Hope Floats

The premise of Hope Floats is quite original: a young housewife, Birdee Pruitt, happily appears on a talk show à la Ricki Lake in the belief that she has been chosen for a 'makeover', that is, a change of hair, make-up and clothes, but in reality she is to be confronted by her best friend, Connie, who reveals that she has for some time been having an affair with Birdee's husband, Bill.

With her daughter Bernice, Birdee leaves husband and house in Chicago and drives down to her childhood home in the small town of Smithville, Texas, where her mother Ramona has offered to put them up. Starting a new life is not that easy, though, especially not in Smithville, where Birdee was once the undisputed beauty queen and cheerleader type and went out with the equally popular Bill. Birdee sinks into a black hole, which takes a heavy toll on her relationship with Bernice, who is not having too easy a time at school either. One bright spot, however, is Birdee's old admirer Justin Matisse, who is waiting in the wings. He too has met with disappointments out in the big wide world, but together they may have the chance of a fresh start.

Hope Floats is a proper melodrama in which Sandra Bullock gets ample opportunity to show new facets of her pretty talent. Unfortunately Forest Whitaker has a tendency to smother the drama in unnecessary slow-motion sequences, and that is a bit of a shame.