An extremely rare dress worn by child actress Mae Whitman in the Movie Hope Floats with costumers tag and authenticity from Star Wares on Main
Mae was born in Los Angeles, California to Pat Musick, a voice artist, and Jeffrey Whitman, a personal manager and set construction coordinator. She began her career with a voice-over for a Tyson Chicken commercial. Whitman attended Ribét Academy, a private preparatory school in Los Angeles. She was later transferred to Whitefish Bay High School, where she graduated.
Whitman made her first silver screen debut playing Meg Ryan's youngest daughter, "Casey Green", in When a Man Loves a Woman (1994). Among her notable childhood roles were that of "Patricia Whitmore", daughter of the President in Independence Day (1996); George Clooney's daughter, "Maggie Taylor", in One Fine Day (1996); and the charming daughter, "Bernice Pruitt", of Sandra Bullock, in Hope Floats (1998).
As she has grown older, Mae has made several guest appearances in television shows such as JAG (1995), State of Grace (2001), Desperate Housewives (2004), Grey's Anatomy (2005) and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999), just to name a few, as well as some voice-over work.
In 2015, she starred in the movie The Duff (2015) portraying a high school student who realized she is the approachable one, the designated ugly fat friend, the DUFF.
We should expect to see great things from Mae Whitman as her career progresses, for she has shown what a strong, dynamic, and talented actress she has become.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: mamasita
Trivia (11)
Daughter of actress Pat Musick and Jeffrey Whitman.
Got her start in acting aged three when she impressed casting directors by interrupting her mum's audition and proceeding to tell her off because she was bored. The casting directors were so impressed with her that one, to get a reaction, observed her white-and-purple outfit and said, "My, what a pretty yellow dress you're wearing." Whitman looked back at him and replied, "What are you, some kind of knucklehead?"
Is an only child.
Has played Bill Pullman's daughter twice: in Independence Day (1996) as Patricia Whitmore and in Merry Christmas, George Bailey (1997) as Zuzu Bailey.
Was originally cast as Becca Sommers in the TV series Bionic Woman (2007), but was released and replaced with Lucy Hale.
Was the voice of the British Telecom speaking clock for 3 months from the 26th October 2008 as the voice of Tinker Bell as part of a promotional tie in for the film.
She's the first voice actress ever to provide the voice of Tinker Bell in the Disney movie Tinker Bell (2008) since Tinker Bell doesn't speak in any of the previous Disney related programs.
Member of The Interstate 5 Tennis Association.
Played Max Burkholder's sister in In Treatment (2008) and his cousin in Parenthood (2010).
Played on season 14, episode 6 of ER called The Test. Miles Heizer, who will later play her brother on Parenthood also had a role in the same episode.
Her mother is British and her father is German, she can also speak fluent English and German.
Personal Quotes (26)
People should recognize who you are and how you can act rather than how famous you are.
The coming-of-age story has sort of become a joke. It's something to capitalize on, and that is painful because when you are coming of age - when you are going through something like that - the genre is so meaningful.
You do have to continue, as you grow as a human, checking in and going, 'Is this what I want? Am I giving away things that I don't want? Who am I and what do I want to keep doing?'
I had a friend where it turned out that she hated my guts, all through our friendship. I thought she was my best friend, and then, in high school, she turned on me and had sordid affairs with all of the people that I'd dated. It was less hurtful because I was in high school, so it was more like, 'What's wrong with you? Gross!'
The actual, original 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,' I have vague memories of because I was pretty small, but I loved, loved, loved it. I have only those weird, visceral little-kid memories: I remember the extreme flat, two dimensional green that was their skin or the weird pizza with no sauce - it was just like yellow, drippy cheese.
Every time I go to Comic-Con, I'm jacked. I want to dress up and walk the floor and answer questions, because I'm excited about it. It's like making new friends.
I like to be a lot of different things at once and dress different ways and I change my hair all the time, so being an actor lets me live out the fantasy of living out 100,000 different lifetimes in one, without all of the repercussions.
I kind of dress like a boy from the nineties. I like wearing baseball hats. I just like to be really comfortable.
Act because you love to act.
I'm a single child. I wanted a little brother or a little sister growing up, but when I think about it, I'm happy I'm an only child.
I don't have one role that I'm particularly fond of doing, and I don't really look for it to differ all the time, but I will try anything and do anything. If it's a role I connect with, I'll go for it, no matter what's involved.
My mom had an audition for a commercial when I was about two and a half, and I ran in crying and interrupted her. They thought I was cute so they offered me a commercial role. My mom was skeptical and a bit nervous about the child actor thing, but I was extremely bossy and convinced them I wanted to try it.
In every single 'Tinker Bell' movie, I feel like there's a message that I'm proud to communicate with kids.
I really love poetry. I'm a big E.E. Cummings fan and a big Walt Whitman fan, and I have a big book of poetry.
I don't really have an aversion to watching myself. I think I've been doing it for long enough that I have a system of separating it in my brain from my egotistical neuroses for the most part.
For me, one thing I love is having an arc for a character.
I feel like I am a lot of who I am because I watched these shows that said it was okay to be a total weirdo. Shows like 'Pete and Pete,' 'Hey, Dude,' 'Salute Your Shorts' - that's what I grew up with.
Being a teenager is hard.
Being on a movie set when you have a great strong people there supporting you can be very nurturing. You get to explore these creative parts of yourself as a child that most people don't explore until they're in college.
I only have room to do things that I have a love for in my life.
It's funny, because I don't have a very addictive personality in any way except for things like stories or books or movies or TV. I just get, like, completely enamored and lost in that world, especially when one really hits the right way. Like, I just can't do anything else.
I'm, like, the biggest fan ever of 'Arrested Development.' To be a part of it is incredible. Same goes for 'Parenthood.'
My favorite book in life is 'A Wrinkle In Time,' which I read before high school. It was my first introduction into the meeting of science and spirit and the universe and big thoughts and all of those interesting New Age-y concepts. It made everything make sense to me and opened up my mind.
I love doing voice-over. It's one of my favorite things.
I love to watch 'Chopped,' 'Jeopardy,' and 'Breaking Bad.' You can't pass up that one. Oh! One other show I love to watch is 'Suburgatory.'
There have been a lot of events that have made me really look at the real world, like September 11th. There are so many things that just make you realize that you're not going to live forever and that you have to enjoy every day.
Mae Margaret Whitman (born June 9, 1988) is an American actress and singer. After making her film debut in When a Man Loves a Woman (1994), she had other supporting roles in films such as One Fine Day (1996), Independence Day (1996), and Hope Floats (1998). Thereafter, Whitman ventured into television, with her most notable roles including Ann Veal on the Fox sitcom Arrested Development (2004–2006) and Amber Holt on the NBC drama Parenthood (2010–2015). She also had supporting roles in the films Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) and The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012). Whitman made her leading role film debut in The DUFF (2015).
Whitman has also lent her voice to several animated films and television series, including as Rose/Huntsgirl in American Dragon: Jake Long, Katara in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Tinker Bell in the Disney Fairies franchise, Little Suzy in Johnny Bravo, April O'Neil in the 2012 generation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Yuffie Kisaragi in the video game Kingdom Hearts II.
Contents
1 Early life
2 Career
2.1 1991–2003: Early acting work
2.2 2004–2008: Arrested Development and other television roles
2.3 2009–present: Parenthood and continued film roles
3 Music
4 Filmography
4.1 Film
4.2 Television
4.3 Video games
4.4 Web series
4.5 Audiobooks
5 Awards and nominations
6 References
7 External links
Early life
Whitman was born on June 9, 1988 in Los Angeles, California, the only child of Pat Musick, a voice artist, and Jeffrey Whitman, a personal manager and set construction co-ordinator.[1] Her parents divorced when she was three years old.[2] She attended Ribet Academy.[3][4] Whitman is of English and German ancestry.
Career
1991–2003: Early acting work
She started her career with a voice-over for a Tyson Chicken commercial at the age of two.[5] Acting coach Andrew Magarian helped her memorize lines as she could not read.[6]
In 1994, at the age of six, Whitman made her film debut, acting alongside Meg Ryan in When a Man Loves a Woman (1994), playing Ryan's youngest daughter, Casey Green.[7] She beat 700 other girls who were interested in the part.[3] In 1996, Whitman appeared in two films: Independence Day as the President's daughter;[8] and One Fine Day playing George Clooney's daughter, Maggie Taylor.[9] The same year, Whitman guest starred in the season three episode of Friends, "The One Where Rachel Quits".[10] In 1998, she was Sandra Bullock's daughter, Bernice Pruitt, in Hope Floats.[11]
During several guest appearances from 1998 until 2001, Whitman played the role of Chloe Madison on JAG. In 2001 and 2002, Whitman starred in the Fox Family series State of Grace in which she portrayed Grace from a Catholic background who befriends Hannah, a Jewish girl (Alia Shawkat).[12][13]
2004–2008: Arrested Development and other television roles
Whitman at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con
From 2004 to 2006, Whitman had a recurring role on Arrested Development, reuniting with Shawkat. Whitman appeared in the 2006 series Thief for FX Networks, playing the stepdaughter of Nick Atwater (Andre Braugher).[14] Whitman made several high-profile guest appearances in 2006 and 2007. She also appeared on Desperate Housewives in the episode "Nice She Ain't" as Sarah, an unscrupulous friend of Julie Mayer (Andrea Bowen). Whitman also had a recurring role on Chicago Hope, (1994–2000), playing the daughter of "Dr. Kate Austin," (played by Christine Lahti), in the series' later years.
Whitman was initially cast in the 2007 series remake of The Bionic Woman, playing the deaf younger sister of the title character. On June 27, 2007, TV Guide reported that Whitman was being replaced in the role of Jaime's sister, and Lucy Hale was cast as Whitman's replacement the following July.[15] An NBC spokesperson confirmed this, stating, "The decision was purely creatively driven. It is very common to change storylines, characters, actors after the initial pilot is shot." The sister character's hearing was restored after this recasting at the request of an NBC executive.[15] She also appeared in the season nine episode "Streetwise" of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, as an on-the-street-mother who adopts street children forming a homeless family.
Whitman gave voice to Katara of the Water Tribe in the animated show Avatar: The Last Airbender, and previously Rose in American Dragon: Jake Long. She has appeared in the HBO series In Treatment as Rosie. She plays Cynder in The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night. Whitman voiced the character Tinker Bell in the 2008, 2009 and 2010 Disney Tinker Bell films.[16] As part of a deal to promote the production of the first Tinker Bell film, the UK's speaking clock started to use her voice at 0100GMT on October 26, 2008.[17]
2009–present: Parenthood and continued film roles
Whitman at the Paleyfest 2013
In 2009, Whitman landed a regular role in NBC's version of the Ron Howard classic Parenthood,[18] which premiered in 2010. She played Amber Holt, "a rebellious and willful teen whose only interest at present is her wannabe rock star boyfriend".[19] Whitman played evil ex Roxy Richter in Edgar Wright's Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, a film adaptation of the Bryan Lee O'Malley indie comic series Scott Pilgrim. The film starred her former Arrested Development co-star, Michael Cera, in the title role.[20][21] Whitman appeared on Family Guy in 2010.
She had a large role in the 2012 film The Perks of Being a Wallflower, opposite Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, and Ezra Miller.[22] In 2013, she reprised her role as Ann Veal in Arrested Development's season four, six years after the series was canceled.[23] She appeared alongside Darren Criss in three episodes of season three of Lisa Kudrow's Web Therapy, playing his girlfriend.[24] In 2015, Whitman played the lead role in the comedy The DUFF. She started filming Operator alongside Martin Starr in June of that year.[25] According to co-writer and director Roland Emmerich, Whitman did not reprise her role as the President's daughter in Independence Day: Resurgence, the sequel to the 1996 blockbuster hit Independence Day, because she did not want to read for the part.[26]
Whitman has expressed her feelings on being typecast as an outsider in various roles in television and movies. She has talked about being a child actor and her relatable experiences such as being bullied in high school for being “weird.”[27] In an interview with Bello Mag, Whitman explains that the entertainment industry constantly tells actors what they are “not” and felt her choosing of these roles was her “trying to communicate to everyone” who may go through similar situations, that it’s okay to be who they are.[28] One of Whitman's more notable quotes is, "People should recognize who you are and how you can act rather than how famous you are." [29]
Music
Whitman has recorded "I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day" and "You Make Christmas Feel So Good" for School's Out! Christmas,[30] and has sung guest vocals on a number of tracks from indie-punk band Fake Problems' newest album Real Ghosts Caught on Tape.[31] Whitman has also been featured on her show Parenthood in the song "Gardenia" on the season two episode "The Booth Job" along with Landon Pigg.[32][33]
Whitman appears in the music videos for "I Was a Fool" and "Boyfriend" by Tegan and Sara.[34] She performed a small speaking part in the rapper DVS' record "Charlie Chaplin" where she plays the part of what DVS sees as the stereotypical hipster expressing distaste with music and television to appear special.[35]
Filmography
Film
Year Title Role Notes
1994 When a Man Loves a Woman Casey Green
1995 Bye Bye Love Michele
1996 Independence Day Patricia Whitmore
1996 One Fine Day Maggie Taylor
1998 The Gingerbread Man Libby Magruder
1998 Hope Floats Bernice Pruitt
1999 Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas Girl Voice role; direct-to-video
1999 Invisible Child Rebecca 'Doc' Beeman
1999 A Season for Miracles Alanna 'Lani' Thompson
2001 An American Rhapsody Maria (age 10)
2002 The Wild Thornberrys Movie Schoolgirl Voice role
2003 The Jungle Book 2 Shanti Voice role
2004 Teacher's Pet Leslie Voice role
2005 Going Shopping Coco
2006 The Bondage Angelica
2006 Love's Abiding Joy Colette Doros
2007 Boogeyman 2 Alison
2008 Tinker Bell Tinker Bell Voice role
2008 Nights in Rodanthe Amanda Willis
2009 Spring Breakdown Lydia Direct-to-video
2009 Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure Tinker Bell Voice role
2010 Barry Munday Candice
2010 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Roxy Richter
2010 Scott Pilgrim vs. the Animation Lisa Miller Voice role; short film
2010 Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue Tinker Bell Voice role
2011 The Factory Abby Fletcher
2011 Pixie Hollow Games Tinker Bell Voice role; short film
2012 Secret of the Wings Tinker Bell Voice role
2012 The Perks of Being a Wallflower Mary Elizabeth
2013 Pixie Hollow Bake Off Tinker Bell Voice role; short film
2014 The Pirate Fairy Tinker Bell Voice Role
2014 The Wind Rises Kayo / Kinu English dub
2014 Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast Tinker Bell Voice role
2015 The DUFF Bianca Piper
2015 Freaks of Nature Jenna Zombie
2016 Rock Dog Darma Voice role
2016 Drawn of the Dead Gwen Newman Voice role
2016 Operator Emily Klein
2017 CHiPs Beebee
2018 Duck Butter Ellen
2018 Valley Girl Post-production
2018 Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 Tinker Bell[citation needed] Voice; In production
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1995 Degree of Guilt Elena Argos Television film
1995 Naomi & Wynonna: Love Can Build a Bridge Young Ashley Judd Television film
1996 After Jimmy Rosie Television film
1996 Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man Baby Rose (voice) Episode: "Sperms of Endearment"
1996 Early Edition Amanda Bailey Episode: "The Choice"
1996 Friends Sarah Tuttle Episode: "The One Where Rachel Quits"
1996 What a Cartoon! Little Suzy (voice) Episode: "Johnny Bravo and the Amazon Women"
1996–1999 Chicago Hope Sara Wilmette Recurring role; 17 episodes
1997 Superman: The Animated Series Young Lois Lane (voice) Episode: "Monkey Fun"
1997 Merry Christmas, George Bailey Zuzu Bailey Television film
1997–2004 Johnny Bravo Little Suzy (voice) Recurring role; 52 episodes
1998–2001 JAG Chloe Madison Recurring role; 8 episodes
1999 Invisible Child Rebecca 'Doc' Beeman Television film
1999 Judging Amy Darcy Mitchell Episode: "Last Tango in Hartford"
1999 Providence Frances Carlyle Guest role; 2 episodes
1999 Jingle Bells Beth (voice) Television film
1999 Hallmark Hall of Fame Alanna 'Lani' Thompson Episode: "A Season for Miracles"
2000–2002 Teacher's Pet Leslie Dunkling (voice) Recurring role; 5 episodes
2000 Godzilla: The Series Meg (voice) Episode: "Shafted"
2000 The Wild Thornberrys Antoinette (voice) Episode: "Luck Be an Aye-Aye"
2001 Max Steel Jo (voice) Episode: "The Return"
2001 Jackie Chan Adventures Additional voices Episode: "Scouts Honor"
2001–2002 State of Grace Emma Grace McKee Main role; 40 episodes
2002 Presidio Med Tory Redding Episode: "Do No Harm"
2002 The Zeta Project Amy (voice) Episode: "The River Rising"
2002–2004 Fillmore! Various voices Recurring role; 7 episodes
2004 Cold Case Eve Kendall Episode: "Lover's Lane"
2004 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Glynnis Carson Episode: "No Humans Involved"
2004 Century City Erin Pace Episode: "Without a Tracer"
2004–2006;
2013 Arrested Development Ann Veal recurring role; 16 episodes
2005 The Happy Elf Molly (voice) Television film
2005–2007 American Dragon: Jake Long Rose/Huntsgirl (voice) Recurring role; 19 episodes
2005–2008 Avatar: The Last Airbender Katara (voice) Main role; 61 episodes
2006 Thief Tammi Deveraux Main role; 6 episodes
2006 Desperate Housewives Sarah Episode: "Nice She Ain't"
2006 Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise Emily Bishop Television film
2006 Phil of the Future Crying Girl Episode: "Stuck in the Meddle with You"
2007 Justice Jenny Marshall Episode: "False Confession"
2007 Grey's Anatomy Heather Douglas Guest role; 2 episodes
2007 Lost in the Dark Amy Tolliver Television film
2007 The Modifyers Agent Xero / Lacey Shadows (voices) Pilot
2007 Bionic Woman Becca Sommers Episode: "Unaired Pilot"
2007 Ghost Whisperer Rachel Fordham Episode: "Don't Try This at Home"
2007 ER Heather Episode: "The Test"
2008 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Cassidy Cornell/Helen Braidwell Episode: "Streetwise"
2008 Good Behavior Roxy West Pilot
2008–2010 In Treatment Rosie Weston Recurring role; 5 episodes
2008–2016 Family Guy Various voices Regular role; 13 episodes
2009 Acceptance Taylor Rockefeller Television film
2009 Criminal Minds Julie Episode: "Cradle to Grave"
2009 Glenn Martin, DDS Amish Girl / Trailer Park Teen (voices) Guest role; 2 episodes
2009–2010 The Cleveland Show Additional voices Guest role; 2 episodes
2010–2015 Parenthood Amber Holt Main role; 103 episodes
2010 Batman: The Brave and the Bold Batgirl (voice) Guest role; 2 episodes
2010 Jesse Stone: No Remorse Emily Bishop Television film
2012–2015 Robot Chicken Various voices Episode: "Casablankman 2"
2012–2013 Young Justice Cassie Sandsmark/Wonder Girl / Stephanie Brown (voices)[36] Recurring role; 6 episodes
2012 Weeds Tula Episode: "See Blue and Smell Cheese and Die"
2012–2017 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles April O'Neil (voice) Main role; 124 episodes
2012 Dragons: Riders of Berk Heather (voice) Guest role; 2 episodes
2013 Web Therapy Blair Yellin Guest role; 3 episodes
2013–2014 American Dad! Glitter / Zooey (voices) Guest role; 3 episodes
2013 Masters of Sex Patient Episode: "Standard Deviation"
2014 Suburgatory Caris Episode: "Blame it on the Rainstick"
2014 AJ's Infinite Summer Morgan / Receptionist (voices) Pilot
2015-
2018
Dragons: Race to the Edge Heather (voice) Recurring Role
2016 DC Super Hero Girls: Super Hero High Barbara Gordon/Batgirl (voice) Television film
2016 Drunk History Lyudmila Pavlichenko Episode: "The Roosevelts"
2016 Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life Marcy Episode: "Spring"
2017 Voltron: Legendary Defender Plaxum (voice) Episode: "Depths"
2017 Big Mouth Tallulah Levine (voice) Episode: "The Head Push"
2018 Good Girls Annie Marks Main role
Video games
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Year Title Voice role
2004 EverQuest II Lilly Ironforge / Thana Rumblehoof
2005 Kingdom Hearts II Yuffie Kisaragi
2006 Cartoon Network Racing Little Suzy
2006 Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII Yuffie Kisaragi
2006 Avatar: The Last Airbender Katara
2007 The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night Cynder
2007 Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Burning Earth Katara
2008 Avatar: The Last Airbender – Into the Inferno Katara
2011 Nicktoons MLB Katara
2014 Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes Tinker Bell
2017 Prey Danielle Sho
Web series
Year Title Role Notes
2015–present DC Super Hero Girls Barbara Gordon/Batgirl (voice) Main role; 42 episodes
Audiobooks
Year Title Role
2014 City of Bones: The Mortal Instruments Clary Fray
Awards and nominations
Year Association Category Nominated work Result
1996 Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a Feature Film: Actress Age Ten or Under One Fine Day Won
YoungStar Awards Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Drama Film Nominated
1998 Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a Feature Film: Actress Age Ten or Under Hope Floats Won
YoungStar Awards Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Drama Film Nominated
1999 Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Drama TV Series Chicago Hope
Best Performance in a Voice Over Talent Johnny Bravo
2001 Young Artist Awards Best Ensemble in a Feature Film An American Rhapsody Won
Best Performance in a Feature Film - Supporting Young Actress Nominated
Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series: Leading Young Actress State of Grace
2010 Teen Choice Awards Breakout Star Female Parenthood
2012 San Diego Film Critics Society Best Performance by an Ensemble The Perks of Being a Wallflower Won
2013 Annie Awards Voice Acting in a Television Production Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Nominated
2015 Critics' Choice Television Awards Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Parenthood
Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie Actress Comedy The DUFF
Choice Movie Liplock
Hope Floats is a 1998 American romance comedy-drama film directed by Forest Whitaker and starring Sandra Bullock, Harry Connick Jr., and Gena Rowlands.
Birdee (Bullock) is an unassuming housewife whose life is disrupted when her husband (Michael Paré) reveals his infidelity to her on a Ricki Lake-style talk show. She and her young daughter Bernice go back home to her mother (Rowlands) and the small town in which she grew up in, where everyone knows of her televised marital collapse. Meanwhile, an old friend of hers, Justin (Connick, Jr.), has entered her life, sparking a romance. While Justin's intentions are clear and good, Birdee struggles with the decision to let him fully into her life.
Contents
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Filming
4 Soundtrack
5 Score
6 Reception
6.1 Critical response
6.2 Awards and nominations
7 References
8 External links
Plot
Birdee Pruitt (Sandra Bullock) is a Chicago housewife who is invited onto the Toni Post talk show under the pretense of getting a free makeover but instead is ambushed with the revelation that her husband Bill has been having an affair with her best friend Connie (Rosanna Arquette). Humiliated on national television, Birdee and her precocious only daughter Bernice (Mae Whitman) move back to Birdee's hometown of Smithville, Texas, with Birdee's eccentric mother Ramona (Gena Rowlands) and her young, imaginative nephew Travis (Cameron Finley), to make a fresh start. As Birdee and Bernice leave Chicago, Birdee gives Bernice a letter from her father, telling Bernice how much he misses her.
Birdee struggles to make a new life as a working single mother and deals with the growing attraction between herself and a former high school classmate, Justin Matisse (Harry Connick Jr.), who Ramona hopes that Birdee will get together with. She also tries to rebuild her relationship with her estranged mother, her ailing father (who suffers from Alzheimer's Disease), and her daughter, who desperately wants to be with her father and grudgingly blames her mother for the breakup, even trying to sabotage the romantic overtures Justin makes towards Birdee. Meanwhile, Bernice is not very happy that she left Chicago and is having difficulty adjusting to her new life and school in Smithville. Her negative view of the small town is worsened when she is bullied by a classmate known as Big Dolores.
Adding to Birdee's heartache is her former status as the school queen bee and a beauty pageant winner, which alienated many of her former classmates. They also haven't forgotten Birdee's high school snobbery and rub her nose in her televised embarrassment.
Ramona tries to mend the gap between her daughter and granddaughter by telling a childhood story of her own. She asks Bernice what she's wishing for her upcoming birthday. Even though Bernice says she doesn't have a birthday wish, she secretly wishes for her father to return.
That night, while drinking a cup of tea before she could sleep, Ramona suffers a massive heart attack and dies. Birdie's sister sends a telegram that she can't make the funeral and Travis wonders if Birdie will him raise him now. Bernice believes her father's presence at the funeral is a sign that her wish has come true... and that her father wants them both to come home. However, it soon becomes clear to her that her parents' split is permanent when Bill asks Birdee for a divorce. Wanting to be with her father, Bernice runs up to her room, packs a suitcase, and follows Bill to his car. She is devastated when her father tells her that even though he loves her and promises to come back for her, he has no room for her in his new life with Connie right now. Bill turns his back on Bernice and drives off, leaving her sobbing and screaming for him to come back and take her with him at the end of the driveway. Birdee comes to pick Bernice up and carries her back into the house. As Birdee comforts Bernice up in her bedroom, Bernice says she knows the letter was actually written by her mother, and not really by her father.
One day at work, Birdee finds Justin outside waiting for her with flowers. As she walks to him, she says, "Ok, Mama, stop pushing". After they kiss and embrace, he picks her up, places her in his truck and they drive off together.
The final scene shows Birdee, Justin, Bernice, and Travis at a big town event. Birdee has now taken full custody of Travis and is also dating Justin, but she's still not planning on getting married again for a really long time. Bernice welcomes Smithville as her new hometown, ultimately accepts Bill's departure from her life as a full-time parent, and begins to accept Justin as her mother's new love interest and a father figure. She and Birdee are much closer because of everything they've been through, as Bernice finally realizes it wasn't her mother's fault that her father left them and that Birdee really did love her. They share a tender, yet humorous moment when Bernice asks Birdee if she's going to marry Justin. When Birdee asks her if she doesn't like Justin, Bernice says her only real concern is being known as "Bernice Matisse".
Cast
Sandra Bullock as Birdee Calvert Pruitt
Harry Connick Jr. as Justin Matisse
Gena Rowlands as Ramona Calvert
Mae Whitman as Bernice Pruitt
Michael Paré as Bill Pruitt
Cameron Finley as Travis
Kathy Najimy as Toni Post
Bill Cobbs as Nurse
Connie Ray as Bobbi-Claire Patterson
Rosanna Arquette as Connie (uncredited)
Filming
McCollum-Chapman-Trousdale House in Smithville
Hope Floats was filmed in Smithville, Texas.[2] The home in the movie is the McCollum-Chapman-Trousdale House, built in the Neoclassical style in 1908.[3] The elementary school in the movie is a 1924 high school building.[4] The church used was Saints Peter and Paul Church in Kovar, TX, about 6 miles from Smithville. The church was built in 1921.[citation needed]
The film was choreographed by Patsy Swayze.[5]
Soundtrack
Main article: Hope Floats (soundtrack)
The film's soundtrack was released in 1998 under the production of Don Was. The album included the works of artists such as Garth Brooks, the Rolling Stones, Bryan Adams, Bob Seger, and Sheryl Crow. One of the singles, Brooks' "To Make You Feel My Love", was a Number One single on the Billboard country singles charts in August 1998 and also a Grammy Award nominee in 1999 for Male Country Vocal performance.
Score
Hope Floats:
Original Score Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by Various
Released 1998
Genre Score
Label RCA Victor
Producer Don Was
Hope Floats: Original Score Soundtrack
"To Make You Feel My Love" – Garth Brooks (3:53)
"In Need" – Sheryl Crow (5:29)
"Honest I Do" – The Rolling Stones (3:55)
"Chances Are" – Bob Seger and Martina McBride (4:17)
"All I Get" – The Mavericks (4:08)
"Paper Wings" – Gillian Welch (3:57)
"Stop! In the Name of Love" – Jonell Mosser with David Campbell (4:31)
"Wither, I'm a Flower" – Whiskeytown (4:53)
"What Makes You Stay" – Deana Carter (4:35)
"To Get Me to You" – Lila McCann (3:50)
"Smile" – Lyle Lovett with David Campbell(3:38)
"When You Love Someone" – Bryan Adams (3:39)
"To Make You Feel My Love" – Trisha Yearwood (2:57)
Reception
Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 24%, based on 33 reviews, with an average rating of 4.9/10.[6]
Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle called it "corny and false, with a script by Steven Rogers that's almost 100 percent artificial sweetener." He praised the performances of Sandra Bullock and Dee Hennigan, especially in the scene at the employment agency, and said Harry Connick Jr. was "likable as usual", but found the character Bernice's surliness to be abnormal and painful to watch.[7] Roger Ebert deemed it "a turgid melodrama with the emotional range of a sympathy card", citing the formulaic plot and numerous holes in the characterizations. He gave it two stars.[8] James Berardinelli also gave it two stars, commenting that the film relies too much on stock situations and blatantly calculated attempts to stir emotion while neglecting character-building. He also criticized the acting, saying that Bullock is better suited to more lighthearted fare, and Connick's performance is wooden.[9] The Republican's John R. McEwen had a more mixed reaction, assessing the film as "a run-of-the-mill romance, but fair work by all involved." He particularly praised the chemistry between Connick and Bullock and the country-flavored soundtrack. However, he criticized that the townspeople's callousness towards Birdie strains credulity, since Bullock's performance makes it hard to imagine people disliking her so much, and that even if they did it would be normal for them to have some sympathy after her public humiliation and the breakup of her marriage.[10]
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Awards and nominations
1999 ALMA Awards
Nomination: Outstanding Performance of a Song for a Feature Film - The Mavericks for the song "All I Get".
1999 Acapulco Black Film Festival
Nomination: Best Director - Forest Whitaker
1999 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
Nomination: Favorite Actor - Drama/Romance - Harry Connick Jr.
Nomination: Favorite Supporting Actress - Drama/Romance - Gena Rowlands
1999 Lone Star Film & Television Awards
Winner: Best Actress - Sandra Bullock
Winner: Best Supporting Actress - Gena Rowlands
1999 Young Artist Awards
Winner: Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Actress Age Ten or Under - Mae Whitman
Nomination: Performance in a Feature Film - Young Actor Age Ten or Under - Cameron Finley
1998 YoungStar Awards
Nomination: Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Drama Film - Cameron Finley
Nomination: Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Drama Film - Mae Whitman
Coming off a successful five-year run with “Parenthood,” Mae Whitman returned to NBC for crime drama “Good Girls.” But this time, she is playing the parent struggling to provide for her family.
In the series, Whitman portrays Annie, a single mother who is trying to maintain custody of her daughter. Throughout the season, Annie has shown she’ll do whatever it takes to support her child, which has led to hilarious mishaps during her schemes with Beth (Christina Hendricks) and Ruby (Retta).
The role has allowed Whitman to show off her comedic charm during intense scenes. “When I was younger I always played people that acted older and now it’s fun that I’m older and I get to play somebody who acts like a child,” Whitman tells Variety.
Here, Whitman shares with Variety what it is like to portray a mother for the first time, the importance of sisterhood, the characters passing the Bechdel test, and what viewers can expect from the first season finale.
How has it been playing a character that diffuses tension with humor?
I love it so much. One of the first things that drew me to this role is the fact that I have never played anything like it before in my life. I always think I tend to play the more serious person or the really wise-beyond-her-years teenager. Not somebody who makes light of situations or is sort of irresponsible…It’s been really fun to build a character and a full person like that. It’s part of her psyche. She even had a line in the [last] episode which was, “It’s just how I deal with things.” For Annie in general, she’s doesn’t always look at the issue at hand and tries to deal with it. She avoids things or puts things off that are difficult and I think humor is her way of dealing with serious situations. It’s been really fun to build an actual, serious character around funny jokes. That’s something I’m really lucky to have the opportunity to do on this show.
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