GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Solidrariol Am I Missing Something?

Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

bkoganbing American Heart casts Jeff Bridges in the role of a recently paroled convict who would like to make a fresh start of things. But from the gitgo he's saddled with a responsibility of his own making. His 14 year old son Edward Furlong runs away from the uncle he's been staying with and hooks up with Bridges. Sad to say but it's like they're doomed from the start. They live in an SRO hotel on Seattle's seamier side. Bridges is working as a window washer, barely making ends meet. Furlong tries to enroll in school, but the bureaucracy proves too much. He falls in with a lot of street kids including child hooker Tracey Kapisky who reminds me very much of Jodie Foster in Taxi. She's lives in the same SRO with her mother who's in the same profession and jealous of her daughter.Bridges also has a younger associate, Don Harvey who'd like to get him back in the criminal life. He's also found a bit of romance with a prison pen pal in Lucinda Jenney.American Heart is a real downer of a film, but very well done. Sad to these are very real people. But oddly enough it follows the same plot line as the Shirley Temple movie Now and Forever with Gary Cooper and Carole Lombard. Sort of like an R-rated version of it.This film is not one for those who like happy endings. Still I think it is one Jeff Bridges finest screen achievements.

P.M. Reilich Well, here I am again commenting with nobody listening. I saw it on Showtime a few nights ago, and frankly I don't even know why I have Showtime, or that is, why Showtime is subscribed to in the house where my wife and son and me currently live in North Hollywood after they tried to get rid of me so many times before. I'm such a damn loser, of course I don't blame them. I should be dead by now. But here I am. And they love me, so.. here I am.I've made a lot of dumb-ass comments before on this site. I hate reading most of them, except maybe the one on Fabulous Baker Boys. I could say the reason I didn't even know this film existed is because my son was born in March of 1992 and literally all of my time was spent caring for him that year. So maybe I'm not as much of a loser as I thought. American Heart really hit me hard, though. Powerful mother. I like how the title sounds like a stupid country record, too. Puts it smack where it needs to be: heard by the mainstream. If it wasn't seen by the mainstream, that's nothing more than Sturgeon's Law (95% of everything is crap) applied to general film viewing public.If I was president, I would force feed ala Clockwork Orange certain movies to every citizen - i.e. force each person to view with eyes pinned open until they vomit, then force more viewing. I know this is stupid and didn't work etc. but still.. Those movies would be Wilder's The Apartment, Fabulous Baker Boys and this film. A couple others too, that I can't think of at the moment as I'm hurrying because my wife needs to get on the computer to do her work so we can feed ourselves.Just wanted to say that this film is freaking great, very realistic and reveals EXACTLY what it's like to be an ex-con trying to go straight and how our screwed up society prevents that. Whatever with drama, films, directing, art and other crap. This film isn't about those things. This film has a movie star, Jeff Bridges, and he's freaking great that he would make a film like this. He deserves a damn medal and three halves for doing this realistic stuff about REALLY IMPORTANT issues. Don't fool yourselves, people. Our country sucks when it comes to helping people get their lives together. The parole officer character was REAL, phony helpfulness, totally uncaring in the end. The system creates this screwup, where people in positions to help simply can't get anything done.But also, the Bridges character is a hick screwup. Think about this, people. Don't just go, he's a mean mother. Think about what kind of cultural influences create people like this. I used to dig Fogerty's and Seger's etc. voices in that kind of rock music. But after seeing this film, I'll never want to hear that kind of music again, and I'm a professional musician who has played this stuff on concert stages many times. IT NEEDS TO STOP. That's all. Go home to your kids, people. Be nice. Learn to think like Jack Lemmon. Get off the crud that's messing your head up. Make it to Alaska if that's what it takes. Whatever it takes. Just do it.

vchimpanzee Jack is out of prison, and hoping to go straight in what is apparently Seattle, though his former partner Rainey wants him to return to his life of crime. Parole officer Normandy expects Jack to get a job and keep it, even though an ex-con with no skills won't have an easy time. Jack's 14-year-old son Nick wants to leave his aunt's farm. They end up living in a dump. Jack wants to move to Alaska and start over.Molly is 15 and lives downstairs from Jack and Nick, and she doesn't get along with her mother, who looks like Cyndi Lauper. Rollie is Nick's friend, and a bad influence, since neither of them care about school. Charlotte drives a taxi and was apparently Jack's girlfriend.This role was not typical Jeff Bridges, so I would say he did a good job as Jack. The character was tough but tender, and easy to like. Edward Furlong was good as Nick, and early in the movie, the best scenes had them together. Tracey Kapisky was tough but pleasant, considering her character was not exactly the girl next door. Later, though, the movie went downhill, and the scenes with father and son were the worst. There was a good ending of sorts, but no guarantee of 'happily ever after'.

jbels Man, was Jeff Bridges excellent in this! Talk about being pitch perfect in a character who is trying to change and just having the hardest time. Subtle touches, like when he takes away the joint from his son, only to slip it into his own pocket. This is a good film, small gem. Rent it!