Anywhere but Here

Play trailer

2:26

Anywhere but Here

PG-13

1999

1h 54m

Comedy

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

64%

Tomatometer

88 Reviews

55%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

In this adaptation of the Mona Simpson novel, single mother Adele August (Susan Sarandon) is bad with money, and even worse when it comes to making decisions. Her straight-laced daughter, Ann (Natalie Portman), 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.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

The strong chemistry between Susan Sarandon and Natalie Portman as a mother and daughter trying to make a fresh start in L.A. helps to elevate Anywhere But Here above its occasional forays into melodrama.

Read Critics Reviews

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

12/22/2010

3/5

Solid story of independence for teens.

Go to Full Review

Geoff Andrew

Time Out

06/24/2006

Portman is excellent, balancing wisdom and petulance, loyalty and imposition...

Go to Full Review

Emanuel Levy

Variety

01/02/2006

3/5

As a depiction of a loving-turbulent relationship between a single mom (Susan Sarandon) and her rebellious teenage daughter (Natalie Portman), Wang's meller is nicely crafted but old-fashioned like Hollywood's weepies of yesteryear.

Go to Full Review

Chuck Klosterman

Akron Beacon Journal

10/30/2023

2/4

By the end of Anywhere But Here, everything has worked out perfectly (and predictably), but that perfection seems implausible and almost disappointing.

Go to Full Review

Laura Clifford

Reeling Reviews

04/09/2005

B-

Director Wayne Wang has delivered a solid entertainment, particularly for women, with Anywhere But Here.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Courtney M

@Corey.am Mar 14

I don't understand the low score. I really enjoy this film. It is definitely one of my comfort movies. I watched it as a teen and loved it. I have just rewatched it again in adulthood and it still holds up. As a mother myself now, I can see so many different aspects of the film I didn't spot in my youth. I enjoyed this look into the relationship between this mother and daughter duo. Susan Sarandon and Natalie Portman give great performances. I highly recommend giving it a watch.

See more

11/13/2024

emotionally heartfelt and wonderfully acted even 25 years later Sarandon and Portman have terrific chemistry and really know how to emote when they do it's a very strong story of a mother learning to let go of her daughter, something that we all must face at some point in our lives letting go, love, honesty, adjustment, inner conflict, self-doubt and attempting to rise above the inevitable ties into the plot dramatically well it's also a real tear jerker, too

See more

Ęxçëşș M

@ExcessMale 10/27/2022

Worth seeing once just for the constant zing drummed up by Sarandon and Portman.

See more

david f

@dfulmer 08/10/2021

I only watched this DVD cause it came packaged with another movie that I really wanted. But it was pretty good, with a solid, literate story and characters. It focused on women, which is rare enough in Hollywood, and on a mother daughter relationship strained by both poverty and eccentricity. It deserves an audience, I think. (It also had some late-nineties scenes in a Borders Books and Music that was an important time capsule for those of us who fondly remember that bookstore chain.)

See more

01/19/2021

A movie that is engaging and realistic. Hard to watch without shedding a tear.

See more

steve d

@RT35616104 07/03/2020

The story is good enough but it is the chemistry between the actors that makes it work.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Wayne Wang

Director

Susan Sarandon

Adele August

Natalie Portman

Ann August

Eileen Ryan

Lillian

Ray Baker

Ted

John Diehl

Jimmy

In Her Shoes

74%

66%

In Her Shoes

Watchlist

The Devil Wears Prada

75%

76%

The Devil Wears Prada

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Devil Wears Prada

Where the Heart Is

34%

76%

Where the Heart Is

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Where the Heart Is

Pieces of April

83%

73%

Pieces of April

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Pieces of April

Crazy in Alabama

31%

64%

Crazy in Alabama

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Anywhere but Here: Trailer 1

2:26

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

In this adaptation of the Mona Simpson novel, single mother Adele August (Susan Sarandon) is bad with money, and even worse when it comes to making decisions. Her straight-laced daughter, Ann (Natalie Portman), 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.

Director: Wayne Wang
Producer: Laurence Mark
Screenwriter: Mona Simpson, Alvin Sargent
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: 20th Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 12, 1999, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $18.7M
Runtime: 1h 54m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby Digital

Most Popular at Home Now