Danny DeVito lends his presence to what is essentially minimalist entertainment. The acting and character development are totally acceptable, but the story is very simplistic, and is further weakened by unnecessary voice overs. There are moments of black comedy, romance, and action, but the film suffers from an identity crisis, because none of the above features are very strong, leaving "Just Add Water" with sort of a questionable genre. Marginally recommended for those who like isolated desert towns, with goofy characters. The closest similar movies I can think of would be "Sordid Lives" or "Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me" - MERK

I have always been fascinated by Trona since the first time I drove through it some 15 years ago, reminds me of a full scale model railroad town and it looks like perhaps no other place in California...Trona has a bit of a reputation , it is the least expensive place to live in California and , consequently, you will find a lot of dead enders in this little town, people on fixed incomes , ice heads and everything in between , there is not a lot in the way of law enforcement in the town ....Trona, as is pointed out in this movie, was not always like this , there are plenty of good , hard working people there who remember better days...and no doubt dream of future better days...the town is situated in the most striking high desert any desert lover would fall in love with, it is on the way to Death Valley and was once a hangout for Charles Manson, Manson's last redoubt was the Barker Ranch which is, by way of the crow flying, no more then maybe 10 or 15 miles.....But back to the film at hand Ray Tuckby {Played by Dylan Walsh} is one of these people who remember better days, his personal life, mainly his marriage , has taken a hit and worse yet , the town has been taken over by a skinhead meth syndicate who pretty much run the town, extorting money from the residents and selling drugs and worst of all, sucking the town's young people into there activities ...... A gentleman by the name of Merl {played by Danny DeVito} comes to town to open a gas station. Merl is a very positive person who, at first, is naive to the town's ways.....Merl meets Ray, Ray tells Merl about the town, Merl tells Ray that it is never too late to dream and envision a better life, they form a fast friendship....to cut to the chase, this builds a fire under Ray to take the town back , and to be with a woman named Nora {Played by the lovely Tracy Middendorf }whom he has admired ever since high school, she is a huge upgrade from his estranged wife, and that is putting it mildly..The movie was beautifully shot and of the three movies I have seen that deal with Trona {"Trona" , "Land Of Plenty" and this film} "Just add water" is the most comprehensive look at Trona yet . The message of the film is indeed very inspiring and does indeed show that one man with a dream can indeed change himself and the people around him {there is even some narration to that affect} My only quibble I would have with the film is that they borrowed the saga of Keeler California which was on the eastern side of the now dry Owens Lake, This is a whole other story altogether, in short, the city of Los Angeles diverted the Owens River nearly a hundred years ago for there own water purposes, drying Owens Lake and creating an environmental disaster that still has major ramifications......I will forgive this fusion of stories...Trona is on the western side of Searles Dry Lake...the key difference being that it is a ice age era lake and has been dry for 10,000 years......and I certainly would have no objections to it refilling .....regards and enjoy, Darryl....PS "Land Of Plenty" is a fine film as well....

Just Add Water is a moving, quirky, subtly-nuanced fable about suffering, love and redemption. Set in the belly of a culture that's been spiritually and environmentally devastated, enough becomes more than enough, and a small group of determined people decide to reclaim their lives, their homes and their land. Part comedy, part tragedy, part parable, this film is a mirror for our times. Dylan Walsh delivers an understated, heartful performance. The landscape reflects the energy of the people and their predicament. The musical score is excellent, moving, surprising. And the message is one of hope. That we can turn around the destruction that has taken hold of too much of our precious planet. Beautifully acted. Artfully written and directed by Hart Bochner.

I absolutely loved this film. It's endearing from beginning to end. Seeing it tonight at the DGA was a great way to spend the evening. I had no idea what I was walking into beyond the stellar cast comprised of Dylan Walsh, Tracy Middendorf, Danny DeVito and the ever beautiful Cerina Vincent. Rounding out the cast were a couple cameos including a great turn by uber-slacker Justin Long.Funny. That's the underlying truth. But without the over-the-top syrup that comedies like this strive for. Dylan's stretching his legs into a new category of his career...a fine actor beyond the scope of Nip/Tuck. I'm anxious to see his role as the psychotic dad in The Stepfather remake lensing right now.DeVito's voice-over carried the comedic scenes into a hilarious threshold and I found myself clapping while busting a gut at some of the sequences...including a nod at Blazing Saddles with a meth'd out woman punching a dog.And Hart Bochner. What can I say? He forever left an image opposite Alan Rickman trying to broker a deal in the original Die Hard playing Ellis...well, chalk up his resume to a writer/director to watch in the coming years. He's transitioned quite well and created a gem of a little film.Brilliant. Not to miss.