This is an interesting film about a teenage girl whose "nomadic family" is constantly moving around to different motels so that the kids can attend better schools. Watching it for the first time, I got the impression the kids didn't go to school at all; that they were on the run or something. The lack of budget shows in this way: there are no scenes set in a school, just motels and restaurants. The kids may not in fact be stuck in these locations all the time, but the movie makes it seem that they are.
The performances, however, are fantastic, and make you wonder why Natasha Lyonne didn't have a bigger career. She is lovable and fantastic and makes you realise Lyonne deserved more than being known as the other girl from American Pie. Tomei is also great, as always, as the free spirited older cousin.
I could've done without the embarrassing schlub older brother and the bratty younger one. Broad archetypes only there to show how embarrassing Lyonne's family is.
I also did not understand a certain decision she made in regard to another male toward the end of the movie (Kevin Corrigan, as the love interest, is a refreshingly three dimensional character when love interests are usually just clichés in movies like this). Lyonne chooses to accept her nomadic family. Good for her I... guess?
The performances, however, are fantastic, and make you wonder why Natasha Lyonne didn't have a bigger career. She is lovable and fantastic and makes you realise Lyonne deserved more than being known as the other girl from American Pie. Tomei is also great, as always, as the free spirited older cousin.
I could've done without the embarrassing schlub older brother and the bratty younger one. Broad archetypes only there to show how embarrassing Lyonne's family is.
I also did not understand a certain decision she made in regard to another male toward the end of the movie (Kevin Corrigan, as the love interest, is a refreshingly three dimensional character when love interests are usually just clichés in movies like this). Lyonne chooses to accept her nomadic family. Good for her I... guess?