Leaving Normal

Reviews below are mostly right. This is a movie about hope, struggle, faith and miracles, everything Thelma and Louise was not. One woman who commits to everything, for a few minutes, another who commits to nothing, fall in with each other, to search for a place for them themselves. This is Frank Capra of the 90's. We may not always know where we are going, and sometimes we might just have to trust, but there is a place for us. If you follow the twelve step philosophy, you can find all twelve steps played out in here. (These are two women who came out of dysfuctional families). The characters are unforgettable, the humor warm and wild, and the relationship that builds from the first ten minutes to the last second of the closing credits should not be missed. I watch this movie every few months and remind myself that if we hang in there, there is a place for us, and almost always,it isn't what we ever expected. I have owned 7 copies of this movie and often give it as gifts. IF you missed it, watch it again. It's there!

The title, "Leaving Normal", is clever because it refers both to physically leaving the fictitious town of Normal, WY, but more significantly, leaving the "normal" state of existence. Christine Lahti is the former dancer and waitress who never progresses beyond that, and Meg Tilley is the abused housewife who has made a series of disastrous choices in her life. As Lahti decides to do something different, and heads to Alaska to re-claim her old, unfinished homestead, she gives Tilley a ride.

They are unlikely road buddies, like Thelma and Louise were. Lahti is funny, daring, scheming (gets $100 from truck driver then slips out the window of the ladies room) and world-wise, while Tilley is just the opposite and insecure with her abilities. Ultimately they bring out the better persons residing in each.

Along the way their car breaks down, they get a ride with another lady pulling a trailer, then they are given her car and trailer when a wealthy bumpkin asks her to stay and marry him. They work their way to Alaska and look up the property, where the unfinished shell of a house still stands, weather-beaten. Through a lot of posturing, eventually they both decide to stay, we see the house being completed in a time-lapse series of shots. Lahti decides to try and find her daughter that she abandoned in the local hospital 18 years earlier.

Both act well, but Tilley is a joy to watch. Her portrayal of the half-ditzy, insecure woman is just perfect. Makes me wonder, whatever happened to Meg Tilley? She hasn't made a theatrical release movie since 1994. Unlike Thelma and Louise, where they drive off Dead Horse Point in Utah at the end, the lives of these two women literally begin as this movie ends. Seen on the "Women's Entertainment" channel, a really good movie, doesn't always take itself too seriously, and has an uplifting message. We are left to wonder if Lahti ever finds her daughter, whether Tilley's trucker friend ever shows up again. Maybe they considered a sequel, but the film wasn't popular to warrant that.

I really liked this movie. When I saw the cover in a local video rental, I thought it would be a cheezy Thelma & Louise knock-off. I was wrong.

I was impressed by the performances of Lahti and Tilly. While a bit odd and quirky, the characters were also real. Both women annoyed me at times but I could also feel sympathy for them. Some parts of the movie were kind of dreamy and surreal, which gave the film more character. The wilderness backdrops were breathtaking. I laughed my butt off on several occasions.

In all, this was a really cool movie. It's not for all tastes but I think it's worth viewing.

The movie had a lovely opening with Meg Tilly confiding to a series of fellow passengers on a Greyhound Bus, that she is sure her life was about to change, even though she was marrying a person she did not know very well. About two minutes later, she is back out on the road, illusions shattered. Her character(Marianne) bumps into Christine Lahti, who is also ready for a change, after burning just about everybody who has ever be-friended her. So, Marianne-Pollyana and the queen of bitterness take off for Alaska. Some of the surprises include a poet-trucker, and Christine's dancing abilities.

I saw Leaving Normal during its original theatrical release and watched it again recently after purchasing the film on DVD. My friends and I really enjoyed this film when we saw it back in 1992, when we were big into early 90s quirk with films like What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Gas Food Lodging, Simple Men and Surviving Desire. Leaving Normal fits quite neatly into this group of films. It also reminds me of one of my all-time favorite and most watched films, which also happens to be a story about an unlikely female friendship, Bagdad Cafe (1987).

It's difficult for me to assess Leaving Normal with any sense of objectivity. When I watched it again recently, I was overcome with a sense of nostalgia for the early 90s when I was in my early 20s and was yet to make some pretty dumb decisions with my life (it all turned out okay though). I don't think the film has aged especially well (I'm thinking about some shoddy matte paintings) and its quirkiness may just annoy some people, but it has enough to offer the casual viewer to be entertaining. If you are fortunate enough to be open to its sincere message about the universe having a place for everyone (if we will just let go and allow ourselves), then you may find that you bond with Marianne and Darly and all the offbeat characters they meet on their journey towards wholeness. You may then find that you make a space for this little film in your heart, like most of the other reviewers on this site.