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Here on Earth (2000)
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Reviews Counted:65
Fresh:12
Rotten:53
Average Rating:3.8/10
Consensus: Critics say Here on Earth's weakness comes from its script. The story may appeal to young teenage girls, but it suffers from being overly sentimental and formulaic. The cinematography, however, is lovely in how it captures its Minnesota setting.
Synopsis:
The lives of three young people -- a rich student, a girl from the "wrong side of the tracks" and her boyfriend -- unexpectedly intersect during one fateful summer in the romantic drama Here on...
The lives of three young people -- a rich student, a girl from the "wrong side of the tracks" and her boyfriend -- unexpectedly intersect during one fateful summer in the romantic drama Here on Earth.
Kelley Morse (Chris Klein), who is cocky and brash, normally would never have crossed paths with the residents of a small town near his posh private school. But when he takes his shiny new Mercedes out for a drive, he locks horns with some of the locals, including Jasper (Josh Hartnett). As Jasper's willful girlfriend Samantha (Leelee Sobieski) looks on, Kelley and Jasper engage in a dangerous car race that turns disastrous, leaving a popular diner owned by Samantha's mother in ruins.
Kelley and Jasper are sentenced to a creatively ironic but fitting punishment: They must help rebuild the diner. Not only does this ruin Kelley's summer plans, he also must board at the home of his rival, Jasper. Kelley begins to fulfill his "sentence," but refuses to have anything to do with Jasper and his parents.
When Kelley again encounters Samantha, the attraction is immediate and strong. First love blossoms in the Berkshire woods ("a little bit of heaven, here on earth," Samantha calls the pastoral setting) -- angering Jasper, who has known Samantha practically his entire life. These new feelings and the romantic triangle that develops are only the beginning of a new journey for Kelley, Samantha and Jasper, as they ultimately make life-changing discoveries about themselves and each other.
Starring: Chris Klein, Leelee Sobieski, Josh Hartnett, Bruce Greenwood
Starring: Chris Klein, Leelee Sobieski, Josh Hartnett, Bruce Greenwood, Annette O'Toole, Michael Rooker, Annie Corley, Stuart Wilson
Director: Mark Piznarski
Director: Mark Piznarski
Screenwriter: Michael Seitzman
Producer: David T. Friendly
Reviews for Here on Earth
This is just the type of "dignified" tragedy Louis B. Mayer loved to churn out in the 1940s, where characters - even the unsavory ones - acted so noble they practically turned to statues before your eyes.
Demonstrates the lowest, most unscrupulous technique of filmmaking -- it involves no imagination, creativity, or original ideas.
Things are not helped by the performances: Klein is simply a stiff, and Sobieski is neither more nor less Joan of Arc here than she was on TV.
There are quite a few smelly things in the movie, but none of them can be left at the curb for the garbageman.
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