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	Where the Heart Is Rated [PG-13], 120 minutes Starring Natalie Portman, Stockard Channing, Joan Cusack, Keith David, Sally Field, Ashley Judd Screenplay by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel Based on the novel by Billie Letts Directed by Matt Williams website: www.wheretheheartismovie.com

Review by Paul Fischer CrankyCritic® Review here  Natalie Portman StarTalk here

Pregnant 17-year-old Novalee Nation (Natalie Portman), who's Mama Nell (Sally Field), deserted her as a child, escapes from her Tennessee home toward the bright lights of California, accompanied by her boyfriend, Willy Jack Pickens (Dylan Bruno). But Willy gets cold feet and abandons her at a Wal-Mart in Sequoyah, Oklahoma. Novalee's life savings amount to $5.55, so she moves into the Wal-Mart, sleeping there at night and venturing out during the day. With the help of Sister Husband (Stockard Channing), an eccentric nun, and Lexie Coop (Ashley Judd), a nurses' aide, Novalee tries to get her life in order for the sake of her expectant child, Americus Nation.

It's tough to make a teen film that doesn't insult its core audience; so Where the Heart Is marks something of a milestone in the genre: Here is a movie that that is smart, funny and genuinely human, a piece that explores the nature of family and growth. Featuring a beautifully literate script by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, based on the novel by Billie Letts, Where the Heart Is takes the audience on an emotive journey from a character's naiveté to maturity and self-reliance, offering a positive statement on the position of young women in a patriarchal society. With few exceptions, the female characters here are by far the most interesting and complex, offering a respite from the typical one-dimensional female characters that we see from mainstream Hollywood, and as played by an incomparable cast, these feisty, funny, flawed females come to life with intricate range. Naturally Stockard Channing is memorable as the quirky, good-natured Sister Husband and Ashley Judd is wonderful as the incessantly pregnant Lexie. But this is Portman's movie through and through. Here she proves what a truly versatile actor she is, demonstrating immeasurable range and depth, playing a character that does go on an arc that is not at facile.

Smartly directed by TV producer Matt Williams, who has both a clear sense of character and a sharp visual eye in his depiction of small town America, the movie features a solid soundtrack and beautiful camerawork, Where the Heart Is takes the teenage genre in unexpected and insightful directions. Hilarious and moving without resorting to cliché, here is a film that young girls will love while not alienating their macho counterparts or irritating their parents.