“Where The Heart Is”
This is a book that was pretty good and a movie that is a little better. The book make Novalee, played by Natalie Portman a little stupid. The movie has her starting out as young and naïve but turns her around.
Novalee is pregnant and heading to California with her baby’s father.
Novalee Nation: Willy Jack got the whole car for 80 bucks. He had to fix everything on it. And here's the best part.
[points at the license plate]
Novalee Nation: No fives!
Nicki: You and your fives.
Rhonda: What fives?
Novalee Nation: On my fifth birthday my mama ran off with a baseball umpire named Fred and never came back. And after I dropped out of school and was waiting tables at Red's, one of the regulars there named Gladys went crazy. When I tried to calm her down she jumped at me with a steak knife and cut me from my wrist to my elbow.
Rhonda: And what's that got to do with fives?
Nicki: It took 55 stitches to close her up.
Novalee Nation: I don't like fives.
Somewhere in Oklahoma she gets out of the car to go to the bathroom and finds herself abandoned at Wal-Mart. With nowhere to go she moves in to the store. Soon she meets a colorful cast of characters and starts a whole new life.
It is sweet and funny.
My big memory is seeing this in the theater. I had gone with a friend on opening weekend. I think I may have mentioned that I am a little picky about movies. I like to sit in a certain place. With stadium seating I like the top row in the middle. No one crosses in front of you, no one is sitting behind you. Occasionally you’ll get someone texting. That light shines right in your eyes and make me CRAZY.
But my main pet peeve is teenagers in the theater. Not the nice ones that are actually there to watch the movie. It is the fifteen year old girls who’s moms dropped them off at the theater. They aren’t there for the movie, it is a party.
We got to the movie and made our way to our favorite seats. I had to kick some debris out of the way to get to the seats, but the whole row was otherwise empty.
The previews had started and suddenly a gang of girls show up in the row.
“Uh, we were sitting in this row” the leader announced.
“Oh, no one was here saving seats.” I responded, holding my ground.
“We had to go to the bathroom.” She wasn’t backing down.
It was a stand off. I was completely irritated and just got up and moved. Then I could hear them through the whole movie.
It didn’t make for an enjoyable movie going experience. So here are my movie rules.
1. Don’t go to a movie just to go. Pick something you want to see or wait for the DVD.
2. Silence your cell phone and put it away. If you have to be available to a babysitter or an emergency set it to vibrate and leave. Don’t keep flashing it to check the time.
3. Don’t bring little children to a movie targeted toward adults. I understand it is expensive to go out, but babies don’t need to see R rated movies. Get a sitter or wait for the DVD.
4. When the preview start stop talking. I like the previews. I don’t want your commentary. You can talk during the pre show and the Coke commercial.
5. If you like to sit in a certain spot get there early. This also applies to large groups. If you really want to see a movie with your fifteen best friends get there early! It is rude to ask people who got there early to move so you can sit together.
6. Pick up your trash as you leave and throw it in the trash can. Just because the have someone there to clean it up doesn’t make it ok to dump garbage on the floor.
There is my little rant. I probably have more rules, but those are the big ones. I love going to the movies. It is something I really enjoy. I like movies at home, but there is something about sitting in the dark with strangers and having a shared experience. It can make comedies more enjoyable and I love hearing the conversations as you leave to see what other people thought.
Just be nice and considerate of others. Movie are supposed to be fun.
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