Hope Floats

Plot synopsis:
Birdee Pruitt (Sandra Bullock) is a Chicago housewife who is invited onto the Toni Post talk show under the pretense of getting a free makeover but instead is ambushed with the revelation that her husband Bill has been having an affair with her best friend Connie (Rosanna Arquette). Humiliated on national television, Birdee and her precocious daughter Bernice (Mae Whitman) move back to Birdee's hometown of Smithville, Texas, with Birdee's eccentric mother Ramona (Gena Rowlands) and young, imaginative nephew Travis (Cameron Finley), to make a fresh start. As Birdee and Bernice leave Chicago, Birdee gives Bernice a letter from her father, telling Bernice how much he misses her.
Birdee struggles to make a new life as a working single mother and deals with the growing attraction between herself and a former high school classmate, Justin Matisse (Harry Connick, Jr.), who Ramona hopes that Birdee will get together with. She also tries to rebuild her relationship with her estranged mother, her ailing father (who suffers from Alzheimer's Disease), and her daughter, who wants desperately to be with her father and blames her mother for the breakup, even trying to sabotage the romantic overtures Justin makes towards Birdee. Meanwhile, Bernice is not happy that she left Chicago and is having difficulty adjusting to life in Smithville. Her negative view of the small town is worsened when she is bullied by a classmate known as Big Dolores.
Adding to Birdee's heartache is her former status as the school queen bee and a beauty pageant winner, which alienated many of her former classmates. They also haven't forgotten Birdee's high school snobbery and rub her nose in her televised embarrassment.
Ramona tries to mend the gap between her daughter and granddaughter by telling a childhood story of her own. She asks Bernice what she's wishing for her upcoming birthday. Even though Bernice says she doesn't have a birthday wish, she secretly wishes for her father to return.
That night, drinking a cup of tea before she could sleep, Ramona suffers a massive heart attack and dies. At the funeral, Bill arrives at the church. Bernice believes her father's presence is a sign her wish has come true...that her father wants them both to come home. However, it soon becomes clear to her that her parents' split is permanent when Bill asks Birdee for a divorce. Wanting to be with her father, Bernice runs up to her room, packs a suitcase, and follows Bill to his car. She is devastated when her father tells her that even though he loves her, he has no room for her in his new life with Connie. Bill turns his back on Bernice and drives off, leaving her sobbing and screaming for him to come back and take her with him at the end of the driveway. Birdee comes to pick Bernice up and carries her into the house. As Birdee comforts Bernice up in her room, Bernice learns the letter was actually written by her mother, and not really by her father.
One day at work, Birdee finds Justin outside waiting for her with flowers. As she walks to him, she says, "Ok, Mama, stop pushing". After they kiss and embrace, he picks her up, places her in his truck and they drive off together.
The final scene shows Birdee, Justin, Bernice, and Travis at a big town event. Birdee is now taking care of Travis and dating Justin, but isn't planning on getting married again for a really long time. Bernice welcomes Smithville as her new hometown, ultimately accepts Bill's departure from her life as a full-time parent, and begins to accept Justin as her mother's new love interest and a father figure. She and Birdee are much closer because of everything they've been through, as Bernice finally realizes it wasn't her mother's fault that her father left them and that Birdee really did love her. They share a tender, yet humorous moment when Bernice asks Birdee if she's going to marry Justin. When Birdee asks her if she doesn't like Justin, Bernice says her only real concern is being known as "Bernice Matisse".

Tags: revenge, romantic, flashback

Review:
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.
Himself an actor, the director pulled bravura performances out of his main cast.For the real star of this show is the acting: from Harry Connick Jr's solid performance to the great Gena Rowlands spot-on delivery, it's all good.
Fearless, engaged and precise, Bullock's performance is a virtuoso piece that makes watching HOPE FLOATS a real treat; I have never seen her more bold or more beautiful (even as a vamp in MISS CONGENIALITY) - she is absolutely gorgeous here.Manipulation and honesty mixed in an effective, emotional pressure-cooker, HOPE FLOATS may just make you sick like a roller-coaster.
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.
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..
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.
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.
Sandra Bullock learns that her husband has been having an affair on an afternoon talk show, and she moves back home to Texas to start anew, and she finds new love while she's there.
There was a lot that could have worked for this film if only they had developed more of the story lines that looked like coming up and then were just pushed under the carpet.I was very disappointed.
Although normally my preference is not for romantic dramas, seeing this film left me a little short.It had promise, the characters and relationships could have been explored much deeper than they did, yet the story seemed not to understand the direction it wanted to take.The comparisions and parallels within the story, especially the three generations of women in the family, had a lot of potential, but somehow didn't fully extend itself.
It could have made the film much easier to relate to and attach to which is the aim of any film about lost-love and life regained.IMHO, I think the film suffered from a lack of direction in the writing, although Harry Connick Jnr and Sandra Bullock did try desperatly to breath a little life into otherwise flat character outlines.It's not that this is a bad film, some parts leave you understanding the reasons for various plot developments, its just that this film is underdone, and a little flat overall..
As it was, both husband and best friend were simply paper doll characters labeled "The Bad Guys", and the audience is left wondering why they were there to begin with.The constant interruption of boom mikes - in the bathroom, over the stairs, in the bedroom with the daughter - was extremely annoying, and distracted from an already weak film.This film is not a winner.
The big debit in this film is the character of Sandra Bullock's daughter.
Hope Floats with Sandra Bullock is a real disappointment.
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).
The only actor who really looks great in this movie is the  Michael Pare character, who we are supposed to hate, but at least we know he is a slime ball.Another problem I  had with the movie is the plot, which starts out strong, in which a woman movies back to her home town.
I mean, after this everything that will happen is instantly obvious and happens quickly, none of what we call a story.In the end, "Hope Floats" turns out to be a slow-moving, uninspiring, dual, made for TV movie that is bad, bad and BAD.
"Hope Floats" is another Sandra Bullock film where she is the only real asset.
Sandra Bullock plays Birdee Calvert, a Chicago wife who returns home to her small Texas hometown after her husband reveals on a talk show that he's (been) having an affair with her best friend.Bullock is as always likable and I enjoyed watching her (get drunk) trying to put her life back together again with the help of her eccentric taxidermy loving mother (Gena Rowlands) and a yummy (in an awkward sort of way) Harry Connick Jr. All the performances seem authentic and this doesn't really fall into romantic comedy genre(which may be why I like it).
Such great acting by all involved: Sandra Bullock, Harry Connick Jr., Gena Rowlands, and the kids (Mae Whitman and Cameron Finley).
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.
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.
I have watched Sandra Bullock several times before and feel she almost didn't even want to be in this movie.
Watch other Sandra Bullock movies; this isn't her best..
It was as if they'd taken the clips left on the cutting room floor from the really good Bullock movies and made a new film of them.
Sandra Bullock, Gene Rowlands, and Mae Whitman were totally wasted talents in this badly scripted and edited movie..
I keep wondering what might have been, what could have been, what SHOULD have been given the premise: Former small Southern town beauty queen returns home after national dumping by her philandering husband and her "best friend" on cheesy TV talk show..No wonder Rosanna Arquette didn't want her name in the credits as the homewrecker Connie!Being from a small Southern town, I found the gossip and lasciviousness to be pretty true to form (if Birdie(Sandra) developed any nudies in the photo shop, she was to make an extra copy for the old geezer that owned the place).
Other than a few acid-dripping remarks that were on target, the rest of the movie was a horrible disappointment.Sandra's character is accused of drinking several times in the film, and although no alcohol consumption is seen or hinted at except for one bar scene, it certainly would have explained the zombie-like shadows of characters.We are left hanging with a bare bones plot, husband and his lover humiliate wife on T.V., she packs up small daughter and heads for the comforts of home with mother.
Heck, he can't even find steady employment in Smithville (too slow, they rightfully say).The only bright spot was little Mae Whitman, the small daughter, whom many will recognize as Casey from "When A Man Loves A Woman" (GREAT MOVIE!), Sara from "Chicago Hope", and Patricia from "Independence Day".
I hope to see Mae again soon in a good movie..it's a sad day when the only actress in a star-filled cast doing much acting is knee high to a grasshopper.I am a woman, and usually like touchy, feely, humanistic stories about everyday life, but there was very little life here.
I heard Sandra Bullock in an interview say she was tired of picking stinkers like "Speed 2" but felt vindicated with her latest movie titled, "Hope Floats." On her own recommendation, I purchased the movie and shared it with my relatives at Christmas.
It was as if it were placed there to give life to a hopelessly boring movie.The daughter was the only redeeming character of the film.
I may be going out on a limb here, but I'm guessing the writer of "Hope Floats" watched "Something To Talk About," shortly before he started to write this "masterpiece."  It's too bad that he couldn't have at least equaled the quality of that film, because it was MUCH better!.
And hope.Returning to her roots with her daughter Bernice (Mae Whitman) in tow after a nasty marital split, Birdee Pruitt (Sandra Bullock) is able, in spite of a few reality checks from her past, to put her life and needs into perspective and to find for herself and her daughter acceptance and contentment.
It's a clear message to Bullock that great films like "While You Were Sleeping" only work with humor and interesting characters.
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.
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.
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.
It was a such great film with a wonderful performance from Sandra Bullock who really shines in this movie.
Sandra Bullock is totally unbelievable playing a mother - no matter how old she gets, she'll always have that high school look that makes her so pretty.
My message to anyone who (disturbingly) thought this film was 'powerful', 'gripping' 'well acted' and to anyone who wants an uplifting film about hope then for gods sake go out and rent something like the Shawshank Redemption - don't waste your time with this drivel you'll just be left with the feeling of being robbed of the rental fee and also wondering why exactly you took 2 hours out of your life to watch this....
Hope Floats begins with a Ricki Lake-like talk show where Birdee Pruitt(Sandra Bullock) finds out her husband and best friend are having an affair.
Hoping she can rebuild her life in the town where she was three time Queen of Corn, Birdee soon finds out the whole town saw her life destroyed on national television.This sets the scene for the rest of the film.
However, by the end of the movie when she asks Birdee if she is going to marry Justin, it isn't because she hates him, it's because she doesn't want to be known as Bernice Matisse.Although the script could have been fine-tuned into a truly great film, "Hope Floats" nonetheless has reinstated Sandra Bullock as one of the top actresses of her time..
The only good thing worth watching this movie are the two kids who perform their parts better than the entire cast together..
I didn't have any sympathy for Sandra Bullock's character and found myself hoping that the guy would give up on her and find someone more worth his while..
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.
Released in 1998, "Hope Floats" is a likable drama about Birdee Pruitt (Sandra Bullock) who flees with her daughter (Mae Whitman) back to her small home town in Texas to live in her mother's mansion while her father is in a nursing home (Gene Rowlands plays the mother).
A peripheral issue is that Birdee was the beloved prom queen in high school and her husband the popular quarterback.I was expecting a great drama with "Hope Floats" but it wasn't to be.
It is too bad that the director Forest Whitaker, who himself is an Oscar winner, didn't cast proper actors.The plot made me felt awkward many times, as Connick's romantic courtship of Bullock borders on stalking on numerous occasions, and he has no problem making moves on her when she is clearly not ready and even says so to him.
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.
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.
This film has two: an irritating, whiny daughter who wears owlish glasses, and a little boy whose presence in the story is never explained.You get the feeling that the film's target audience is older women, viewers who can sing the praises of those two "darling little children"; who can drool over Birdee's hunky new suitor (played rather poorly by Harry Connick Jr.), and who can cry along with Birdee over her self-centered misery."Hope Floats" is mostly a Sandra Bullock acting vehicle; and she does give a nice performance.
This is one of my all time favorite movies, I don't care if others bash it, they just don't have the appreciation for a film like this.
Sandra Bullock commands the screen in HOPE FLOATS, a surprisingly effective comedy-drama about a former prom queen turned single mom, who, upon learning of her husband's infidelity, returns to her hometown with her daughter in tow and moves in with her mother and learns life is not so easy for an aging prom queen.
However, those of you expecting a regular light-hearted rom-com might be disappointed as this is actually a bit of a downer movie and hankies might be needed by the end.Sandra Bullock plays southern belle Birdee Pruitt, former Texan beauty queen and married to former college quarterback star and high-school sweetheart Bill (Michael Paré).
As Birdee becomes ever more despondent, her life is held together by her eccentric mother and the affection of her old school buddy Justin Matisse (Harry Connick Jr).While considerably better than the last Bullock movie I saw (the woeful "Fire On The Amazon"), I wasn't expecting much and I wasn't disappointed.
The acting of Sandra Bullock and Harry Connick Jr. was a 9..
go to any other Sandra Bullock movie.
This was a really good movie.I loved it.It makes you laugh and then it makes you cry.It is beautiful and heart-warming.I would highly recommend it.Sandra Bullock is superb.She really makes the role believable,and the chemistry between her and Harry Connick, Jr. is amazing..
As a Sandra Bullock fan, I especially like this movie.
my boyfriend sits down with me to watch it and i cry everytime, i love sandra bullock and they did an awesome job with this movie, so if you havent seen it, go rent it..
So the reviews weren't the best, but i listened to what everyone else thought i would have never seen a lot of the films i love today.Which brings me to "Hope Floats" starring Ms. Sandra Bullock and Harry Connick Jr. How does one prepare for a movie that was universally bashed and generally disliked?
If anything, watch "Hope Floats" for Sandra Bullock's performance, which i felt was terribly underrated but incredibly inspired.
It's far from being a truly awful film even though it induces the odd groan or two, and it only just manages to stay afloat as it desperately treads water in a sea of sappy sentimentality.Birdee Pruitt (Sandra Bullock), apparently has it all, but when her husband, Bill (Michael Paré), announces on a national television talk-show that he is having an affair with her best friend, Birdee's world comes crumbling down around her.Birdee and her daughter, Bernice (Mae Whitman), head back home to Smithville, a small town in Texas where they move in with Ramona (Gena Rowlands), Birdee's mother.
Real life (well, most of the times, that is) is not anadventure or a thriller, it's more like this movie.Someone in his comment accused Connick's character of being "slow".
Its sweet and wonderful with incredible performances by Sandra Bullock, Mae Whitman, and the always perfect Gena Rowlands.