In an attempt to gain fame, Ann, a young intelligent high school girl, whose mother suffers from financial problems, moves to live in Beverly Hills with her mother, in order to achieve her Hollywood dream.
The movie drops in on a crucial part of their lives, follows it for a few minutes and then jettisons to another episode. It's like watching 10 short stories.
As a depiction of a loving-turbulent relationship between a single mom (Susan Sarandon) and her rebellious teenage daughter (Natalie Portman), Wang's meller is nicely crafted but old-fashioned like Hollywood's weepies of yesteryear.
Jam! Movies
June 07, 2004
A subtle and unexpected pleasure, all nuanced performance and character detail.
New York Magazine/Vulture
January 01, 2000
Adele and Ann don't really seem like mother and daughter; their conflicts are more a matter of theatrical convenience than something born in the blood.
Jam! Movies
June 07, 2004
Adele and Ann are not easy screen characters to like, but they are easy to believe in -- especially in the skins of Sarandon and Portman.
Globe and Mail
March 19, 2002
Susan Sarandon and Natalie Portman put on an acting clinic that's a treat to watch, but, no matter how accomplished, a clinic is not a movie. They do a lot with a little, yet it's far from enough.
You start wishing you were anywhere but here -- preferably at last year's far funnier Slums of Beverly Hills.
Entertainment Today
January 16, 2003
The title might very well be an appropriate description of what more impatient filmgoers may be feeling after sitting through this frustratingly mediocre dramedy.
