A comedy drama set in modern day Florida concerning two vibrant women who find themselves, after their big time dreams have not panned out, back in their small neighboring hometowns. Caught between their past and their future, both are struggling to find a way to become independent women in a place where everyone and everything seems to conspire to make them return to the roles of children under the rule of formidable parents. Mary Temple is living her father's dream of running a motel; only it has become her nightmare. Marly has given her career as an aquatic "Weeki Wachee Mermaid" and her marriage to Steve is over. In the next town over, Desiree Perry has returned to visit and show off her new anesthesiologist husband, Reggie. Sent away by her proud parents after she disgraced them by getting pregnant 16, Desiree, like Marly, pursued a career in "show business." But instead of Broadway or movies, her appearances have been limited to industrials and infomercials. As both Marly and Desiree grapple with the sometimes-overwhelming weight of family history and family expectations, and wrestle with questions of love, duty and responsibility, the tale offers a portrait of two women, two families, and two communities standing on the brink of change.

GENRE: Drama, Romance
MPAA RATING: PG-13
RUN TIME: 2h 21m
RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2002
STARRING: Angela Bassett, Edie Falco, Miguel Ferrer, Marc Blucas, Timothy Hutton
DIRECTOR(S): John Sayles
PRODUCER(S): Maggie Renzi
WRITER(S): John Sayles
STUDIO: Sony Pictures Classics