Save your money for something good and enjoyable

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

I saw this film in Italy at the Busto Arsizio festival in March. For a first-time director of a small-budget film (made in 11 days in 100+ degree heat), I thought it was excellent. It is a quirky, dark comedy with a world seen through the eyes of a foreigner who has images of the U.S. shaped by vintage American films and T.V.This is not your typical Milla Jovovich/Marcia Cross product, so if you are thinking "Resident Evil" or "Desperate Housewives," you might want to pass or open up to something totally different. If you can get over the two leading women's most famous parts and see them anew, you will likely enjoy this film.The excellent: 1) The setting. It was filmed in Oklahoma and captures so much of the U.S. that films often don't. It is full of another kind of culture: one that is slower, bleaker, and more religious than is typical in American films. Having grown up in a vowel state, I thought it captured the culture well and it was shot really interestingly.2) Rory Cochrane and Bill Pullman. Cochrane is very funny and Pullman gives a particularly convincing and sympathetic performance.The so-so: 1) Milla Jovovich. Jovovich's performance is up and down. When it is down it is because she is too over the top; when it is up it is because she has toned it down and bit and connects with the audience as opposed to being some kind of caricature.2) Child actor Spencer List. List is a bit too annoying too often. Like many child actors, he simply overacts pretty much all the time.As far as film festival fare, I would rate this in the top 10%. It is well directed, well shot, well edited, and although the acting is mixed, it is a fun, dark, poignant film.

I couldn't believe it, so I eat it all up till the end and yes, that's the message. So, the story go something like this: If you're a single, poor mother with problems and a kid, your only choice, the only thing that can fix your life and your son's life is to find a marriage of rich people who want to take it out from you, because, you know, the only thing that matters is money, so, as the real value of the people is about how rich they are -because, remember, the only thing that matters is money and the life that money can buy you-, no low-social-economical-extraction people can fight or find any solution, that means, if you're poor, you lose, and the rich people are the best, because -please don't forget this-, money is the only issue that matters. C'mon! What's the problem with you, Famke! Better keep acting -or whatever. Gee!

Don't get me wrong, this movie isn't horrible, it's just not excellent the way it should be. The film starts out really great, Milla is a laugh out loud funny con artist from the Ukraine who is just trying to make ends meet with her son in America, then it turns into a more dramatic film where a woman is trying to get her son back, to me it seems like both of these plots are great but together in the same film it didn't work for me, I think as individual film they would be excellent.The saving grace is Milla Jovovich, she is terrific in absolutely everything, and she is just exceptional in this, she is funny, lovable and for most of the film you are rooting for her, I hope she continues to do funnier roles such as these as she really suits them.Also the kid in the movie is definitely worth mentioning, child actors are really impressive these days. The opening song sung by Milla is one of the best parts of the film, so basically no highs or lows, just very one dimensional. A tad disappointing. :(

Famke Janssen has managed to put all of the elements of a great independent movie together here but somehow the chemistry never grabs you really hard. Milla Jovovich's character is somebody who thinks they understand the American Dream from watching TV and from the movies that she is often quoting. The reality in America however is that the "American Dream" is much more complicated than she ever imagined. Milla Jovovich and Spencer List are very convincing as the mother and son duo and the portrayal of their relationship is what carries the movie. Pullamn does well but is careful not to grab the attention away from the two main characters. The colours and costumes stand out against the bleak Oklahoma backdrop. It is a good movie and it is easy to watch. It is not the sort of movie that will interest people who do not regularly watch small independent movies.