Rating: 

The Info

Directed by: Gavin O'Connor
Written by: Gavin O'Connor, Angela Shelton
Starring: Janet McTeer, Kimberly Brown, Gavin O'Connor, Jay O. Sanders
Produced by: Greg O'Connor

The Nutshell

A single mother drags her daughter across the United States in search of happiness and love.

The Review

    Every so often, in writing a screenplay people create a character who does bad things, yet is likeable. They commit crimes, mouth off, yet have such an obviously good heart that you are forced to fall in love with them. A good example of this would be John Cusack's hitman in Grosse Pointe Blank. He killed several people, yet you rooted for him as he tried to woo his high school love. While such manipulation is often the sign of a crafty writer, sometimes it can go too far.

    Mary Jo Walker (McTeer) is the selfish-single-mom-with-a-heart-of-gold type who has already appeared on film in '99 in Anywhere But Here. Mary Jo goes from bad relationship to bad relationship, searching for love anywhere that seems hopeful (she remembers the address of a man who had a crush on her in high school and thus heads straight for him). As she pathetically cruises for quick love, she pulls her daughter Ava (Brown) grumpily along with her. Ava is junior high school material, but never stays in a school long enough to make friends. She lets her mother know how she feels, yet Mary Jo persists in her refusal to stick it out on their own. This is supposed to make her quirky and different, but it just makes her a bad mother.

    Writer/director Gavin O'Connor tries to conceal the dark side of Mary Jo by giving her a lot of funny things to say and do, and by letting her get emotional and teary whenever things get out of hand. Despite the character flaws, Janet McTeer is amazing as Mary Jo. She dashes in and handily steals almost every scene with her charisma and Southern accent. Almost overshadowed by McTeer's near over the top performance is Kimberly Brown as Ava. As Ava, Brown is convincing and much more down to Earth than McTeer. Ava is the wiser woman of the family, yet can't help instigating trouble at times. This is a difficult character trait to come to terms with; why would she stir up trouble (blowing bubbles in the face of Jack during dinner) when she vehemently wants there to be no trouble? Jay O. Sanders also makes an appearance as Dan, the likeable co-worker of Mary Jo.

    This is a road trip and self-discovery picture. By the end, Mary Jo has to come to terms with the fact that she does not need a man in her life, and that Ava needs a stable home in which to make friends. Ava does make a friend, Zoe, at one school, with whom she wants to act in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The play provides several of the film's cutesier moments, along with a much needed break from Mary Jo (I mean, she is just so charismatic...). The film's ending, while mostly predictable, does leave a few things up in the air, letting you wonder how things will work out.

    Tumbleweeds is a weak story built on strong performances. Between McTeer, Brown, O'Connor and Sanders, we have a foursome that manages to be convincing in their varied personalities. If only O'Connor had toned down the cutesiness and realized that Mary Jo is actually not a good mother, this film could have been much more enjoyable. As it stands, it will make you laugh quite a bit, and occasionally maybe cry, but if you stop to think about things, the emptiness of Mary Jo's love will shine through.

Copyright - Tim Chandler

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