Tumbleweeds Review
by Susan Granger (Ssg722 AT aol DOT com)January 7th, 2000
http://www.speakers-podium.com/susangranger.
Susan Granger's review of "TUMBLEWEEDS" (Fine Line Films)
Why see Tumbleweeds? One very compelling reason: Janet McTeer, who's been dubbed "the next Meryl Streep." The plot, involving a flighty, narcissistic mother and profane, outspoken adolescent daughter who hop in a car and head for a new life in California, sounds like Anywhere But Here, but this affable, low-budget comedy is far more focused, character-driven, and less artificial than the Susan Sarandon/Natalie Portman star vehicle in which the supporting players seemed like cardboard cut-outs. Besides, there's Janet McTeer, a remarkable, highly respected British actress who won Broadway's Tony several years ago as Nora in a revival of Ibsen's A Doll's House. The Amazonian McTeer plays a working class woman from North Carolina who drags her smart-aleck teenage daughter (Kimberly J. Brown) through her many abusive, failed relationships, finally trying to settle down in Starlight Beach, a quiet seaside town near San Diego, and find happiness with a long-haul trucker (Gavin O'Connor) who's contemptuously referred to as "the future ex-husband." There have been four previous ex-husbands. Directed and co-written by Gavin O'Connor, the story is loosely based on the relationship between screenwriter Angela Shelton (O'Connor's ex-wife) and her own strong-willed, free-spirited mother. And the tone of the film is curiously reminiscent of Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. Twitchy supporting actor Michael J. Pollard makes a brief but memorable appearance, looking not much older than he did in Bonnie and Clyde, back in 1967. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, Tumbleweeds is a rueful but significant 7, because of Janet McTeer's complex, funny, multi-faceted performance which includes an impeccable Southern accent.
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
