Hope Floats (1998)

24% of critics liked it
(33 reviews)
73% of users liked it
(58,563 ratings)

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 begins in Chicago, where blonde Connie (Rosanna Arquette, uncredited) appears on a trashy daytime talk… More 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 begins 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

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 54 min.
Directed By: Forest Whitaker
Written By: Steve Rogers
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: May 29, 1998 Wide
On DVD: Jan 8, 2002
Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Carly Kocurek, Common Sense Media
Redemptive drama ready made for family viewing.
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
... just horrible, horrible, horrible.
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.
Christopher Smith, Bangor Daily News (Maine)
Well, no it doesn't.
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.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Featured Audience Ratings

Spencer S

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… More
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 more 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.
Jameson W

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… More
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 one of Sandra Bullock's earlier films, so it's nice seeing where she's come from.
Dean !

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 drama… More
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 drama watch the Notebook which also stars Gena Rowlands.
Dean M

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… More
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 Jr. fails to impress. Michael Paré is awful. Mae Whitman is extremely irritating but the other child actor Cameron Finley is quite likable.
Jason S

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… More
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.
Tim S

The half star is for Gena.
Leigh R

What a great movie.
Lee K

Get out your kleenexes this is a heartbreaker
Donna D

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… More
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 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.
*Kimberly *

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… More
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, cringe-worthy scenes entirely. on the whole, not one of her better ones.
Moe E

Even though this is the epitome of chick flicks and predictible as all heck, I can't help but like this movie. Must be the chemistry between Sandra and Harry...
Leo L

great.