Rambling Rose
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Excellent film that shows Feminism in the South during the Nadir
  • Whose body is it, anyway?
  • Not as good as I remember it being
  • This movie never gets old
  • Boring? Too busy enjoying it to be bored.
 Rambling Rose
Starring: Laura Dern , Robert Duvall , Diane Ladd , Lukas Haas , and John Heard
Director: Martha Coolidge
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

GeneralGeneral | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
GeneralGeneral | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
Burke, Robert JohnBurke, Robert John | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Conway, KevinConway, Kevin | ( C ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Dern, LauraDern, Laura | ( D ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Duvall, RobertDuvall, Robert | ( D ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Haas, LukasHaas, Lukas | ( H ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Heard, JohnHeard, John | ( H ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Jakub, LisaJakub, Lisa | ( J ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Ladd, DianeLadd, Diane | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Coolidge, MarthaCoolidge, Martha | ( C ) | Directors | Stores | DVD | Video
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GeneralGeneral | Drama | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
( R )( R ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:
  1. Tender Mercies Tender Mercies
  2. Wild At Heart Wild At Heart
  3. A Family Thing A Family Thing
  4. Smooth Talk Smooth Talk
  5. Convicts Convicts

ASIN: B0000639ET
Release Date: 2002-04-23

Amazon.com

This overrated period comic-drama, set in Georgia in the 1930s, featured the first mother-daughter team to be nominated for acting Oscars in the same year. Laura Dern plays a free-wheeling young woman who is taken in as a domestic by an upper-class family, headed by Robert Duvall and Diane Ladd (Dern's real-life mother). Rose, who tends to let her sexual urges get the best of her, scandalizes everyone in three counties (including Duvall and Lukas Haas, who plays his son) with her willing spirit. Do those kind of loose morals warrant court-ordered sterilization? Or does this young woman just need a guiding hand? While many fell for this cornpone shtick, directed by Martha Coolidge, it's a hard movie to cozy up to because Rose is such a caricature and the rest of the characters (with the exception of the always exceptional Duvall) are such sticks. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Excellent film that shows Feminism in the South during the Nadir.......2007-06-18

First, Marshall Fine (the opening review) must smoke crack. This film is a very good depiction of the relationships between women in the deep South.



This film is set in the 1930s South where the widespread opression of women and African Americans sets the context. Women are generally expected to be domestic angels or whores. This film explores the middle-ground and shows how some women did have power in an era (and region) where they were considered powerless. It also shows how the whore stereotype arose-at least in the case of one woman.



Rose is a young woman with a long history of sexual abuse. As a result, she confuses sexual activity with love. Therefore, she is sexually promiscuous. Rose enters the Hillyard family as a domestic servant to escape being forced into prostitution-the details of which are never explained. Chaos then ensues as Rose struggles to find love in all the wrong places and ways. Her frantic quest for love will cause her to take risks with her job, body and life. Meantime, Mrs. Hilyard (Diane Lane) is working on her doctoral dissertation, and even though struggling with hearing loss, the family matriarch. She becomes Rose's greatest protector and in the end, stands up for Rose when she is nearly destroyed by men who have ulterior motives. The relationship that develops between this unlikely duo-a patrician woman with a high education and a young uneducated girl coming from an alleged "dirt farm" is at the heart of this film.



Diane Lane and Robert Duvall give excellent performances capturing their roles with an ease that only accompanies an experienced actor. Laura Dern, however, is a bit miscast as Rose. Hers is a role that Elizabeth Taylor would have "ate-up" in her prime. But Dern really struggles to make Rose believable. She often seems gangly and uncoordinated when she is supposed to be sensusal. Her southern accent sometimes sounds forced, and her bodily movements are awkward (note the scene where she attempts to walk down the street in heels!". Still, she rises to the occasion in several key scenes. Meantime, the children-particularly Luke Haas-perform admirably. That cannot often be said about child actors. All-in-all, this is a very good film about a subject that touches us all: the universal quest for love.

5 out of 5 stars Whose body is it, anyway?.......2007-05-13

Another movie that kept me on the edge of my seat. I originally was intrigued my Lukas Haas, of whom I have been a fan since "Witness." The theme of "unbridled female sexuality" and how it was often "handled" in more primitive times is unsettling, as it should be. The concept of a woman not owning her own body is one our society continues to struggle with, and it is a tribute to Laura Dern's integrity that she was willing to take on a film that made such a statement - the footprint of a career that continues that work.

I am uncomfortable with the sexuality beteen Haas and Dern, in spite of the Rose's endearing remorse. Again, is sex between adult and child something we want to continue to normalize in a culture that claims concern for the safety of children? Or is art beyond that kind of responsiblity? I wish I knew. It's a powerful question, though.

And we wonder why our young actors end up in trouble.

Witness (Special Collector's Edition)

3 out of 5 stars Not as good as I remember it being.......2007-02-27

I hugely enjoyed this movie when it first was released, but it seems to have lost its charm for me over the years. Perhaps I am a more critical viewer now than I once was, because many of the movie's flaws now seem much more apparent.

I very much enjoyed Robert Duvall's performance as the vexed patriarch, trying to fend off sexuality-run-amok in the form of Laura Dern, whom I also very much enjoyed. However, the movie seems to lose focus & meander far too often, and gradually peters out at the end with no satisfying conclusion.

It isn't bad & I wouldn't necessarily be adverse to watching it again, but it definitely could have been much better, given the talent which was involved in its production. Damned with faint praise, indeed.

5 out of 5 stars This movie never gets old.......2007-01-20

Rambling Rose is one of my favorite movies....it captures the never-ending power of kindness and love. The mother figure is the most powerful for she is steadfast in recognizing the "creative force of the universe".

4 out of 5 stars Boring? Too busy enjoying it to be bored........2006-07-02

Hot, steamy, summer day today, so off to the rental store and back home to the A.C. with Rambling Rose, one that had slipped by me till now. If Duval is there, I'll take the gamble, and no let down here. Laura Dern was delightfully over-the-top as the teenage spitfire. I was curious to see Lukas Haas in something other than Witness. He was equally great in this. Other than the cast and the blurb on the box, I had nothing to go on with this one. What a delight. I found the more the story unfolded, the more I was enjoying the ride. Simple in style, and easy on the eyes, 30's Georgia countryside, yet at times the wonderful dialogue reminded me of the screwball comedies of the late 30's and early 40's. Unquestionably Duval delivered and was charming in his Southern chivalry and hilarious in his exasperation with both the newly hired housekeeper, Dern, and with his glorious wife, Diane Ladd. Contrary to other reviews, I found Ladd's role one of the best, She plays a Columbia grad working on her Masters in American History, and whose rhetoric is dumbfounding to her devoted husband Duval, who refers to it as "logic from the 4th dimension." There are some wonderful scenes and exchanges. Terrific heartfelt laughs and excellent dialogue. This wasn't a superb movie, but Rambling Rose was surely, a really well acted, well written, well filmed and well edited, hot and steamy, good, good movie.
Rambling Rose
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Excellent film that shows Feminism in the South during the Nadir
  • Whose body is it, anyway?
  • Not as good as I remember it being
  • This movie never gets old
  • Boring? Too busy enjoying it to be bored.
 Rambling Rose
Starring: Laura Dern , Robert Duvall , Diane Ladd , Lukas Haas , and John Heard
Director: Martha Coolidge
Manufacturer: Geneon [Pioneer]
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

GeneralGeneral | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
Eccentric FamiliesEccentric Families | By Theme | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
Coming of AgeComing of Age | By Theme | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
GeneralGeneral | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
RacyRacy | By Theme | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
Burke, Robert JohnBurke, Robert John | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Conway, KevinConway, Kevin | ( C ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Dern, LauraDern, Laura | ( D ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Duvall, RobertDuvall, Robert | ( D ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Haas, LukasHaas, Lukas | ( H ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Heard, JohnHeard, John | ( H ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Jakub, LisaJakub, Lisa | ( J ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Ladd, DianeLadd, Diane | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Coolidge, MarthaCoolidge, Martha | ( C ) | Directors | Stores | DVD | Video
DVDs Under $7.49DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
( R )( R ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:
  1. Tender Mercies Tender Mercies
  2. Wild At Heart Wild At Heart
  3. A Family Thing A Family Thing
  4. Smooth Talk Smooth Talk
  5. Convicts Convicts

ASIN: 6305261458
Release Date: 1999-03-16

Amazon.com

This overrated period comic-drama, set in Georgia in the 1930s, featured the first mother-daughter team to be nominated for acting Oscars in the same year. Laura Dern plays a free-wheeling young woman who is taken in as a domestic by an upper-class family, headed by Robert Duvall and Diane Ladd (Dern's real-life mother). Rose, who tends to let her sexual urges get the best of her, scandalizes everyone in three counties (including Duvall and Lukas Haas, who plays his son) with her willing spirit. Do those kind of loose morals warrant court-ordered sterilization? Or does this young woman just need a guiding hand? While many fell for this cornpone shtick, directed by Martha Coolidge, it's a hard movie to cozy up to because Rose is such a caricature and the rest of the characters (with the exception of the always exceptional Duvall) are such sticks. --Marshall Fine

Description

When Rose, an alluring young woman played by Laura Dern, moves in with a Southern family to care for their children, their lives are changed forever. Rose relates to everyone she meets in the only way she knows how - with an innocent, but highly charged sexuality she cannot restrain. Robert Duvall co-stars as "Daddy," a man whose traditional values could never prepare him for the temptations of Rose. Diane Ladd - Dern's real-life mother - plays "Mother", who offers Rose protection and love despite the scandal the girl creates in their small town. Lukas Haas is the teenager who will always remember Rose as both a provocative fantasy and a profound mystery. Special Features include: Scene-by-scene commentary by director Martha Coolidge; Interview with the director; Deleted scenes; Alternate ending. Laura Dern, Robert Duvall, Dianne Ladd, Lukas Haas

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Excellent film that shows Feminism in the South during the Nadir.......2007-06-18

First, Marshall Fine (the opening review) must smoke crack. This film is a very good depiction of the relationships between women in the deep South.



This film is set in the 1930s South where the widespread opression of women and African Americans sets the context. Women are generally expected to be domestic angels or whores. This film explores the middle-ground and shows how some women did have power in an era (and region) where they were considered powerless. It also shows how the whore stereotype arose-at least in the case of one woman.



Rose is a young woman with a long history of sexual abuse. As a result, she confuses sexual activity with love. Therefore, she is sexually promiscuous. Rose enters the Hillyard family as a domestic servant to escape being forced into prostitution-the details of which are never explained. Chaos then ensues as Rose struggles to find love in all the wrong places and ways. Her frantic quest for love will cause her to take risks with her job, body and life. Meantime, Mrs. Hilyard (Diane Lane) is working on her doctoral dissertation, and even though struggling with hearing loss, the family matriarch. She becomes Rose's greatest protector and in the end, stands up for Rose when she is nearly destroyed by men who have ulterior motives. The relationship that develops between this unlikely duo-a patrician woman with a high education and a young uneducated girl coming from an alleged "dirt farm" is at the heart of this film.



Diane Lane and Robert Duvall give excellent performances capturing their roles with an ease that only accompanies an experienced actor. Laura Dern, however, is a bit miscast as Rose. Hers is a role that Elizabeth Taylor would have "ate-up" in her prime. But Dern really struggles to make Rose believable. She often seems gangly and uncoordinated when she is supposed to be sensusal. Her southern accent sometimes sounds forced, and her bodily movements are awkward (note the scene where she attempts to walk down the street in heels!". Still, she rises to the occasion in several key scenes. Meantime, the children-particularly Luke Haas-perform admirably. That cannot often be said about child actors. All-in-all, this is a very good film about a subject that touches us all: the universal quest for love.

5 out of 5 stars Whose body is it, anyway?.......2007-05-13

Another movie that kept me on the edge of my seat. I originally was intrigued my Lukas Haas, of whom I have been a fan since "Witness." The theme of "unbridled female sexuality" and how it was often "handled" in more primitive times is unsettling, as it should be. The concept of a woman not owning her own body is one our society continues to struggle with, and it is a tribute to Laura Dern's integrity that she was willing to take on a film that made such a statement - the footprint of a career that continues that work.

I am uncomfortable with the sexuality beteen Haas and Dern, in spite of the Rose's endearing remorse. Again, is sex between adult and child something we want to continue to normalize in a culture that claims concern for the safety of children? Or is art beyond that kind of responsiblity? I wish I knew. It's a powerful question, though.

And we wonder why our young actors end up in trouble.

Witness (Special Collector's Edition)

3 out of 5 stars Not as good as I remember it being.......2007-02-27

I hugely enjoyed this movie when it first was released, but it seems to have lost its charm for me over the years. Perhaps I am a more critical viewer now than I once was, because many of the movie's flaws now seem much more apparent.

I very much enjoyed Robert Duvall's performance as the vexed patriarch, trying to fend off sexuality-run-amok in the form of Laura Dern, whom I also very much enjoyed. However, the movie seems to lose focus & meander far too often, and gradually peters out at the end with no satisfying conclusion.

It isn't bad & I wouldn't necessarily be adverse to watching it again, but it definitely could have been much better, given the talent which was involved in its production. Damned with faint praise, indeed.

5 out of 5 stars This movie never gets old.......2007-01-20

Rambling Rose is one of my favorite movies....it captures the never-ending power of kindness and love. The mother figure is the most powerful for she is steadfast in recognizing the "creative force of the universe".

4 out of 5 stars Boring? Too busy enjoying it to be bored........2006-07-02

Hot, steamy, summer day today, so off to the rental store and back home to the A.C. with Rambling Rose, one that had slipped by me till now. If Duval is there, I'll take the gamble, and no let down here. Laura Dern was delightfully over-the-top as the teenage spitfire. I was curious to see Lukas Haas in something other than Witness. He was equally great in this. Other than the cast and the blurb on the box, I had nothing to go on with this one. What a delight. I found the more the story unfolded, the more I was enjoying the ride. Simple in style, and easy on the eyes, 30's Georgia countryside, yet at times the wonderful dialogue reminded me of the screwball comedies of the late 30's and early 40's. Unquestionably Duval delivered and was charming in his Southern chivalry and hilarious in his exasperation with both the newly hired housekeeper, Dern, and with his glorious wife, Diane Ladd. Contrary to other reviews, I found Ladd's role one of the best, She plays a Columbia grad working on her Masters in American History, and whose rhetoric is dumbfounding to her devoted husband Duval, who refers to it as "logic from the 4th dimension." There are some wonderful scenes and exchanges. Terrific heartfelt laughs and excellent dialogue. This wasn't a superb movie, but Rambling Rose was surely, a really well acted, well written, well filmed and well edited, hot and steamy, good, good movie.
Rambling Rose [Region 2]
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Excellent film that shows Feminism in the South during the Nadir
  • Whose body is it, anyway?
  • Not as good as I remember it being
  • This movie never gets old
  • Boring? Too busy enjoying it to be bored.
 Rambling Rose [Region 2]
Starring: Laura Dern , Robert Duvall , Diane Ladd , Lukas Haas , and John Heard
Director: Martha Coolidge
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

GeneralGeneral | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
Burke, Robert JohnBurke, Robert John | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Conway, KevinConway, Kevin | ( C ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Dern, LauraDern, Laura | ( D ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Duvall, RobertDuvall, Robert | ( D ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Haas, LukasHaas, Lukas | ( H ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Heard, JohnHeard, John | ( H ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Jakub, LisaJakub, Lisa | ( J ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Ladd, DianeLadd, Diane | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Coolidge, MarthaCoolidge, Martha | ( C ) | Directors | Stores | DVD | Video
( R )( R ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:
  1. Tender Mercies Tender Mercies
  2. Wild At Heart Wild At Heart
  3. A Family Thing A Family Thing
  4. Smooth Talk Smooth Talk
  5. Convicts Convicts

ASIN: B00005NE1S

Amazon.com

This overrated period comic-drama, set in Georgia in the 1930s, featured the first mother-daughter team to be nominated for acting Oscars in the same year. Laura Dern plays a free-wheeling young woman who is taken in as a domestic by an upper-class family, headed by Robert Duvall and Diane Ladd (Dern's real-life mother). Rose, who tends to let her sexual urges get the best of her, scandalizes everyone in three counties (including Duvall and Lukas Haas, who plays his son) with her willing spirit. Do those kind of loose morals warrant court-ordered sterilization? Or does this young woman just need a guiding hand? While many fell for this cornpone shtick, directed by Martha Coolidge, it's a hard movie to cozy up to because Rose is such a caricature and the rest of the characters (with the exception of the always exceptional Duvall) are such sticks. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Excellent film that shows Feminism in the South during the Nadir.......2007-06-18

First, Marshall Fine (the opening review) must smoke crack. This film is a very good depiction of the relationships between women in the deep South.



This film is set in the 1930s South where the widespread opression of women and African Americans sets the context. Women are generally expected to be domestic angels or whores. This film explores the middle-ground and shows how some women did have power in an era (and region) where they were considered powerless. It also shows how the whore stereotype arose-at least in the case of one woman.



Rose is a young woman with a long history of sexual abuse. As a result, she confuses sexual activity with love. Therefore, she is sexually promiscuous. Rose enters the Hillyard family as a domestic servant to escape being forced into prostitution-the details of which are never explained. Chaos then ensues as Rose struggles to find love in all the wrong places and ways. Her frantic quest for love will cause her to take risks with her job, body and life. Meantime, Mrs. Hilyard (Diane Lane) is working on her doctoral dissertation, and even though struggling with hearing loss, the family matriarch. She becomes Rose's greatest protector and in the end, stands up for Rose when she is nearly destroyed by men who have ulterior motives. The relationship that develops between this unlikely duo-a patrician woman with a high education and a young uneducated girl coming from an alleged "dirt farm" is at the heart of this film.



Diane Lane and Robert Duvall give excellent performances capturing their roles with an ease that only accompanies an experienced actor. Laura Dern, however, is a bit miscast as Rose. Hers is a role that Elizabeth Taylor would have "ate-up" in her prime. But Dern really struggles to make Rose believable. She often seems gangly and uncoordinated when she is supposed to be sensusal. Her southern accent sometimes sounds forced, and her bodily movements are awkward (note the scene where she attempts to walk down the street in heels!". Still, she rises to the occasion in several key scenes. Meantime, the children-particularly Luke Haas-perform admirably. That cannot often be said about child actors. All-in-all, this is a very good film about a subject that touches us all: the universal quest for love.

5 out of 5 stars Whose body is it, anyway?.......2007-05-13

Another movie that kept me on the edge of my seat. I originally was intrigued my Lukas Haas, of whom I have been a fan since "Witness." The theme of "unbridled female sexuality" and how it was often "handled" in more primitive times is unsettling, as it should be. The concept of a woman not owning her own body is one our society continues to struggle with, and it is a tribute to Laura Dern's integrity that she was willing to take on a film that made such a statement - the footprint of a career that continues that work.

I am uncomfortable with the sexuality beteen Haas and Dern, in spite of the Rose's endearing remorse. Again, is sex between adult and child something we want to continue to normalize in a culture that claims concern for the safety of children? Or is art beyond that kind of responsiblity? I wish I knew. It's a powerful question, though.

And we wonder why our young actors end up in trouble.

Witness (Special Collector's Edition)

3 out of 5 stars Not as good as I remember it being.......2007-02-27

I hugely enjoyed this movie when it first was released, but it seems to have lost its charm for me over the years. Perhaps I am a more critical viewer now than I once was, because many of the movie's flaws now seem much more apparent.

I very much enjoyed Robert Duvall's performance as the vexed patriarch, trying to fend off sexuality-run-amok in the form of Laura Dern, whom I also very much enjoyed. However, the movie seems to lose focus & meander far too often, and gradually peters out at the end with no satisfying conclusion.

It isn't bad & I wouldn't necessarily be adverse to watching it again, but it definitely could have been much better, given the talent which was involved in its production. Damned with faint praise, indeed.

5 out of 5 stars This movie never gets old.......2007-01-20

Rambling Rose is one of my favorite movies....it captures the never-ending power of kindness and love. The mother figure is the most powerful for she is steadfast in recognizing the "creative force of the universe".

4 out of 5 stars Boring? Too busy enjoying it to be bored........2006-07-02

Hot, steamy, summer day today, so off to the rental store and back home to the A.C. with Rambling Rose, one that had slipped by me till now. If Duval is there, I'll take the gamble, and no let down here. Laura Dern was delightfully over-the-top as the teenage spitfire. I was curious to see Lukas Haas in something other than Witness. He was equally great in this. Other than the cast and the blurb on the box, I had nothing to go on with this one. What a delight. I found the more the story unfolded, the more I was enjoying the ride. Simple in style, and easy on the eyes, 30's Georgia countryside, yet at times the wonderful dialogue reminded me of the screwball comedies of the late 30's and early 40's. Unquestionably Duval delivered and was charming in his Southern chivalry and hilarious in his exasperation with both the newly hired housekeeper, Dern, and with his glorious wife, Diane Ladd. Contrary to other reviews, I found Ladd's role one of the best, She plays a Columbia grad working on her Masters in American History, and whose rhetoric is dumbfounding to her devoted husband Duval, who refers to it as "logic from the 4th dimension." There are some wonderful scenes and exchanges. Terrific heartfelt laughs and excellent dialogue. This wasn't a superb movie, but Rambling Rose was surely, a really well acted, well written, well filmed and well edited, hot and steamy, good, good movie.
Rambling Rose [Region 2]
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Excellent film that shows Feminism in the South during the Nadir
  • Whose body is it, anyway?
  • Not as good as I remember it being
  • This movie never gets old
  • Boring? Too busy enjoying it to be bored.
 Rambling Rose [Region 2]
Starring: Laura Dern , Robert Duvall , Diane Ladd , Lukas Haas , and John Heard
Director: Martha Coolidge
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

GeneralGeneral | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
Burke, Robert JohnBurke, Robert John | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Conway, KevinConway, Kevin | ( C ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Dern, LauraDern, Laura | ( D ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Duvall, RobertDuvall, Robert | ( D ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Haas, LukasHaas, Lukas | ( H ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Heard, JohnHeard, John | ( H ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Jakub, LisaJakub, Lisa | ( J ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Ladd, DianeLadd, Diane | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Coolidge, MarthaCoolidge, Martha | ( C ) | Directors | Stores | DVD | Video
( R )( R ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:
  1. Tender Mercies Tender Mercies
  2. Wild At Heart Wild At Heart
  3. A Family Thing A Family Thing
  4. Smooth Talk Smooth Talk
  5. Convicts Convicts

ASIN: B0000C88N0

Amazon.com

This overrated period comic-drama, set in Georgia in the 1930s, featured the first mother-daughter team to be nominated for acting Oscars in the same year. Laura Dern plays a free-wheeling young woman who is taken in as a domestic by an upper-class family, headed by Robert Duvall and Diane Ladd (Dern's real-life mother). Rose, who tends to let her sexual urges get the best of her, scandalizes everyone in three counties (including Duvall and Lukas Haas, who plays his son) with her willing spirit. Do those kind of loose morals warrant court-ordered sterilization? Or does this young woman just need a guiding hand? While many fell for this cornpone shtick, directed by Martha Coolidge, it's a hard movie to cozy up to because Rose is such a caricature and the rest of the characters (with the exception of the always exceptional Duvall) are such sticks. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Excellent film that shows Feminism in the South during the Nadir.......2007-06-18

First, Marshall Fine (the opening review) must smoke crack. This film is a very good depiction of the relationships between women in the deep South.



This film is set in the 1930s South where the widespread opression of women and African Americans sets the context. Women are generally expected to be domestic angels or whores. This film explores the middle-ground and shows how some women did have power in an era (and region) where they were considered powerless. It also shows how the whore stereotype arose-at least in the case of one woman.



Rose is a young woman with a long history of sexual abuse. As a result, she confuses sexual activity with love. Therefore, she is sexually promiscuous. Rose enters the Hillyard family as a domestic servant to escape being forced into prostitution-the details of which are never explained. Chaos then ensues as Rose struggles to find love in all the wrong places and ways. Her frantic quest for love will cause her to take risks with her job, body and life. Meantime, Mrs. Hilyard (Diane Lane) is working on her doctoral dissertation, and even though struggling with hearing loss, the family matriarch. She becomes Rose's greatest protector and in the end, stands up for Rose when she is nearly destroyed by men who have ulterior motives. The relationship that develops between this unlikely duo-a patrician woman with a high education and a young uneducated girl coming from an alleged "dirt farm" is at the heart of this film.



Diane Lane and Robert Duvall give excellent performances capturing their roles with an ease that only accompanies an experienced actor. Laura Dern, however, is a bit miscast as Rose. Hers is a role that Elizabeth Taylor would have "ate-up" in her prime. But Dern really struggles to make Rose believable. She often seems gangly and uncoordinated when she is supposed to be sensusal. Her southern accent sometimes sounds forced, and her bodily movements are awkward (note the scene where she attempts to walk down the street in heels!". Still, she rises to the occasion in several key scenes. Meantime, the children-particularly Luke Haas-perform admirably. That cannot often be said about child actors. All-in-all, this is a very good film about a subject that touches us all: the universal quest for love.

5 out of 5 stars Whose body is it, anyway?.......2007-05-13

Another movie that kept me on the edge of my seat. I originally was intrigued my Lukas Haas, of whom I have been a fan since "Witness." The theme of "unbridled female sexuality" and how it was often "handled" in more primitive times is unsettling, as it should be. The concept of a woman not owning her own body is one our society continues to struggle with, and it is a tribute to Laura Dern's integrity that she was willing to take on a film that made such a statement - the footprint of a career that continues that work.

I am uncomfortable with the sexuality beteen Haas and Dern, in spite of the Rose's endearing remorse. Again, is sex between adult and child something we want to continue to normalize in a culture that claims concern for the safety of children? Or is art beyond that kind of responsiblity? I wish I knew. It's a powerful question, though.

And we wonder why our young actors end up in trouble.

Witness (Special Collector's Edition)

3 out of 5 stars Not as good as I remember it being.......2007-02-27

I hugely enjoyed this movie when it first was released, but it seems to have lost its charm for me over the years. Perhaps I am a more critical viewer now than I once was, because many of the movie's flaws now seem much more apparent.

I very much enjoyed Robert Duvall's performance as the vexed patriarch, trying to fend off sexuality-run-amok in the form of Laura Dern, whom I also very much enjoyed. However, the movie seems to lose focus & meander far too often, and gradually peters out at the end with no satisfying conclusion.

It isn't bad & I wouldn't necessarily be adverse to watching it again, but it definitely could have been much better, given the talent which was involved in its production. Damned with faint praise, indeed.

5 out of 5 stars This movie never gets old.......2007-01-20

Rambling Rose is one of my favorite movies....it captures the never-ending power of kindness and love. The mother figure is the most powerful for she is steadfast in recognizing the "creative force of the universe".

4 out of 5 stars Boring? Too busy enjoying it to be bored........2006-07-02

Hot, steamy, summer day today, so off to the rental store and back home to the A.C. with Rambling Rose, one that had slipped by me till now. If Duval is there, I'll take the gamble, and no let down here. Laura Dern was delightfully over-the-top as the teenage spitfire. I was curious to see Lukas Haas in something other than Witness. He was equally great in this. Other than the cast and the blurb on the box, I had nothing to go on with this one. What a delight. I found the more the story unfolded, the more I was enjoying the ride. Simple in style, and easy on the eyes, 30's Georgia countryside, yet at times the wonderful dialogue reminded me of the screwball comedies of the late 30's and early 40's. Unquestionably Duval delivered and was charming in his Southern chivalry and hilarious in his exasperation with both the newly hired housekeeper, Dern, and with his glorious wife, Diane Ladd. Contrary to other reviews, I found Ladd's role one of the best, She plays a Columbia grad working on her Masters in American History, and whose rhetoric is dumbfounding to her devoted husband Duval, who refers to it as "logic from the 4th dimension." There are some wonderful scenes and exchanges. Terrific heartfelt laughs and excellent dialogue. This wasn't a superb movie, but Rambling Rose was surely, a really well acted, well written, well filmed and well edited, hot and steamy, good, good movie.

DVD:

  1. Ready to Wear
  2. Risky Business
  3. Shirley Valentine
  4. Slums of Beverly Hills
  5. Son of Paleface
  6. Spaced Invaders
  7. Speechless
  8. Spider-Man 3 (2-Disc Special Edition)
  9. Star Trek - First Contact (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)
  10. Stark Raving Mad

DVD

DVD