Tumbleweeds
Fine Line Features | Release Date: November 24, 1999 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
75
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 34 Critic Reviews
Positive:
30
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Rarely have two actresses been so effortless in their intimacy. Read full review
90
Rolling StonePeter Travers
McTeer and Brown make magic ina film that is wonderfully funny, touching and vital.
88
Baltimore SunAnn Hornaday
McTeer delivers a messily cheerful performance as a woman who thinks nothing of brushing her teeth with beer. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeJay Carr
You'll care what happens in this film with more than enough freshness and originality to avoid succumbing to girls-on-the-run cliches. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
One of those wonderful, deeply personal pictures that pop up every now and then to lift your spirits. Read full review
80
Dallas ObserverBill Gallo
The most liberating thing about this funny, touching, heartfelt little movie is the way it defies the rules and, in the end, begins to set its heroines free. They've earned it. Read full review
80
VarietyGlenn Lovell
Has what it takes to becomes the year's first heartfelt sleeper. Read full review
80
Film.comErnest Hardy
At the center of the film is one of the year's best performances -- that of British actress Janet McTeer . Read full review
80
Film.comHenry Cabot Beck
A minimum of fuss and a welcome lack of clichés. For these things alone, Tumbleweeds should be not only praised, but seen Read full review
80
Washington PostStephen Hunter
Janet McTeer doesn't imitate Mary Jo Walker, and she doesn't act her. She becomes her. It's almost spooky. Read full review
80
SlateDavid Edelstein
Tumbleweeds is gorgeously nuanced. Read full review
80
Film.comGemma Files
This is independent acting (and movie-making) at its best -- true, tight, anything but trite. Read full review
80
Village VoiceJessica Winter
One of the refreshing aspects of the slight, flawed Tumbleweeds is that it creates a world inhabited by recognizable people. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyErnest Hardy
McTeer's performance -- one of the best you'll see this year -- makes you realize anew how rare it is to see a female character this complex in American film. Read full review
80
TimeRichard Schickel
We have this movie--full of acceptant, sidelong glances at human quirkiness--to delight us. Read full review
80
The New York TimesStephen Holden
There are many moments when what is on the screen stops looking like acting and becomes life itself, and you're watching real people change and grow before your eyes. Read full review
80
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
Though similar thematically to "Anywhere But Here," Tumbleweeds is a breath of fresh air that busts the cliches of dysfunctional mother-daughter sagas. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
What keeps these mother-daughter tumbleweeds from drifting right out of consciousness is the unique rapport between the actresses. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Movies like Tumbleweeds exist in the details, not the outcome. Even a happy ending, we suspect, would be temporary. We don't mind, since the characters have been intriguing to know and easy to care about. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
This smart, hardscrabble, very likable film has a heart and spirit all its own: a rollicking, earthy flair and lusty intelligence. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula Nechak
An indie film that was lavishly praised and won the Filmmakers Trophy at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, rolls along in the well-rutted, dusty tire tracks of other mother-and-daughter road trip Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The story is as rambling as the characters, but superb acting by McTeer and Brown goes a long way toward redeeming it. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Stack
Bound by mother-daughter ties that are complex, touching, ultimately so powerful they yield the kind of tearful joy rarely experienced at the movies. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
The film isn't quite as striking as its star, but it's just as honest. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Lives up to its advance buzz as a showcase for some wonderful performances and a sharp storytelling eye by director Gavin O'Connor. Read full review
75
San Francisco ExaminerWesley Morris
An alt-country paean to libidinal mothers and the little girls who clean up the mess. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
The humor isn't as sharp as it should be, and the story isn't as tight as it could be. Read full review
70
SalonStephanie Zacharek
A deeply and disappointingly conventional picture masquerading as a free-spirited one. Read full review
63
New York PostLou Lumenick
Worth seeing for McTeer's touching, funny and richly detailed performance, which should put her on the map in Hollywood. Read full review
63
USA TodayMike Clark
No, it isn't the slick and unfocused "Anywhere but Here," where mom and daughter choose Beverly Hills. Instead, it's the more modest and in most cases preferable Tumbleweeds. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderMark Peranson
Capable, if slightly show-offy, performances by McTeer and Brown give this Sundance favorite a little sparkle. Read full review
60
TNT RoughCutSara Raskin
Tumbleweeds has a certain hopefulness about it. "Anywhere But Here," on the other hand, gives you nowhere to go.
60
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
This far more modest production is a much more interesting film (than "Anywhere But Here"). Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
It's a wonderfully nuanced performance in an otherwise un-nuanced narrative. Read full review
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