Where the Heart Is

The ending ties things up a bit too neatly, but this is a ravishingly beautiful film. Good ensemble work by all the cast (although the lovely Uma has obviously had some acting classes since this role)...However, the art direction is the true star - it's definitely worth checking out for that alone. This may not be Boorman's best work, but it didn't deserve the panning it got from the mainstream media when it came out.

This is quite honestly a beautiful film. The women and men are gorgeous and there is eye-candy here for many and charm and grace for other's. I don't agree with the "comedy" classification. This is a film that stretches social boundaries. Maybe the biggest problem with this film was it tried to say too much in far to many areas, thus leaving holes or unfinished plot lines.

In the late eighties and early 90's the impact of computers (and internet) on business made a mint for some and lost a mint for other's. Those that fought the old ways, no found themselves to be the outsiders in society. Not the artists, gay males, old homeless men, etc. It was and still is a time to reaccess priorities.

I liked there was a gay male character shown in such a positive light. The ending is a bit of a sell out for his story line, but should not impact the importance of the role during the time it was filmed. There was interracial dating, the realization that homelessness could happen to anyone at any time.

I also understood the main character's motivation for "tossing" his college educated children out of their wealthy home ..... he didn't exactly leave them on the street. As was mentioned briefly, most of the parents in this super wealthy world were more then ready for their children to leave the nest.

The way the adult children adjusted to a new lifestyle and fending for themselves (or not) and the strange yet strikingly beautiful life they built with friends and new friends, was IMO well developed. The movie also covers the territory of the empty nest syndrome and the parents realizing after 26 years they are "strangers." The reawakening and strengthening of family values was very inspiring.

Final note .... students of art and art lovers, or those that enjoy beautifully filmed movies should not miss it.

A film that doen't get mentioned with the best of John Boorman is this sweet and poignant motion picture about the rise and fall and rise of a whalthy family. The family is made up of eccentric characters that are memorable in their individual characterizations. Where the Heart Is(1990) is a bright and wonderful movie that is one of Boorman's overlooked and underrated. The performance of Dabney Coleman is probably the best he has given in a long career of making motion pictures. One of the best films of the 1990s which I would love to see on DVD.

This "farce" about a wealthy millionaire who puts his spoiled children out of their plush lifestyle, forcing them to live in a Brooklyn slum building he owns is a strange little item. There was possibilities in the storyline but Coleman's children (which include Uma Thurman) are so flighty they get on your nerves quickly. Circumstances occur that force Coleman to enlist his children's help and the movie gets unglued at the end. Both Dabney Coleman and Joanna Cassidy, both fondly remembered from the "Buffalo Bill" tv series of the mid 80's, deserve better.

This movie has a lot to recommend it. The paintings, the music, and David Hewlett's naked butt are all gorgeous! The plot, a story of redemption, forgiveness, and courage in the face of adversity is also very interesting and touching -- and it's not predictable, which is saying quite a lot about a movie in this day and age. But, the acting is mediocre, the direction is confusing, and the script is just odd. It often felt like it was trying to be a parody, but I never figured out what it was trying to be parody *of*. And if it's not a parody, well, it remains a movie with great potential that it didn't live up to.