barely scrapping by playing at a nyc piano bar , timothy hutton returns to his massachusetts hometown for a couple of weeks .
on the surface , he 's coming home for a high school reunion , but since this is a movie , you know that he 's really looking for some major life decisions .
a fairly " small " film , this sports an impressive ensemble cast including uma thurman , rosie o'donnell and a bunch of actors that you 've seen before but ca n't quite place .
commendable jobs all around
; they seem like real people .
hutton arrives at his past and is greeted by his spirit - dead father , terminally goony brother and old high school chums .
all of his old buddies are engaged in the snow removal business and most are in the midst of a relationship crisis .
the perfect stuff for a comedy about people in the twenties angst .
he meets and falls for the new next door neighbor : a beautiful intelligent lively girl who is obviously taken with him .
the problem is that she is only 13 .
unconsummated ( no , it 's not _ that _ type of movie ) ,
their relationship builds and neither knows what to do with it .
star - crossed lovers with no where to go .
so hutton is gaga over a barely - teen , one of his buddies is two - timing his girlfriend with a married old flame
, another 's girlfriend is sleeping with a meat cutter ( " and she 's a vegetarian ! " ) .
things are a mess .
enter uma thurman .
the beautiful stranger in town for a few days is both a delight in the film and one of its minor downfalls .
her character is fun to watch .
even more entertaining is
observing the guys falling over themselves trying to impress her .
like the lone ranger , before she leaves , she solves most of the problems and sets everyone onward with their lives .
the ending is a bit too pat .
everything is tied up with a neat little bow .
rosie o'donnell is a stand - out in her limited screen time with her brash personality and " tell it like it is " pronouncements .
structured somewhat like a " diner , a few years later " , this feel - good story is a good time , but ends a little too nice .
the perfect stuff her character is fun to watch . even more entertaining is is a stand - out commendable jobs all around ; they seem like real people a delight in the film this feel - good story is a good time sports an impressive ensemble cast