Memorergi good film but with many flaws

Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Sweetigal85 I am giving this movie a 5 out of 10 only because of the tremendous acting of the entire cast, particularly Sandra Bullock and Mae Whitman who was only 8 or 9 when this movie was made.I made the mistake of thinking this was a romantic comedy going in but it is actually a romantic drama. I should have shut it off within the first thirty seconds. The opening was just absolutely ridiculous and I hate plots that involve infidelity, especially when it is cliché and poorly done like this. I really want to know the real life statistics of women whose best friends are sleeping with their husbands. And like--did he agree to tell her that way? Very unclear and stupid.Wow, and could they have picked more unattractive out of date names for the two main characters? Birdie and Bernice? Jeez! The film itself seemed like it was from the 40s instead of the 90s. Was that intentional? I found myself hating every single one of the characters except Sandra Bullock's. They were all so hard on her after the humiliation and betrayal she had faced. They seemed to all expect her to just suck it up, shrug off the human feelings she was experiencing and just be a damn mom. They wouldn't let her act like the victim, even though she WAS the victim.Thirty minutes in, I almost shut it off again but I hate to not finish a movie. The only scenes that moved me at all and made me glad I watched it were the two scenes with she and her father. I thought it was beautiful that the only person in her family or life who truly gave her the support that she needed was someone with dementia who could only offer her a smile and a dance. He didn't tell her any of the things she "needed" to hear, he just listened quietly and let her get it all off her chest. And he seemed to be the one who finally snapped her out of it toward the end when he was looking at the pic of Bernice and mistook it for her. He couldn't remember anything, but he remembered how happy and vibrant his daughter used to be and this seemed to finally ignite the realization in her as well. But everything else was just garbage in my opinion.What was the deal with her mother stuffing dead animals? I am usually good with symbolism but that one really threw me for a loop. And what exactly was the point of the cousin Travis being there? Having been abandoned by Birdie's sister who we never even see and who doesn't even come to the funeral in the end? And it seemed to imply that the grandmother had been a crappy mother to them? And now she was making it up by being a great grandmother? But they never really clarified. I could see her random death coming from a mile away too, was that supposed to be subtle? I guess they needed a reason for Bill to come home and for Birdie to wind up with both kids in the end? Very convoluted and strange.I was disappointed by my reaction to this movie too because I have been hearing great things about it for so long and I love Sandra Bullock. I usually love Harry Connick Jr too but even he could not save this movie. I understand the message of the movie...that even in the depths of despair, hope can still float to the top and rise above. But blegh I knew that without having to sit through this painfully boring movie.Don't take my word for it though, there are clearly many people who love this movie and it touched their lives. I think if you just had a terrible breakup/divorce or if someone in your family just died, this would be a great movie to help lift your spirits. But if you are already in a great mood and looking for a good movie to watch, do NOT let this painful movie bring you down with it.

Python Hyena Hope Floats (1998): Dir: Forest Whitaker / Cast: Sandra Bullock, Harry Connick Jr., Gena Rowland, Mae Whitman, Rosanna Arquette: One of the dumbest romances ever concocted. Sandra Bullock is invited onto a talk show believing that she will receive a makeover only to be met with the news that her best friend and husband have been having an affair. She and her daughter move in with her mother and reminded of the incident by those who saw it twice. She begins work at a photo lab and falls in love with that high school chum she never liked. Director Forest Whitaker never capitalizes on a single scene so we have Mae Whitman get beat up at school and then just up and walk away. The bedroom scene to cheer her up is equally stupid. The death of Bullock's mother was unnecessary. The setup had all the potential at the talk show but instead it sends Bullock through tired formula clichés. Gena Rowland is reduced to a prop who will eventually keel over. Harry Connick Jr. is flat as that old love who never seems to be anything other than a bad reminder of the past. Mae Whitman deserves better than to be playing the bunt of a bad joke. Rosanna Arquette is featured in the talk show sequence and we're reminded how superior she is to this pitiful garbage. The result is a worthless romantic puke that should be tied to a large rock and tossed at sea so that it may not float again. Score: 0 / 10

juneebuggy This is one of those guilty pleasure type movies I find myself watching just about every time I catch it on TV. Its not perfect, a total chick flick but also completely addictive and pretty great. 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). It's more of a family drama complete with all the tears laughter and love that incorporates. The small town atmosphere also really adds to this as her old classmates revel in seeing a former beauty queen taken down a notch.The one standout performance here would have to go to the little girl playing her daughter Bernice, she is just fantastic. That scene towards the end when she runs after her dad crying "you want me" "take me with you" just kills me. Well that and Connick leaning up against his pick-up with a handful of flowers and 'those' Levis'. 12/7/14

Jenny Rose Birdie learns on a TV talk show that her husband has been sleeping with her best friend. She packs up her car and drives to her mother's home in Texas. Her mother still lives in the same house as Birdie grew up. She talks to many people from her past as she tries to figure out her future.This is a story of how some people will do anything to make other happy, when all it does is make everyone miserable. While it does show the dangers of being a people pleaser and trying to be someone you're not; some will find it hard to see this message past the character of Justin attempting to date a married woman.