10 Reasons Hope Floats is a Guilty Pleasure

Hope Floats (1998) is not one of the greatest movies of all time, but it is one of those movies that I find myself watching whenever it pops up on TV. While the critics’ evaluation of the movie puts it at a low 25% “liked it” on the Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes, the audience puts it at a respectable 73% “liked it.” Why are regular audience members right on this movie and the critics so wrong? Here are ten reasons.

1. Forest Whitaker directs the movie, and does an excellent job. The well-known actor may have been an unusual choice to direct this movie, but he captures the atmosphere of a small town in Texas, perhaps because he was born in Texas. There are excellent shots throughout the movie, and as someone who has spent some time in the Lone Star State, I think he does a great job capturing some of the beauty of the area. He should direct more often.

2. Sandra Bullock gives one of her best performances as Birdee Pruitt. Bullock fits comfortably in the role of a likeable former small-town girl who was a cheerleader and “Queen of Corn.” She explains how the story attracted her to take the role in this video interview.

3. The movie includes a musical performance by Jack Ingram, who is playing at a dance scene. Ingram started out playing country music in Texas bars in the early 1990s. A friend introduced me to Ingram in the late 1990s when Ingram released some excellent CDs. Live at Adair’s (1996) is a great live album. More recently, Ingram got a trendy haircut and had more commercial success with songs like “Love You.” The Academy of Country Music gave him a top “new” male artist award in 2008, about a decade too late. But it is great he’s still making good music.

4. Speaking of musicians, Harry Connick, Jr. shows off his acting chops as Justin Matisse in Hope Floats. Connick has a lot of personality and it comes through in his performance here. Sure, he is not playing Hamlet or another great part, but he fits the role like a comfortable glove and is believable.

5. The rest of the cast is engaging too. The movie has Gena Rolands, who has been acting since the late 1950s and has an impressive resume of outstanding roles. She’s great here as Bullock’s mother. And Mae Whitman is able to make us laugh while at other times conveying the pain of a child with parents going through a divorce.

6. The movie has a number of elements that make it hard to classify. There are some laughs, but it is not a light-hearted romantic comedy. It is a Hollywood movie and it is not gritty, but there are several genuine moments in the movie about small-town life, death, divorce, and home.

7. The film has an excellent scene at the employment office when a former classmate gives Birdee (Bullock) her comeuppance for her popularity in high school. Neither person is played as a stereotype, and viewers find themselves sympathetic to both characters.

8. Two touching dance scenes illustrate romance, childhood, aging, and starting again: Birdie dances with her father, who has had a stroke and is in a nursing home, and she dances with Justin at the bar.

9. “Beginnings are scary. Endings are usually sad. But it’s the middle that counts the most.”

10. The soundtrack works, and the movie includes “Make You Feel My Love.” The song, sung here by Garth Brooks, is one of Bob Dylan’s later career classic songs, as we discussed recently on Chimesfreedom. In the case of both the song and the movie, the fans are right and the critics are wrong.