia 81% 65% Georgia Watchlist The Wings of the Dove 86% 78% The Wings of the Dove Watchlist 54 15% 36% 54 Watchlist Playing by Heart 60% 79% Playing by Heart Watchlist The Crossing Guard 76% 53% The Crossing Guard Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Widowed mother Mildred (Gena Rowlands) must suddenly redefine herself and find an outlet for her nurturing side when her adult daughter moves out of the family home. Though Mildred thinks she's found her purpose when her neighbor, overworked single mother Monica (Marisa Tomei), asks her to look after her little boy, J.J. (Jake Lloyd), she has great difficulty learning to strike a healthy balance between giving selflessly to others and remembering to take care of herself.
Director
Nick Cassavetes
Producer
René Cleitman
Screenwriter
Nick Cassavetes, Helen Caldwell
Distributor
Miramax Films
Production Co
Miramax Films
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 1, 1996, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 4, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$285.5K
Runtime
1h 43m
Sound Mix
Surround
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