Where the Heart Is, produced in 1990, is a totally ridiculous look at an overly-affluent Manhattan family-- the fed-up dad, doting mom, and spoiled kids who get kicked out of the home nest to a property that the demolition company-running father has acquired but can't destroy.

Almost everyone in the movie is rich and spoiled, which makes them fun to mock, and the movie sure doesn't take itself too seriously... but man, it's so OLD. I couldn't get over the elderly "cutting edge" computers. xD

So basically the premise is, the dad kicks his two daughters and one son out to this place (the Dutch House?) and says "Here's $750 each, learn to fend for yourselves." They each go out and get someone to board with them, so soon there's Chloe the artist and her gay fashion designer friend Lionel, Jimmy the computer nerd and his stock-trader buddy Tom, and spaced-out Daphne and her homeless magician tutor(?!), Shitty. Which threw me off, having that be a character's name and everyone (even the rich momma) calling him that...

Then they all have to get jobs or find ways to get money, things are funny, then the dad's business collapses and it gets funnier, and everything gets sickeningly neatly tied up in the end. I really mean, in a disgustingly facile "happily ever after!" way, I was telling the cats how ridiculous I thought it was.

Highlights: 20 year old Uma Thurman and 22 year old David Hewlett. Especially the few minutes where David is wandering around in just a Cupid's costume. mnnnrgh there went my brain. Seriously, young!Uma's craziness and enthusiasm was so wonderful, and... seriously, 22 year old David Hewlett, that should just say it all. blond. and slouchy. and kjslkfl.

The best part that wasn't a person making me trip over my tongue was the incredible artwork. In the movie, Chloe is commissioned to do 12 large works for an insurance company calendar. The actual art was done by Timna Woollard, and each piece is a gorgeous trompe l'oeil incorporating a person as part of the canvas. Someone on the IMDB boards made the effort to capture each piece from behind the end credits, and they're really worth taking a peek at, more so than the movie itself perhaps. >> (shortcut: February is the one with Cupid!David. xD)

No quote, because the IMDB doesn't have any good ones and I'm too lazy to scan back through for a good one. Wrapping this up: suggested watching if you're a fan of Uma, David, or sappy family-and-friends, love-is-all-you-need flicks.