The "troubled teen gets tough love" genre is a well-loved genre, ever since The Blackboard Jungle in 1955. I watch a lot of these movies, and Carolina is a pretty good one.The troubled teen in this one is actually an adult, but it's still the same type of movie. Julia Stiles, whose "too cool for school" attitude is perfectly plastered on her perpetually sourpuss face, is mad at her family because they're eccentric and she's trying to mature into a mainstream young woman. Her name is Carolina because everyone in her family is named after the state in which they were born, and she despises her name just as much as her eccentric relatives.If you've seen a lot of these movies, like I have, you pretty much know the formula. Carolina doesn't stray too far from the typical mold, but if you're in the mood for a little cheese in your movies and relatives who are too wacky to be realistic, give this one a whirl.

This picture is billed as a romantic comedy but it's really more about family and how that can affect romances. While this is definitely a fluff piece, Shirley MacLaine's character and acting knock it out of the ballpark.Julia Stiles, by contrast, is wooden and unsympathetic in her role as the female romantic lead. I kept wanting to see her in some 1970's BBC drama where emotionless, physically dull acting was more the rage.Azura Skye does a nice turn in the predictable role of "the trashy sister" who gets pregnant after a one-night stand. Randy Quaid and the rest of the cast practically disappear except to act as foils to MacLaine's outrageous "tough love/live life my own way" Grandma.This is not great art or even great romantic comedy. You won't need to see it more than once. Watch it for MacLaine's performance and be ready to fluff your way through the rest!

A wonderful movie with great actresses! Julia Stiles is lovely in her part and very convincing. You feel with her in every moment. And, absolutely gorgeous, as always: Shirley MacLaine! She IS this unconventional, strong, crazy and heartful grandma, who holds everything together. Perfect for the role. In addition to that, the film has fantastic dialogues and a fine storyline. It's not a blockbuster but a jewel of American movie making. Unfortunately it was almost impossible to watch the movie in German cinemas. First it was only shown at a few big cinemas and second, even there it was canceled most of the time because of the start of "Troja". A real shame! So, if you couldn't see the movie, go and rent the video when it's out!

This was a great movie about a girl and her eccentric grandma and was truly touching still keeping in mind the comedy. I thought it was wonderful and a movie for everyone to see and enjoy. The characters were well developed and all had great personalities. It had something that you don't see in movies anymore and was truly a breath of fresh air.