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13 comments in total

10 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Deeply flawed but fascinating..., 22 December 2007

Author: swasher2 from United States

I love films about family dynamics and lost dreams, so California Dreaming (aka Out of Omaha) seemed like a winner. With engaging actors including charismatic "News Radio" alums Dave Foley, the thinking man's comedy icon, and wacky Vicki Lewis; the wonderful Patricia Richardson, winsome and lovable Lea Thompson, and the under-appreciated Ethan Phillips, how could this comedy go wrong?

Incredibly, in so many ways, it's difficult to count. The worst performance of her career, and one that almost broke my heart, was the strange and almost surreal work of Patricia Richardson. In one inappropriate moment after another, she reluctantly chews up the scenery, making me want to disgorge it myself. Tragically, she sort of spoils every scene she's in, and since she intrudes upon the action more and more as the story lurches forward, the film doesn't so much end as screech to a merciful halt.

I kept asking myself, how did these wonderful, wonderful actors get involved in such a mess of a film? The real problem is the script, which forces the cast into doing and saying the most ridiculous and unmotivated things that one can only sit, jaw agape, and wonder what in the world is going on here. Technically, the film looks and sounds quite good, though devoid of any cinematic mercy; the camera lingers on every tiny imperfection in the faces of its aging cast. Other than that, I can't bring myself to list the many offenses against craft, so let's just say avoid this (with the caveat below) and keep your good memories of these actors and wish them well on their next outing. It can only get better from here.

But the buck stops at the directors chair, and that brings up a host of issues. As a director, you have an obligation to keep your actors from making fools of themselves. I wonder if this director learned that lesson in the end. I would hate to be in her shoes right now. How will she ever get another gig? Will she even want to? Maybe there's a film there about lost dreams. (But perhaps someone else should make it.) I just hope that enough people stay away from this film long enough for its cast to resume their careers with a minimum of disruption.

I give the film a 4/10 for its "reality bites" educational value.

8 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Califonia Screaming, 5 November 2007

Author: fierypoeticgirl from United States

Oh, my Gosh! This has to be the most horrible film I've ever seen in my entire life, and I'm Lea's age! I cannot believe the awful acting. I don't care how dysfunctional the family is supposed to be. The entire movie made me sick. My 13 year-old girl could have written something better than this junk. Such absurdly ridiculous lines and predictable responses from the characters gave me a knot in my stomach and a severe headache. I cannot believe Lea Thompson could make such good movies in her past such as "Back To the Future," and then turn around and play an overbearing, neurotic, judgmental blabber-mouth of a mother. What is happening to her ability to recognize BAD material? If you watch this film and don't get sick, my hat's off to you! I really wanted to cry it was so BAD.

5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Life is a beach, 26 December 2007

Author: jotix100 from New York

Poor Ginger Gainor, she would love to take her family to a California beach where she vacationed and has the fondest memories of that time. She is an uptight real estate woman who might have the best intentions in wanting to show that part of the country to her family, but little does she realize, no one really wants to go! Her family, though, really enjoy going to Branson, where they feel 'at home' and are surrounded from people like them, so why bother?. Ginger is, what appears to be, a take charge woman, who does everything by the book and even calculates how long they will spend traveling from Omaha to California!

Unfortunately, things don't work the way Ginger wants. Things have a way of happening to her that completely derail her carefully laid plans. Ginger is defeated by everyone and everything, so guess where the family will head, after all? Yes, you guessed it!

What is Lea Thompson doing in this movie? She certainly deserved better. The movie will not add anything to her film career. The idea might have looked better in the written script by Linda Voorhees, who also directed, but alas, it doesn't translate to a fun time at all.

11 out of 18 people found the following comment useful :-
Movie Making 101, 10 September 2007

Author: bbonacci-1 from United States

No one associated with this film knows the basic rule of movie making. There has to be someone in the film that the audience is routing for. This movie should have been called A**holes on Parade.

Everyone is twisted, but not even in a funny way.

The daughter is so stupid that she thinks her boyfriend can hide in the bathroom of the RV all the way to California. The boyfriend runs into the corn and gets lost in 10 secs. That might have been funny if the boyfriend character was dumb enough to be funny, but he wasn't. While he was in the corn, he used the word "infinate". (WHO wrote this script?) The daughter doesn't mind the fact that her "boyfriend" never told his parents about her and that the mother is a criminal and the parents (who by all standards are white trash) do not allow him to have a girlfriend. When does that happen? The father is so lame, I don't even have a comment about him. (and I really like Dave Foley). The mother is the one person I was trying to relate to, but then she turned into a psycho. The sister and the grandmother are twisted individuals.

The lovey dovey resolution at the end doesn't make up for the mess that this movie is.

4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Beyond bad, 16 February 2008

Author: BadfingerBarb from United States