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Trailer-trash is the word of the day as this road movie stops along the way. Prominently pregnant seventeen-year-old Novalee Nation (Natalie Portman) badly needs to pass water (as opposed to break water) and squirms around in the front seat of a rattling Plymouth next to her egotistical guitar-playing boyfriend, Willy Jack (Dylan Bruno). Mostly involved with his "singing career" and not renowned for his gentlemanly ways, he pulls up next to a Wal-Mart in Oklahoma so his girl can use the toilet facilities. When she returns from relieving herself, she is less relieved to discover that Willy has flown the coop, leaving his past behind. Disgruntled and disillusioned, but clever and innovative, Novalee devises a method to move, lock, stock, and baby, into the Wal-Mart without drawing anyone's attention to the fact that she has taken up residence. Though she doesn't have a penny to her name, she manages to live in an almost fantasy-like world for several days, surviving from the shelved goodies and eventually making her own special delivery in one of the aisles. Immediately, both she and the "Wal-Mart Baby" become media celebrities. Accepting an offer to move in with the wise and humane Sister Husband (Stockard Channing), Novalee finally manages to find stability in her life during the next few years among a number of "eccentric" locals who become her nearest and dearest friends. Love also raises its head once again for this young woman, but in a much more noble way than previously, as she becomes better acquainted with the lonely, good-natured and good-willed town librarian Forney (James Frain). In a matter of five years, Novalee travels a rewarding path toward self-discovery and manages to develop an inner strength while Willy Jack pursues another road to Tennessee, fame, disillusionment, distress, moral decay, and, eventually, self-destruction. The sharp-witted screenplay, written by talented veterans Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel (based on Billie Letts' comic novel), is handled beautifully by director Matt Williams, who says, "I really responded to the book's humanity and humor. The characters were quirky yet very real, and they reminded me of the people I grew up with in the Midwest." Although the story is peppered with amazing secondary characters, none take too prominent a position to outshine the lead and, as a result, the spotlight remains fixed on Novalee and her personal development as a woman with convictions. DP Richard Greatrex (B.S.C) has framed an atmosphere that reeks of Middle America, assisted by both the well-thought-out and appropriately patterned production designs of Paul Peters and costume designs of Melinda Eshelman.
As well as a child, Nathalie Portman delivers a convincing and sensitively portrayed role as the girl who becomes a woman. Dylan Bruno is perfect as the gorgeous guy you always want to hate. James Frain may not be a newcomer to the screen, but he makes a substantial leap into mass appeal with his convincing portrayal of Forney. Stockard Channing, always wonderful to behold, is as magical as ever traveling the range from dramatic to comic emotions in the role of wisdom woman and mother figure Sister Husband. Ashley Judd gains our sympathies as she spiritedly plays Lexie, Novalee's best friend, another woman who can't shake the habit of choosing the wrong man too often. Joan Cusack (as music manager Ruth Myers, a woman who takes an avid interest in the up-and-coming Willy as well as his career) has an opportunity here once again to show how fantastically talented she is with comedy when positioned in a well-designed script. Family is not necessarily something you're born into; often it can more importantly refer to the people who warmly embrace you and share in your life. Where minds and hearts meet, is "Where The Heart Is."
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