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Tumbleweeds (24-Jan-1999)
Director: Gavin O'Connor Writers: Gavin O'Connor; Angela Shelton Original Score by: David Mansfield Producer: Gregory O'Connor Keywords: Drama, Comedy
CAST | Laurel Holloman | ... Laurie Pendleton | | Lois Smith | ... Ginger | | | Michael J. Pollard | ... Mr. Cummings | | Linda Porter | ... Mrs. Boman | | | Janet McTeer | ... Mary Jo Walker | | Kimberly J. Brown | ... Ava Walker | | Jay O. Sanders | ... Dan Miller | | Gavin O'Connor | ... Jack Ranson | | Ashley Buccille | ... Zoe Brussard | | Cody McMains | ... Adam Riley | | Brian Tahash | ... Winston Jackson | | Josh Carmichael | ... Billy Jo | | Dennis Ford | ... Check-out Clerk | | Sara Downing | ... Rachel Riley | | Joel Polis | ... Vice Principal | | Christian Payne | ... Rachel's Boyfriend | | Harry Gradzhyan | ... Gas Attendant | | Renelouise Smith | ... Captain Nemo's Waitress | | Kelly Rodgers | ... Zoe's Mom at Cast Party | | Stephanie Zajac | ... Lady Capulet | | Jennifer Paige | ... Nurse | | Lisa Persky | ... Diner Waitress |
REVIEWS Review by Walter Frith (posted on 8-Jun-2007) I've always
disliked the notion that a certain film has to be a 'guy' or 'girl'
flick. It would be nice if directors, writers, and actors could give a
movie some interaction to make all films appeal at least in some part
to everyone. But I guess this is wishful thinking and while it's hard
to make a film like 'Rambo: First Blood Part II' appeal to women and a
film like 'The First Wives's Club' appeal to men, 'Tumbleweeds' has a
look and feel to it that appeals equally to men as it does to women
whom I suspect were the target audience. It's an interesting film that
can be enjoyed by both genders but I wouldn't recommend it as a date
film. There's a movie from 1990 with Cher, Winona Ryder, Bob Hoskins
and Christina Ricci entitled 'Mermaids'. In this movie, Cher plays a
mother raising her two daughters with a large degree of instability.
She travels around the United States from one city to another and takes
odd jobs and when she's had enough, she packs up and moves again. An
experience which can be good or bad for children growing up, depending,
of course, on the individual. 'Tumbleweeds' has a similar pattern but
is a rather scattershot way of telling a story. Janet McTeer stars as
Mary Jo Walker, a mother with similar habits as the Cher
character....traveling from one city to another with a young daughter
in tow and as the film opens, there is a scene of domestic
unpleasantness, something that would sort of set the tone for the rest
of the picture which doesn't have a lot of focus but one that is
extremely well acted by the entire cast. McTeer's character echoes
trailer park trash. The booze, the men, the affairs, all done while her
daughter Ava (Kimberly Brown) knows exactly what her mother is up to.
Given the fact that McTeer is English, makes her performance all the
more remarkable as she has to master a southern U.S. accent and learn
the habits of a completely different culture. She has a knack for
selecting the wrong friends, both male and female which usually lands
her in trouble. Ava finds a leading part in her latest school's play
and tries to make the most of it and do something that will make
herself and her mother proud. Given the fact that her mother has been
married four times, gives Ava the longing to do something productive
and it's rare and quite nice to see a daughter teach her parent
something rather than the other way around. There is something unusual
that gives Ava a different look at life. The play she stars in at
school is a version of 'Romeo and Juliet' where she will
play.....Romeo! The reversal of gender for the sake of a school play
seems like a good idea but not all are crazy about the notion. Another
plus for the movie is how it teaches us not to judge people so quickly.
There is strong shade of decency underneath Mary Jo's wild and open
lifestyle. She really cares for her daughter. She is willing to be a
loving wife to the right man and her willingness to be accepted by
other people seems secondary to her independence. The challenge for
first time director Gavin O'Connor is finding something of a revelation
in the lives of these characters that embodies something original or at
least something familiar with a refreshing twist. One thing I enjoyed
was the fact that O'Connor plays one of Mary Jo's beau hunks in the
film, a truck driver named Jack. She is usually scared off by the wrong
kind of man. Imagine her surprise when she inflames his seemingly good
nature and scares him off with her wild ways. Even with all of these
good things pointed out about the film, it stops just short of getting
a recommendation for several reasons. The film looks hurried and rushed
through production. It smacks of a low budget that shows. Low budget
films are often better than the real expensive Hollywood offerings, but
in this case, it looked too much like a film that could have used more
rehearsals, sort of like those 1940's war time pictures that were done
with only a couple of takes because film, like all things during that
period, were rationed. Secondly, as appealing as this film is to both
men and women, the male characters are given a rather secondary role in
the film and we never get to know any of them extremely well. The very
under rated Jay O. Sanders isn't given a whole lot to do and a familiar
actor like Michael J. Pollard, who plays Mary Jo's boss, is little more
than a hack character, sort of like the inept way he played in 1989's
'Next of Kin' where he played a flophouse manager with an IQ of about
1. Here, his job is a little more important but he still plays it like
'Forrest Gump'. 'Tumbleweeds', written by director O'Connor and Angela
Shelton, would have been better off as a play, with the chance to
re-vamp its story where you can do many things in live theatre but the
art of film is permanent, not always a good thing for those who don't
always make the right decisions. Visit FILM FOLLOW-UP by Walter Frith
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