To me, this movie is perfection.

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

The film starts out very well with Mildred's daughter, a rebellious teenager, leaving her widowed mother's home. Mildred forms a bond with next door neighbor, played in a wonderful performance by Marisa Tomei, a crude low-life with an even lower-life husband. He walks out on her and Mildred agrees to watch their young child while Tomei works.This all sounds good. Mildred finds romance with Gerard Depardieu at a bar while with the Tomei character. Mildred's son and daughter-in-law want her to join them in San Francisco. Fine.Suddenly the writing goes awry. Tomei reconciles with her husband who comes back as a changed man. Mildred suddenly sells her house and by the picture's end, we don't know where she is going to. Also, since the Tomei and Mildred's daughter had so much in common, it would have been nice to see them in the same scenes together.

Gena Rowlands, sturdy and glowing, gives an admirable performance in an unconvincing role. She plays an elderly widow who forms a shaky bond with her neighbors, a hard-partying single woman (Marisa Tomei) and her young son. Directed and co-written by Rowlands' real-life son Nick Cassavetes, who gives his talented mom some lovely scenes to play, the film thankfully does not pander to commercial tastes. Still, it's too bad the language is so trashy--and the Tomei character so unappealing--making the second-half of the picture tough to get through. Supporting player Gerard Depardieu, who also co-produced, has a surprisingly sweet role as a lovestruck trucker, and the memorable finale is thoughtful and well-realized. ** from ****

the title of this film goes along with the song ..."nothing left to do here, but unhook the stars".... After the death of her husband, Gena Rowlands finds herself in a big house, with no family, and nothing to take care of.She begins to care for the young son of Marisa Tomei, who is involved with an abusive soon to be ex-husband. The actor playing her son does very well, he develops a relationship with Rolands, she becomes a surrogate grandmother.Such a nice story, because it is realistic, and not overdone. Rolands has another son who lives in San Francisco, and wants her to move into his penthouse; when she realizes her daughter-in-law just wants a live-in babysitter, she says ..."No-I'm done"...; While she loves her children she now realizes it is her turn; her time to do something SHE actually wants.At the end we see her packing up the house; her younger daughter is upset; there will be no more family home. But Rowlands realizes she is doing the right thing; her relationship with the young boy has faded; she now needs to do something for herself.There are also a few amusing scenes with Gerard Depardieu, as a truck driver who she meets at a bar with Tomei and her friends. Overall a bittersweet movie which is a nice change, showing a mature woman re-discovering her life, and not taking care of everyone else, at the expense of her own identity. 9/10.

I recently purchased this film at a local video store as I am a big fan of Jake Lloyd, Marisa Tomei and Gerard Depardieu. They're all excellent actors with tremendous talent - they all shine in this spectacular comedy. One of the most memorable scenes is when Monica (Marisa Tomei) swears openly to her "date" on the phone with her son J.J. (Jake Lloyd) a few feet away at the dinner table during Thanksgiving (check out the dinner). I mean, what would a movie starring Marisa Tomei be like without having her saying "f***" in it? Honestly. And what about Gerard....how can you not get hungry watching his movies - the man and food, I don't know. He did, of course, a great job as a French-Canadian truck driver. Then there's Jake Lloyd. Does this kid ever not give an excellent performance? I mean really. He shines as sweet little J.J. Also look for other great performances by Moira Kelly, David Thornton, and Bridgette Wilson. Great cast overall. This film was well worth the purchase and just cries out for multiple viewings. However Cyndi Lauper's theme song is terrible. But of course R.E.M.'s "Country Feedback" is always welcome. Terrific film.