Sunshine State (2002)

80% of critics liked it
(107 reviews)
49% of users liked it
(2,431 ratings)

Writer and director John Sayles returns with another multi-layered look at an American community, subtly exploring how race, class, economics, and both national and regional history come together to shape people's lives. Plantation Island is a community on the coast of Florida; the island was once a… More Writer and director John Sayles returns with another multi-layered look at an American community, subtly exploring how race, class, economics, and both national and regional history come together to shape people's lives. Plantation Island is a community on the coast of Florida; the island was once a notorious hotbed of segregationists, with most of the African-American population centered in the neighborhood of Lincoln Beach, while Delrona Beach is primarily home to white residents. Marly Temple (Edie Falco) is the sixth generation of her family to live in Delrona Beach, where she helps run a motel and cafe owned by her elderly and ill-tempered father (Ralph Waite) and drama instructor mother (Jane Alexander). Marly's former husband, Steve (Richard Edson), is a scruffy ne'er do well who's a sucker for get-rich-quick scams, while her current boyfriend, Scotty (Marc Blucas), is struggling to make something of himself as a golf pro. Meanwhile, Desiree Perry (Angela Bassett) is an actress who is returning to Lincoln Beach for the first time since she was a teenager, hoping to introduce her new husband, Reggie (James McDaniel), to her mother, Eunice Stokes (Mary Alice). Desiree was the center of a minor local scandal when she became pregnant as a teenager and moved away. Eunice has never quite forgiven her, while Flash (Tom Wright), Desiree's high school boyfriend and the man responsible, hasn't seen her since. Eunice is looking after Terrell (Alex Lewis), a troubled youth recently found guilty of arson, and Desiree and Reggie soon find themselves bonding with the misguided youth. In time, Delrona Beach and Lincoln Beach are brought together by a common concern; Greg (Perry Lang) and Lester (Miguel Ferrer) are representatives from a nearby resort community looking to expand, with Plantation Island looking like their most likely target. As homeowners debate whether to sell or stay put, local government officials and the town's business community argue the merits and faults of the resort's expansion into Plantation Island. Meanwhile, Marly becomes romantically involved with Jack (Timothy Hutton), a landscape architect affiliated with the developers who seems to believe his work is doing more harm than good. Sunshine State also features Mary Steenburgen, Alan King, and Bill Cobbs. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 2 hr. 21 min.
Directed By: John Sayles
Written By: John Sayles
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Jun 21, 2002 Wide
On DVD: Nov 19, 2002
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

Critic Reviews

Peter Howell, Toronto Star
Sunshine State resembles Sayles' sketchbook more than his finished work, and we might hope that something more polished might spring from it.
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
Sunshine State has the structure, the theme, the style and, at 141 minutes, the length of a great John Sayles film. What it doesn't have, alas, is the merit.
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News
Sunshine State is an efficient helping of Sayles, insightful even when it's not richly entertaining or imbued with apparent passion.
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
This is geographic history as personal history, a look at a vanishing world before the tide of progress immerses it. It's also superb independent filmmaking.
James Berardinelli, ReelViews
Sunshine State lacks the brilliance of Sayles' most dynamic offerings, but, for those who don't mind an unhurried, deliberate narrative pace, this is a worthwhile offering.
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
Sayles' approach to his material can be archly didactic, but then there's Bassett and especially Falco, who both bring lived-in qualities to their roles.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
This well acted ensemble melodrama is not one of John Sayles' strongest films.
Jeffrey Overstreet, Looking Closer
Sayles' writing is so good, and so convincing, he makes the experience more like reading a complex and well-researched novel than watching a movie.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
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Brett Buckalew, FilmStew.com
Sunshine State certainly ranks as one of the director's richest, most satisfying films.
Brian Webster, Apollo Guide
Could have been much more than good, if only it didn't seem so unfocused, and so many characters didn't seem insufficiently explored.
Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope
Not all of the stories work and the ones that do are thin and scattered, but the film works well enough to make it worth watching.
Kevin A. Ranson, MovieCrypt.com
John Sayles has crafted a bleak, not-so-happy view of what many parts of the sunshine state are really like as developers snap up and exploit what hasn't already been turned into a theme park, resort, or retirement community.
Michael W. Phillips, Jr., Goatdog's Movies
The shrillness of [Sayles's] more political films is gone, leaving a clear set of opinions but a more even-handed feel.

Read all 14 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Red L

A long movie - about two families in a Florida neighbourhood. The story includes a little of everything - family, greed, bias, expectations, suicide, fidelity, unplanned pregnancy, etc. etc. I enjoyed it - almost have to watch it again to recall all the stories.
Tim S

Edie Falco leads an impressive cast and John Sayles always gives you something to think about after the movie is over.
Anthony V

Not the best John Sayles outing, but does have its moments.