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Sandra Bullock, Harry Connick Jr., Gena Rowlands, Mae Whitman, Michael Paré ... see more see more... , Cameron Finley , Kathy Najimy , Bill Cobbs , Connie Ray , Rosanna Arquette , Norman Bennett

Actor/director Forest Whitaker (Waiting to Exhale) helmed this romantic drama about a one-time high-school beauty queen who returns to her hometown of Smithville, TX. The Steven Rogers screenplay begi... read more read more...ns in Chicago, where blonde Connie (Rosanna Arquette, uncredited) appears on a trashy daytime talk show and tells a nationwide TV audience about her affair with the husband of her best friend, Birdie Pruitt (Sandra Bullock). Walking into the ambush, Birdie is paraded forth for a public humiliation as Connie's claim is confirmed by husband Bill (Michael Paré). Birdie and her young daughter, Bernice (Mae Whitman), then move back to Texas to live with Birdie's eccentric mother, Ramona (Gena Rowlands), a taxidermist who has filled the house with stuffed animals. Since most of Smithville saw the TV show, embarrassment keeps Birdie sitting around the house in her pajamas; however, her moment of glory as the homecoming "Queen of Corn" has not been forgotten by handyman Justin Matisse (Harry Connick Jr.), the first guy who kissed her back in high school, so a romance soon begins. "Just give hope a chance to float up and it will," says Birdie. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Flixster Users

72% liked it

59,083 ratings

Critics

24% liked it

33 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 54 min.

Directed by: Forest Whitaker

Release Date: May 29, 1998

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DVD Release Date: January 8, 2002

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Stats: 2,693 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (2,693)

  • FrizzDrop
    December 6, 2011
    FrizzDrop
    An airy, nothing kind of film, which is always trying to be more than it is. You go in thinking itâ(TM)s some flouncy Sandra Bullock vehicle, where she can be her goofy self while falling in love with the handsomest of men on the planet. Instead of being a romantic comedy it's mo... read morere of a character study of a bereaved woman who is ridiculed and belittled after suffering public embarrassment. The beginning, when we're first introduced to Birdee, a divorced single mother who moves home after being humiliated by her husband and his lover, itâ(TM)s actually quite moving and sweet. Though the daughter is an intimate character, and a look into the true psychological faculties of a girl her age, the rest of the family and the husband are ridiculous caricatures. Watching the daughter and wife interact, it was hinted that the husband was this deeply flawed character, but he has all the parameters of some nothing villain. Gena Rowlands is a hard hearted eccentric who's only there to thrust Bullock's struggles to the surface. Though I enjoyed what she brought to the film as a character, using her as a plot point further on was despicable. The other kid, a boy who likes to act as things, didn't have enough backstory with his no good mother to render a specific response except distaste. Though his antics and tendency to keep silent were perfectly odd and childlike, I would have liked to see a broader side of him. The movie altogether is schmaltz. What she has to overcome and the way she does it is small stuff, an amalgamation of every other drama of this genre, or of that decade. There is so much someone can do with the breakup of a marriage, but they looked solely on the aftermath though that's not what the movie was trying to accomplish. Look at Blue Valentine and tell me it's hard to make a film that's complex but relates to an ordinary occurrence.
  • jamers2011
    May 17, 2011
    jamers2011
    Good movie! A little underrated in my opinion, but it's mostly because not too many have seen it. I definitely recommend it! I used to live in Smithville, TX, where the movie was filmed, so I've always liked this film. It's nothing spectacular, but it's worth while. Also, this is... read more one of Sandra Bullock's earlier films, so it's nice seeing where she's come from.
  • Deano78
    October 5, 2009
    Deano78
    Sandra Bullock looks lovely as always but this film was very slow and dull. I just kept waiting for something to happen. Thought it might be a rom-com to start with but it was definitely a drama. Just so slow and predictable and nothing really happens. If you want a romantic dram... read morea watch the Notebook which also stars Gena Rowlands.
  • deano
    June 5, 2009
    deano
    Good touching and poignant drama film that has it all... love and pain... laughter and tears. It's perfect. The beauty of the country along with the small town family atmosphere makes this pure. Sandra Bullock is very good in a complex role. Gena Rowlands is gold. Harry Connick J... read morer. fails to impress. Michael Paré is awful. Mae Whitman is extremely irritating but the other child actor Cameron Finley is quite likable.
  • superclerk25
    February 9, 2008
    superclerk25
    I didn't care for the film. The character that Sandra Bullock plays isn't a likable one and I didn't really care if she was happy in the end. The character of the daughter wasn't good at all either. In the end I really didn't care and that made me long for the end of the movie.
  • tsigur
    July 30, 2007
    tsigur
    The half star is for Gena.
  • dreamfaeries
    November 7, 2006
    dreamfaeries
    What a great movie.
  • leekyle1968
    February 20, 2008
    leekyle1968
    Get out your kleenexes this is a heartbreaker
  • donnarenee2006
    August 11, 2007
    donnarenee2006
    People all thought this movie was crap and was a dry scipt with no life, but I absolutely adored this BAD movie. Something about it just touched my heart and although it lacked in keeping us guessing, and Bullock's acting was dry as ever, and Connick Jr. was trying too hard to be... read more sentimental and comedic at the same time, I thought Gena Rowland's character was the best. She reminded me of my mother and I think this is why I adored this movie so much. Other than that, the movie has heart, but it should have been done alot better. Too bad for the ratings. But nonetheless, it's a fave of mine.
  • virgincrow
    May 31, 2007
    virgincrow
    I usually like Sandra Bullock but the moving exchanges between her character and that of her mother are cheapened by her total lack of chemistry with Harry Connick Jr (Bullock's love interest in the film). The movie would have actually been better if they had cut out his awkward... read more, cringe-worthy scenes entirely. on the whole, not one of her better ones.

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Critic Reviews

Carly Kocurek
January 1, 2011
Carly Kocurek, Common Sense Media

Redemptive drama ready made for family viewing. Full Review

Philip Martin
January 27, 2005
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

... just horrible, horrible, horrible. Full Review

John R. McEwen
February 8, 2003
John R. McEwen, Film Quips Online

The plot of this tear-jerker is a little heavy-handed, and so is the directing by Forest Whitaker. Full Review

Christopher Smith
October 28, 2002
Christopher Smith, Bangor Daily News (Maine)

Well, no it doesn't.

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
March 2, 2002
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

In order for us to believe in the future and to step into it with buoyancy, we need the nurturing support of those nearest and dearest to us. Then hope floats. Full Review

Michael Dequina
January 1, 2000
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com

Nothing spells dull and saccharine quite like the two dreaded H's--hugs and healing. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
January 1, 2000
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

This very ordinary story is told soap opera style... Full Review

Kevin Lally
January 1, 2000
Kevin Lally, Film Journal International

The first half of this Sandra Bullock vehicle is so winning and observant, it's especially disappointing when the storyline begins losing air at the midway point. Full Review

Elias Savada
January 1, 2000
Elias Savada, Nitrate Online

At times heartwarming home-town kitsch, at other times predictable puppy-love pablum for the young and recently separated, Hope Floats... but just barely. Full Review

Lisa Schwarzbaum
September 7, 2011
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

Click to read the article Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Facts

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    • Ramona Calvert: Hey, I am still your mama, Missy. You move it!
    • Bernice Pruitt: Please don't have a talk with her mother, I'd rather die!
    • Travis: Don't worry, you will.
    • Justin Matisse: Why don't you go down and get dressed, you'll feel better? You gotta feel depressed looking like that.
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Hope Floats : Watch Free on TV

Hope Floats Trivia

  • Who was the actress that got dumped by her husband in Hope Floats ?  Answer »
  • Which actress starred in "The Notebook", "Gloria", "A Woman Under the Influence", "Unhook the Stars", "Opening Night", "Hope Floats", etc.?  Answer »
  • In "Hope Floats," Birdee gets back with her husband?  Answer »
  • In "Hope Floats," who played Ramona Calvert?  Answer »
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