Movie · 1999 · Drama, Comedy, Romance · 1h 54m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 2.2/10 (19.7K ratings)
A story of a mother who knows best... and a daughter who knows better.
Overview
Single mother Adele August is bad with money, and even worse when it comes to making decisions. Her straight-laced daughter, Ann, is a successful high school student with Ivy League aspirations. When Adele decides to pack up and move the two of them from the Midwest to Beverly Hills, Calif., to pursue her dreams of Hollywood success, Ann grows frustrated with her mother's irresponsible and impulsive ways.
Ratings
Curator score: 2.2/10
IMDb: 6.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 64%
Metacritic: 59
TMDB: 6.1/10
Director
Wayne Wang
Production
Fox 2000 Pictures, 20th Century Fox
Cast
Susan Sarandon, Natalie Portman, Hart Bochner, Eileen Ryan, Ray Baker, John Diehl, Shawn Hatosy, Bonnie Bedelia, Faran Tahir, Shishir Kurup, Elisabeth Moss, John Carroll Lynch, Caroline Aaron, Paul Guilfoyle, Thora Birch, Mary Ellen Trainor, Ashley Johnson, Corbin Allred, Eva Amurri, Heather DeLoach
Curator Review
Verdict
A sharp, sometimes funny mother-daughter dramedy with strong performances, but its emotional register can feel uneven and its coming-of-age plot is more familiar than fresh. Worth it most for viewers who like messy family dynamics and late-90s character studies.
Best for
fans of mother-daughter dramas
viewers who like bittersweet coming-of-age stories
people drawn to performance-driven indie studio films
audiences who enjoy road-trip or relocation narratives
Skip if
you want a tightly plotted story
you prefer broad comedy over awkward family tension
you dislike self-absorbed or impulsive parent characters
you want a more original or emotionally polished teen drama
Overview
Anywhere but Here works best as a character study of a relationship that is equal parts love, exasperation, and survival. Susan Sarandon gives the mother a restless, chaotic energy, while Natalie Portman grounds the film with a controlled, quietly wounded performance that makes the push-pull feel real even when the script leans familiar.
Worth noting
Wayne Wang keeps the tone light enough to let the comedy breathe, but the film is really about the cost of being raised by someone who treats life like a permanent audition. That tension gives it a recognizable late-90s indie-studio feel: observant, a little glossy, and emotionally honest without ever becoming especially neat.
Bottom line
It is not the most original entry in the mother-daughter canon, and some of its beats are easy to predict. Still, the performances and the lived-in irritation between the two leads make it worthwhile for viewers who appreciate messy domestic dynamics and a coming-of-age story with bite.
Top Letterboxd reviews
lain (2.5★) · 606 likes
okay but natalie portman was HIGHKEY fucking her cousin......
sarah (4★) · 534 likes
bro i swore her and the cousin were going to fuck
Lu (3.5★) · 443 likes
i love lady bird (2017)!
Bethany (3★) · 431 likes
Anywhere But Here (1999): who are you?
Lady Bird (2017): I'm you but stronger
1990 · Comedy, Drama, Romance · 1h 50m · PG-13 · Curator 2.5/10 (40.8K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, MGM Plus, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Another offbeat mother-daughter story with a charismatic, unreliable parent and a daughter trying to stay grounded.
2003 · Comedy, Drama · 1h 21m · PG-13 · Curator 6.0/10 (51K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, MGM Plus, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A compact, offbeat family film that mixes humor with the ache of trying to connect across generational damage.
Topics
dramedy, coming-of-age, family conflict, female-led, late 1990s, bittersweet, road-trip energy, ambition, indie studio, relationship drama