ClassyWas Excellent, smart action film.

Helloturia I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

Ogosmith Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Python Hyena Hope Floats (1998): Dir: Forest Whitaker / Cast: Sandra Bullock, Harry Connick Jr., Gena Rowland, Mae Whitman, Rosanna Arquette: One of the dumbest romances ever concocted. Sandra Bullock is invited onto a talk show believing that she will receive a makeover only to be met with the news that her best friend and husband have been having an affair. She and her daughter move in with her mother and reminded of the incident by those who saw it twice. She begins work at a photo lab and falls in love with that high school chum she never liked. Director Forest Whitaker never capitalizes on a single scene so we have Mae Whitman get beat up at school and then just up and walk away. The bedroom scene to cheer her up is equally stupid. The death of Bullock's mother was unnecessary. The setup had all the potential at the talk show but instead it sends Bullock through tired formula clichés. Gena Rowland is reduced to a prop who will eventually keel over. Harry Connick Jr. is flat as that old love who never seems to be anything other than a bad reminder of the past. Mae Whitman deserves better than to be playing the bunt of a bad joke. Rosanna Arquette is featured in the talk show sequence and we're reminded how superior she is to this pitiful garbage. The result is a worthless romantic puke that should be tied to a large rock and tossed at sea so that it may not float again. Score: 0 / 10

longcooljolie What is up with that summary title? you might be thinking. There is a thrift store that sells VHS tapes for $0.25 apiece and this movie was in their collection and now it's in my cheap entertainment collection.The reviews on IMDb for this movie are very polarized: people either seem to really hate it or really love it. For me there were equal parts of things to like and not like about it. Sandra Bullock, who was producing for the first time in her new movie, comes across as aimless and wispy in this. Harry Connick as her former schoolmate and potential love interest comes across as stiff and insincere. At the time there was a push toward getting him more highly visible roles, but he was much better as a supporting player (Will Smith's jet fighter buddy in Independence Day a couple of years before).The musical score really helps the movie. There are very nice musical compositions from Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Cheryl Crow, Bryan Adams, and others. It turns out that Patrick Swayze choreographed the dancing in this, which shows up in a very nice scene at a Texas dance hall where couples are doing the Texas two-step.Acting-wise, the best thing was Mae Whitman, who was about 10 at the time and is the centerpiece for the movie's most stirring scene, which happens near the end. She has gone on to build an impressive list of credits and at first glance seems to have transitioned from child actress to viable adult performer very well.The set design is also nice and there are pretty images of the Texas countryside in a few scenes. Overall though, the movie is kind of dreary and a good example of one of Sandra Bullock's career growing pains. Forrest Whitaker directed, and he has also gone on to bigger and better things.

juneebuggy This is one of those guilty pleasure type movies I find myself watching just about every time I catch it on TV. Its not perfect, a total chick flick but also completely addictive and pretty great. Sandra Bullock plays Birdee Calvert, a Chicago wife who returns home to her small Texas hometown after her husband reveals on a talk show that he's (been) having an affair with her best friend.Bullock is as always likable and I enjoyed watching her (get drunk) trying to put her life back together again with the help of her eccentric taxidermy loving mother (Gena Rowlands) and a yummy (in an awkward sort of way) Harry Connick Jr. All the performances seem authentic and this doesn't really fall into romantic comedy genre(which may be why I like it). It's more of a family drama complete with all the tears laughter and love that incorporates. The small town atmosphere also really adds to this as her old classmates revel in seeing a former beauty queen taken down a notch.The one standout performance here would have to go to the little girl playing her daughter Bernice, she is just fantastic. That scene towards the end when she runs after her dad crying "you want me" "take me with you" just kills me. Well that and Connick leaning up against his pick-up with a handful of flowers and 'those' Levis'. 12/7/14

gcd70 Written by Steven Rogers, "Hope Floats" is a standard romance that tries so very hard to be a drama, but it just isn't. As I watched, I became rather annoyed with the self-indulgent character Birdee Pruitt played by Sandra Bullock, who is usually so likable.Director Forest Whitaker would have been better served presenting this movie more like a Julia Roberts ("Pretty Woman" or "The Runaway Bride") or a Meg Ryan ("Sleepless in Seattle" or "You've Got Mail") flick. Also starred Harry Connick Junior, Gena Rowlands, Mae Whitman and Michael Pare. Look for Sandra in "While You Were Sleeping" for a much more enjoyable film.Saturday, June 10, 2000 - DVD