Ideal part for Susan Sarandon here. She is basically a free spirit. She has had 2 unsuccessful marriages. She flees with her unhappy daughter, Natalie Portman, to the L.A. scene. She secures a teaching job there, but with her problems and social hangups, teaching is not exactly for her and her resignation soon occurs.This is a film dealing with a mother-daughter relationship gone completely awry. There is family tragedy and the two women desperately struggle to cope with life, each one wanting independence.The telephone scene with her father is so memorable. That's what happens after years of separation and another family.The ending is an attempt for the two women to get the independence they have both sought.

For a library check-out, "Anywhere But Here" is about par. It might be worth a viewing to kill time if it's bad weather outside - might be. The acting and directing in it is not particularly remarkable, nor is the story which seems more like writing and scenes splashed together. I fell asleep during the first watch which during a well-made movie, I never do. Upon re-watch to catch the parts I missed, I didn't think the movie was horrible, just soppy, syrupy melodrama. I didn't really care for any of the characters or their predicaments, and don't particularly enjoy watching mother/daughter Portman/Sarandon's arguments and make-ups repeating over and over. I thought the whole family background and in-fighting was terribly overcooked and was thrown together. The music was schlock. On second thought, give this a pass if you're trying to decide to watch.

OK, maybe it's because I'm a guy and the only reason I saw this movie was because I went with my wife, but this was the most boring movie I've seen in a long, long time. I don't hate chick flicks as long as there's a good plot, but this one needs a lot of work to make it interesting. About 15 minutes into the movie all I could think about was how uncomfortable the theater seats were. The only redeeming value of this movie is that Natalie Portman is hot... but this alone doesn't make a 2 hour movie worth sitting through if it's lame & boring. Perhaps it's a good mother/daughter flick but if you're a guy you'll hate it.

This movie was a great one. Their relationship was a bit rocky, but in the end, Ann realized what greatness her mother really had. Susan Sarandon and Natalie Portman were the right actresses for the job. :) They really portrayed a real "family". Not this fairy-tale "wish that was my family" kind of family. They were actually like today's families...with extreme relativity with the moving and mother-daughter struggles and diversity. I loved it...especially the ending when they realized how much both of them meant to each other. It made me wanna grab my mom!!! (who was sitting right beside me at the time...so i actually did...haha!)