Nevada

The movie is half over before you have the slightest idea what is going on or why. By the end of the movie, you may have an idea, but don't count on it being the same idea that the "writer/director" had. I thought that any movie with a cast this interesting would be at least tolerable. I was wrong (sigh). If you go to the video store and are tempted, save your money... if someone gives you the movie to watch, save your time! A sad waste of a decent cast and the better part of two hours.

It's mighty hard to find movies that aren't about White males. But it's even harder to find a movie that's about women than one that's about brown folks. This is a quirky, tough, tender movie about women-- their lives and confusions. An earlier commenter felt that Kirstie Alley's performance was inadequate, but my husband and I were surprised how good and understated she was. It's always great to see Kathy Najimy, and Amy Brenneman was excellent.

A beautifully written movie about folks.

I was shocked to see that Kirstie Ally put her own money behind this awful flick. She really just "phoned in her performance." Kind of looked like a female caricature of Marlin Brando on SNL!

The best part is that the story is based in Silver City, Nevada, which is 11 miles from Carson City, Nevada, and some of the residents work at the Boulder Dam, which is roughly 460 miles from Carson City. So they drive at least 8.5 hours each way to work. The entire movie is based on some lesbian fantasy that a bunch of sweaty, dusty, hot babes are sitting around in rustic shacks in perfectly torn sun dresses flirting with each other while their men work at the dam. Think beer commercial with cost plus sets/props. I know it's just a movie but c'mon...working at the dam? They could have worked at any of the local mines if they wanted the dirty, sweaty boy look.

In most modern movies, the setting is a necessity that functions for no other reason than a casual fact. This movie more than anything had a sense of place. It knew where it was and the mentalities of those people, and how their perspectives were shaped by that area. It's polished with the ability to create the place without broadcasting it.

The other aspect that sets this movie apart is it's ability to create real people. It doesn't take cheap outs with the characters. A lesser movie would have readily made the main character a victim of some characteristic movie atrocity - abuse, amnesia, having been attacked, raped, who knows. It's the conclusion I immediately jumped to, knowing full well the modern movie quick explanations. The movie could have made the women of Silver over-the-top men-haters, uneducated hicks needing to be saved, who knows. The truth is tragedy is relative, and it's usually the small things that will eventually wear us down. The fact that this movie is able to convey that without resorting to cheap plot gimmicks is commendable and makes it well worth your time.