My heart is here

In her book, "Where the Heart Is," Oklahoma author Billie Letts carved out a story as warm and rich as the fertile soil of the Sooner State she writes about. The movie version of "Where the Heart Is" is as faithful a screen adaptation of a book as I've ever seen, and that's good, because the book is brilliant.

Letts spent her adult life teaching and raising kids, and being a good wife to her husband, Dennis. When she reached the tender age of 55, she decided it was time to do something about pursuing her life-long dream of being a writer. In the early Nineties, Letts attended a writer's conference in New Orleans, met an agent, and began the long journey that ended with the publication last year of her first novel. One day soon thereafter, she got a phone call from someone claiming to be Oprah Winfrey, saying her book had been selected for the Oprah Book Club. Turns out it WAS Winfrey, and like all authors so anointed, Letts hit the best seller list in a big way...fast.

She hadn't even had time to take it all in when the movie rights to her book were optioned. Now, as Letts approaches what would normally be the retirement year for most Americans, she is caught up in a whirlwind of personal appearances and book signings, not to mention overseeing the filming of her first novel.

She couldn't have asked for a better pair of screenwriters than Lowell Ganz and Babloo Mandel, who've already brought us gems like A League of Their Own, Splash and City Slickers. The screenplay clips along, drawing us right into the story of Novalee Nation from frame one.

Novalee (Natalie Portman) is a pregnant, unmarried 17-year-old girl, traveling across country with her wild boyfriend, Willie Jack (Dylan Bruno). When she asks him to stop at a Wal-Mart in Sequoyah, Oklahoma, so she can use the restroom, Willie Jack decides he's had enough of responsibility to last him a lifetime, so, as soon as Novalee disappears into the store, he takes off. That's where the real story begins, for this homeless, friendless teen who was abandoned at age five by her promiscuous mother, slowly discovers she is the heart of a loving family. Sure, it's a family cobbled together from life's rejects, but it's a family nonetheless, and it's a good one.

I alternated between smiling and crying throughout this movie, but it wasn't the big, wracking sobs kind of crying, just the little tears tracking down the face sort, the "that's so wonderful I think my heart is going to burst" sort of crying. The story truly moved me, and lifted me at the same time.

Now, please don't go thinking this is one of those "chick flicks." Even though the four leads are all female, the male of the species is shown some deep appreciation throughout. Richard Jones is delightful as Mr. Sprock, Sister's "partner in sin." And James Frain is wonderfully appealing as Forney Hull, a young man who has put his life on hold to care for his alcoholic older sister. When he meets Novalee, for the first time in a long time, his life begins to take on a dimension of hope.

Ashley Judd stars as Lexie, Novalee's best friend, and it is refreshing to see her in a role worthy of her talent for a change. Stockard Channing stars as Sister Husband, the good-hearted woman who takes in Novalee and her baby, and makes them part of her family. Then there's Joan Cusack as Ruth Meyers, a small time Nashville music agent. Even though she's on screen for but a few minutes, in that little bit of time she still manages to make a searing impression as a jaded businesswoman who's a heck of a lot smarter than one first might suppose.

This is not a big blockbuster type of film; it's a sweet little slice of life that will have you nodding your head in recognition and surprise as the story unfolds. I recommend it highly for teens and adults, but because it's so low key, it probably would not hold the attention of young children.

Web Site-----------------------------------------------------

Oh, boy. Here we go again. A superb, heart-warming movie that is completely misrepresented by it's goofy web site. Anyone trying to make a decision about whether or not to see this movie by visiting the web site will not have a clue which way to go, and in fact, will probably be misled.

The movie is serious, but with some heart-felt laughs. The web site is a silly, cheesy, teeny-bopper game. I wish I knew what they were smoking when they dreamed this one up.

Once again, you have to really WORK to get any info here. You can't just click on a link to find out more about the movie; you have to earn that privilege by playing a dumb game called, (are you sitting down?) "Consequences of the Heart." Some pop psychologist who was probably run out of school just shy of a Ph.D apparently wrote the questions, either that or a former reporter from Teen People who was booted for doing "e" in the ladies room.

Here's the deal. You have to answer some abysmally stupid questions, then come back after every question to check your "Morality Meter." (Yeah, like I need a meter to tell me if I'm moral or not.) After you've played that portion of the game, they feed you a tiny little piece of information about the movie. You will be happy to know that according to the "Morality Meter," I am virtuous...(but then, you already knew that, didn't you?)

It took me almost an hour to plow my way through the game. This is an unhappy trend in movie web sites. For some inexplicable reason, the new sites are pulling a bunch of stunts to force you to stay on site for a lo-o-o-ng time. As far as I'm concerned, this is a wrong-headed approach. The object should not be to ensnare potential movie ticket buyers on your web sites and make them mad; the object should be to sell them on your movie and do it quickly, so that surfers cannot wait to shut down their computer and storm the local cinema. Or, do I have it wrong?

I must, because increasingly, movie web sites are like land mines that you have to negotiate very carefully if you want to get out in one piece. All I need to know is who is starring, what's the basic premise of the story, who's in the crew and when does it open? That's it.

If you feel some irresistible desire to have a Java-scripted game tell you how virtuous you are, by all means, visit this web site. If not, skip it, but definitely go see the movie. It is as wonderful as the web site is lame.