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"Hope Floats" is too dramatic to be a romantic comedy. It's more of a character drama about Birdee (Sandra Bullock) moving back home and the main story line being a romance with Harry Connick Jr.

Birdee, and the film, are very down-to-earth. Although she lived in Chicago, she's much more suited to the small-town life that she grew up in in Texas. They don't go for much of the obvious comedy of big-city girl versus small-town country girl. And that's a good thing.

The young daughter can get annoying, and the romantic comedy angle is transparent from the beginning. But the natural drama that Birdee goes through in trying to rebuild her life after a public divorce is done well enough that it makes "Hope Floats" worth watching.

Sandra Bullock, Harry Connick, Jr., and Gena Rowlands star in "Hope Floats," a 1998 film directed by Forest Whitaker.

Bullock, who 13 years ago looks exactly as she does now, plays Birdee Pruitt, a small town beauty queen and cheerleader who married the star of the football team, Bill (Michael Pare) and left for the big city. They have a daughter, Bernice (Mae Whitman).

When Birdee is invited on a talk show, she is led to believe it's for a makeover. However, it's a Jerry Springer type show, and when she gets there, her best friend tells her that she's been having an affair with Birdee's husband - and they're in love. Bill verifies it.

Angry and hurt, Birdee packs up her daughter and moves back to Texas with her outspoken taxidermist mother (Gena Rowlands). An old flame (Harry Connick Jr.) reappears, but Birdee is unable to move forward. She's in love with her husband and wants him back.

This film seems to have low scores on IMDb, giving validation to my theory that a) reviewers on IMDb are mostly men; and b) young men; who c) like action, special effects, futuristic, and science fiction films.

"Hope Floats" is actually a very sweet movie with lovely performances from everyone involved. Bullock is warm and likable as a depressed woman who comes back to town in disgrace and has to face up to people she wasn't particularly nice to in high school. Connick is handsome and charming.

Rowlands does a terrific job as Birdee's confident and sometimes overbearing mother who deeply loves her daughter and granddaughter. Mae Whitman as the child Bernice is fantastic as a hurt little girl waiting for her daddy to take her home.

Some of the best scenes occur when Birdee visits her demented father in a nursing home.

I thought this was an effective film. No bombs, no violence, just some poignant real life - a single mom, a father with dementia, and what it's like to go home and start over.

I love films like "Speed," "Inception," "Salt" and films of the classic era. There's room for all kinds of films, and there is room for an actress with the warmth and charm of Sandra Bullock. If you're not a fan, skip it. If you are, you'll love it.

Firstly, I LOVE Sandra Bullock. I'll watch any and every movie starring Sandra Bullock. She's the entire reason I gave this movie a chance. I really like old rom-coms as well. There's a certain charm to them. I rated this movie what I did because, in my opinion, there's no real, fluid chemistry between Birdie and Justin. Everything seems so forced and it's just very off putting to me. I also don't like how Justin practically forces Birdie to be around him and make physical contact with him even though she is clearly uncomfortable and has said no to him many times. Gives me the ick to the highest degree.

One of the things that truly irks me are some people's rapid willingness to typecast actors and actresses, and dump on them when they try something new. While it has to be said that Sandra Bullock does not avoid exploding buses, or have to hunt down any cryogenically frozen bad guys in this picture, "Hope Floats" is a better movie than most give it credit, and Ms. Bullock and the supporting cast put in fine performances of their own to make a very touching and poignant film.

Forest Whitaker (acting in such films as "Blown Away" and "Phenomenon" sits in the Director's chair on this one and crafts a tale that deals with many different emotional themes, carried earnestly by sensitive and character revealing performances from his leading lady and the supporting cast.

While it must be said that Ms. Bullock provides some very memorable scenes in this film (especially when drunk) the casting of Gena Rowlands, Harry Connick Jr, and Michael Pare provide more ballast with fine performances delivered from all.

But the highlight for me in this film - young Mae Whitman and her performance as Ms. Bullock's on-screen daughter. At the conclusion of one very moving scene near the end of the film I could only watch her and wonder at just how bright this young actress' future will be.

So, if blood, bombs and action is your scene, then "Hope Floats" may not be your scene, but if you are into drama with solidly acted and well crafted characters by very fine actors, then "Hope Floats" is for you. It will leave you very satisfied that you took the time to see this very finely made and acted film.

Was Bill Pruitt totally mad to want to leave Birdee (Sandra Bullock)? I mean, if you're going to make a movie about a cuckolded wife, you can't do it effectively using Sandra as your actress. She is the most desirable woman on the planet - not just in looks but as a genuinely sincere person - not to mention a damn good actress. Heck! I can't look at a woman without comparing her with Sandra (which, I guess, is why I'm single - no one meets the standard!)

Even in this movie, I can't help feeling that Birdee has a lot of the real Sandra in her. Even though she is beautiful, she is not conceited or vindictive. Harry Connick Jr. as Justin is equally sensitive and doesn't stalk her, even though he clearly counts his blessings that he has a second chance to have what he was too slow to get the first time. He genuinely woos her in the real old-fashioned way which is quite a pleasant change from most so-called romance movies these days.

And Mae Whitman as Birdee's 9-year-old daughter, Bernice shows her to be the star that she has, since Hope Floats was made, become. It always amazes me how young children are able to act so convincingly in traumatic domestic situations such as Bernice had to. Full marks to Mae!

Of course, a true queen of the silver screen, Gena Rowlands as Birdee's mum, is everything we have come to expect of her - a tender, all-knowing matriarch who holds everything together.

All in all, a fine movie that, in my opinion, is worth more than the 5.8 that viewers have given it. Definitely a movie I will happily watch again, and again over the years.

Birdie (Sandra Bullock) has just returned to her hometown in Texas. Once the belle of the city, homecoming queen, etc., Birdie is now licking the wounds of a painful marital separation. She has brought her young daughter Bernice with her and both of them are quite puzzled by life and what it may hold for their future. Fortunately, Birdie's mother welcomes them with open arms and lots of love. Then, too, Justin (Harry Connick, Jr.) is delighted that Birdie is back in town. Will the two distraught females, Birdie and Bernice, learn to look forward instead of dwelling on the past?

This slow, understated movie may be a difficult watch for the action film crowd. It is definitely a character study and, in that, it excels. Bullock gives an excellent portrayal as the prom queen who learns that life is not an endless picnic. She also looks utterly beautiful throughout the film. The young actress playing her daughter is also quite good as the troubled and confused child of a broken home. Rowlands and Connick, Jr. lend ample support. No, please don't look for car crashes or chase scenes. Instead bask in the film's simple pleasures, such as fishing on a quiet lake or dancing at a county fair. Those who like romance will be satisfied but the growth of the female characters is worth much more. Ladies, send the men off to the bowling alley and invite your friends over for a girlie get-together. This film is definitely one that women will enjoy while holding hands and celebrating the joys of ya-ya sisterhood.

I'll admit from the off, I love Sandra Bullock. With her gorgeous girl next door looks, I adore her, and will usually give anything she is in a chance. she remains one of the most talented and beautiful women in movies, and her ladylike sexiness is in rare supply. Any movie becomes promising just by having her name in it's cast.

Plot In A Paragraph: Birdee Pruitt (Bullock) is an housewife whose life is turned upside when her husband Bill (Michael Pare) reveals his infidelity (with her best friend Connie) to her on a talk show. She goes to live with her mother (Rowlands) in the small town in which she grew up, where everyone knows of her television appearance. It's not long before an old friend, Justin (Connick, Jr.), has entered her life, sparking a potential romance.

The film was choreographed by Patsy Swayze. Harry Connick, Jr. Is OK (if a little bland) as Justin Whilst Kathy Najimy has a small role as Talk Show host Toni Post as does Rosanna Arquette as Connie and Bill Cobbs also pops up as a Nurse. As for Sandra Bullock she is as watchable as always, but these are not ninety of her better minutes.

Hope might float, but this film drags like a brutally humid summer day in Texas. It could be argued that the slow pace and uneventful plot are stylistic choices to show depression or small-town's effects on time, but its surface-level themes and inability to establish a consistent tone make it more likely a pointless watch.

All the characters are unlikable for various reasons, which only highlights the disparity in acting talent between Sandra Bullock and Harry Connick Jr. As Bullock manages to make her flawed character somewhat intriguing, while Connick Jr. Comes off as a cardboard cutout. Mae Whitman's performance is impressive, as is the costume design for the Travis character.

This movie touched me more personally than any other movie ever. The down home country feeling just screams America and what woman hasn't been in Birdie's shoes. Heck... what woman isn't looking for their Justin? This movie has it all... love and pain... laughter and tears. It's perfect. The beauty of the country along with the small town family atmosphere makes this pure. I know I also love the humor. Bernice is the best! She has heart and knows what she wants. The fact that she can tell Justin how it is impresses me and empowers me. The music is some of the most beautiful music I've heard and it just makes this experience all the more perfect for me! I love it and recommend it to any woman who has ever been hurt and survived. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to express my opinion.

Look, I can appreciate enjoying this movie. I've liked many a fluffy piece of garbage, but something about this movie just didn't come together. I could never figure out the relationship of the leads. So, he likes her (ostensibly because she's beautiful, since that's the only compliment he offers) and she just sorta goes with it. He gets all pissy that the woman dumped on live TV by her husband isn't ready to date a couple weeks after her public humiliation and she just sorta... Goes with it anyway and dates him while not dating him and dating she's not really dating him. I guess? I do not understand the motives of either of them. Mae Whitman is the best part of this movie, and I normally quite like Sandra Bullock. The whole thing just sorta happens to you, wandering from one plot point to the next with no real sense of a larger purpose or real message. Oof.

I actually liked this movie. Neither because of the slow development nor of the fair acting of Bullock/Connick Jr. The brilliant performance of Mae Whitman as Bernice made this whole movie worthwhile. I've never seen a child outperform her "co-stars" like that. She sure would deserve the Academy Award for best supporting actress. So if you want to see a slow love story with a very good child performance (German magazine "cinema" wrote: "...she has the potential of Oscar winning Kathy Bates ("Misery")...") this is yours. If you are a fan of high paced action movies, don't bother to see this, you wouldn't like it anyway.

Put simply, this wasn't what I thought it would be. It takes an hour and forty minutes until Bullock's character finally confront's her sleazy husband. I almost fell asleep watching this.

The only high points are the scenes taken at the photo shop.

I'm surprised at the harsh reviews and low rating of this movie!

Unlike other so-called "chick flicks", this movie has an authentic appeal to it and a real heart. Sandra Bullock is a shamed and distraught mother returning to her hometown after being dejected by her husband on national television. She is the beauty queen turned humiliated housewife and her old neighbors don't hesitate to rub it in. Sandra's strong-willed and adorable daughter is played wonderfully by Mae West. Their dysfunctional relationship is a central plot element throughout the film. Sandra finds strength in her own mother and finds new romance with a strong, sensitive cowboy type played surprisingly well by Harry Conick Jr.

Sandra must come to terms with her changing identity and role as mother while her daughter fights for a false allusion of Sandra's husband. An impending divorce between Sandra and her husband and the struggles of Sandra's daughter and nephew, create many heartbreakingly touching moments and at last - an intriguing story with a sense of humor.

Living in Texas and having visited a few small towns, I can state that the movie's portrayal of small town life is a very realistic one which only adds to the films' effectiveness.

Comeuppance comes to a small town prom queen when she grows up and finds that the world is not, after all, her own private oyster. When she returns home, depressed and despondent, after an unfaithful hubby dumps her, she meets up with a town full of gossip mongers intent on giving her no peace and quiet and also discovers there is a small job market for a former beauty princess. On top of all her other problems is a rebellious daughter and a lovesick man who remembers "the queen" from the good old days. Not Sandra's best flic, but a decent enough film nonetheless.

Very much a film by, with and for the ladies perhaps and superficially is a romantic story; under the surface `Hope Floats' examines some of the difficulties of human relationships, above all between Birdie Pruitt and her husband and new-found love back in her home town, on the one side, and between Bernice and her parents and her new school-mates, on the other.

After recklessly driving a bus with the insufferable Keanu Reeves doing the superman thing, and the very misfired `Gun Shy' (2000) (qv), among others, one might be forgiven for saying that I was about to give up the ghost as far as Sandra Bullock was concerned.

However, as luck turned out, in `Hope Floats', as well as being one of the producers together with a whole fleet of ladies, Sandra Bullock turns in quite an acceptable performance. Totally apart from the fact that Sandra Bullock is most certainly very acceptable to look at, whatever she may be trying to do. In this case, with a very understanding Forest Whitaker (bravo! a man among the crowd!) at the helm, Ms. Bullock did not simply try to make an interesting little film, but actually succeeded.

The film starts off the worse possible way in one of those ridiculous reality TV chat shows, where poor Birdee finds out her husband is having an affair with her best friend. She takes off with her cute little daughter and turns up back home in li'l ol' Texas.

Mae Whitman as Bernice offers an incredible performance here, in great part due to good chemistry between her and Ms. Bullock; only a couple of times did her rôle seem a little forced and only very briefly, as for the most part her natural interpretation is surprisingly successful. The selected songs mostly chime in well with the proceedings, and of course Dave Grusin has long known how to manage this kind of thing.

`Hope Floats' achieves what it set out to be: a simple story with the right mix of drama and a little romance, without purporting to being anything greater. On those terms the average viewer will find this film entertaining and even instructive – especially the ladies. Just do not expect anything more marvellous than that.

This wheeze of a story--about a humiliated young wife and mother "finding herself"--is enhanced by an appealing leading lady, lots of camera tricks and a quirky sense of romance and fun...but the connect-the-dots screenplay really needed an overhaul. For instance, just why is that photo-developing machine continually mangling the pictures--and why does Sandra Bullock get docked for it when it's clearly the machine's fault? A scene in a bar, with Bullock drunk and babbling, also makes no sense--and later in the bathroom, while she's hanging over the toilet, mama Gena Rowlands comes in with no words of wisdom for her daughter and drops the ball. Rowlands is saddled with an infuriating character: is she an earthy soul or just an eccentric pain in the neck? Just after Sandra arrives, Rowlands offers nothing but awful put-downs. I don't know how women might feel, but Harry Connick, Jr. seems a staid and sorry excuse for a prince charming (he has no scenes where he shows us any charisma or self-worth). Sandra's kid, played by Mae Whitman, gives the best performance here, although she's around possibly too much (I did love her little glasses though). As for Bullock, she's just right in some scenes (like the one where she asks an old acquaintance for a job) and over-the-top in others. A good director would be able to scale her stridency down, but Forest Whitaker seems a novice who's not really into this story. I wasn't either. ** from ****

I love this movie. This movie will touch your heart in so many ways. No matter how many times I see it, it always makes me smile, and cry and finally feel hopeful. It's a story so many people go through today; Divorce, growing up, family, love, change. Finding out, after your whole life is ripped from you, that life does goes on; sometimes even for the better. All you need is a bit of hope and the kindness of others to get by those rough periods. It reminds me that there are many people out there that you can love and who will love you back. That change, no matter how hard it might be at first, is possible and even good for you.

Best line in the movie that say's it all: "Just give hope a chance to float up and it will". So true!

Such great acting by all involved: Sandra Bullock, Harry Connick Jr., Gena Rowlands, and the kids (Mae Whitman and Cameron Finley).

If you haven't seen it yet, rent it. If you have, watch it again for it will surely make you feel good about life, family, friends, and yourself.

This is not a rom-com; it's a drama. And its heart is in the right place, but there are noticeable lines of dialogue and behaviors that don't make sense.

However, there are some wonderful moments in this film, mostly in the second half. So, if the viewer can get through the first half, there is a good payoff.

I watched this tonight for the first time. A grand 20+ years since it was made. So I'm working hard to recognise that it was "of its time". Everything from the trashy talk show opener to the photos developed from actual cameras and film.

But good gawd! Can we talk about how the bulk of the film is Birdie (Sandra) saying 'no' and Justin (Harry CJ) just pestering her. It is so incredibly uncomfortable to watch. There's literally a point in the movie where the soundtrack is "I just don't have the strength to fight anymore". There's another point where her mother suggests that maybe she "could just sit there".

If you watched this back in 1998 and enjoyed it, good for you. I couldn't possibly recommend this - it's absolutely awful. Just a woman trying to live her life having left a cruel man and a terrible best friend only to end up in the company of a controlling mother and a creepy pestering guy. She's exhausted and I'm exhausted watching her. Don't watch it.

Sandra Bullock is the only reason it gets any score at all.

This film is incredibly good! Deep, thoughtful and sophisticated. Sandra Bullock would have deserved an Oscar for it (this is one of her best films) and Geena Rowlands is classy as always. I really don't understand who doesn't understand it... it was said to be "too European" - maybe, but the whole story is so American, it couldn't be more that. Forest Whitaker (of course with the great actors) was able to show us how the emotions work in a woman... the wide range of emotions. Here was nothing simplified as in the life is nothing simplified that's why this film is great. Sandra Bullock is a smart, very sensitive, very good actress who can show her talent and deepness as much in dramatic roles (Hope Floats, Love and War, Divine Secret etc.) as in the comedies. She gives life- and real life with real emotions for her characters.

LAUREEN PAVLIK .. i just have to say that you mixed up the actresses for Bernice from hope floats (Mae Whitman) and the actress who played Olive in little Miss Sunshine (you said it was the same actress!) however the actress who played in little miss sunshine was not Mae Whitman but Abigail Breslin(who also played in Nims island as Nim!) yes it can be easy to become confused when both actresses are seemingly identical.. but i felt i had to point this out to you. after all if i was an actress i wouldn't want to be confused with someone who had a similar role to mine..

as for the movie of Hope floats .. i liked it but i felt that Sandra's acting had drastically improved in the movie The Lake House.. which I feel to be the most romantic movie of all time! hope floats is still a classic however, one that will remain forever on my bookshelves next to practical magic and my girl Friday.

This movie is terrible. I know, that sounds really very intelligent, but hey, it's rotten! Harry Connick Jr., an otherwise talented person, comes off as creepy in this movie-almost like a stalker. Sandra Bullock unexplainedly falls for him. There are several elements to the plot that equally defy logic. I didn't care about the characters one iota. Totally vapid. Where's the "Zero" on the pull down rating menu?