It's 1953, and Anne Deveraux (Renee Zellweger) has just caught her husband, New York City band leader Dan Deveraux (Kevin Bacon), cheating on her again. Anne raids their bank safe deposit box, buys a new Cadillac convertible, and then, with her two teenage sons George (Logan Lerman) and Robbie (Mark Rendall) in tow, departs for Boston where she hopes to find a new husband.
Gradually Anne discovers that her former boyfriends have their own agendas, and after exhausting all the possibilities in Boston, and Pittsburgh, Anne heads for her sister's home in St. Louis. Eventually the three find themselves in Hollywood, California where they hope to make it in the movies. And, when George tells us in the final scene that he's changed his name back to the original family name of Hamilton, we understand that this is the story of how the famous actor got his start in films, and how he remembers his mother.
This affable little road trip film isn't really that memorable, but it is a fine showcase for Renee Zellweger's talents, and she gives one of her most relaxed performances in years. Costumes and sets are so accurate that, for those of us who remember that time, the film evokes strong memories of the mid-1950s America often recalled in Norman Rockwell paintings. If you enjoy period dramas set in the 1950s, films like A Summer Place or The Majestic, and you enjoy Renee Zellweger, give this one a try. You might be pleasantly surprised.
Labels: comedy, drama
Internet Movie Database
Metacritic 62/100
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=63, viewers=64)
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