Where The Heart Is

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

In no way is this a serious movie. Still, it's hard to resist.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

Had Williams chopped away more pointedly at the rambling script, he might've had something memorable.

Miami Herald Phoebe Flowers

Everything that cynical moviegoers despise and the tender-minded adore.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

Never really feels right.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

So heavy on incident, contrivance, coincidence, improbability, sudden reversals and dizzying flash-forwards (sometimes years at a time) that it seems a wonder the characters don't crash into each other in the confusion.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Ultimately, it's more an emotional hodgepodge than a compassionate look at real human problems.

New York Post Jonathan Foreman

Hard-core chick shlock, weakened by odd shifts in tone and a slack pace, but elevated by a luminous performance by Natalie Portman.

Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson

A top-notch cast compensates for dubious credibility.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

Never earns the rollicking life affirmation it's after.

TNT RoughCut Sarah Raskin

Worthwhile performances (including cameos from Joan Cusack and Sally Field) and one-liners, but don't leave your home looking for Heart.

Film.com Robert Horton

Serves up the usual homilies, but it lacks the quirky density and cinematic snap.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

No-Good Men, Foolish Choices and Birth on the Floor of a Wal-Mart.

LA Weekly John Patterson

Although its lushness and penchant for melodrama are the cinematic equivalent of Billy Sherrill's syrupy string arrangements for George Jones, Tammy Wynette and Charlie Rich circa 1973, the movie deftly manages to remain sweet without becoming saccharine.

USA Today Susan Wloszczyna

The Wal-Mart of cinematic soap operas. One-stop shopping for your emotional movie needs.

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Stack

Sloshes between comedy and drama, never quite hitting stride as either.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Home may be where the heart is, but I kept wishing this poor silly girl would up and move.

TV Guide Steve Simels

To be fair, this could have been worse.

Film.com Sean Means

Recycled "Steel Magnolias."

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Simply put, it may be the lamest movie ever made about poor white... Southern characters.

San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris

A particularly egregious array of Kodak moments.

Mr. Showbiz Michael Atkinson

A swamp of clichés, contrivances, and cheap ham-and-cheese hero sentimentality.

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

Portman and Judd aren't responsible for the mendacious and finally repulsive sentimentality of Where the Heart Is, but by the end their wholesome glow seemed contaminated by it, and that's a shame.

Variety Todd McCarthy

Banal and trite where it could have been insightful and emotionally truthful, this Fox release is also notable for featuring the first disappointing performance by teen star Natalie Portman.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

Moving in fits and starts, mawkish in its sincerity, and at times disjointed in its lumpy structure.

Newsweek Ann-Rebecca Laschever

Unfortunately, the strong ensemble cast is not able to hold together this often wayward and meandering story.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

Tries to put your tear ducts in a headlock with a litany of catastrophes.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

In comparison to Where the Heart Is, the Wal-Mart commercials seem like cinema verite.

Village Voice Jessica Winter

Indulges something of a number obsession, amounting not exactly to a movie but rather a tallying of atrocities.