Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael (1990)

Thanks for the memories!

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

This movie has been consistently misunderstood. Most like and enjoy Winona Ryder's performance and it does work moderately well as a Breakfast Club/teen angst sort of movie, but the movie actually has three poles between which the action moves:Dinky's exploration of her own emerging personality and sexuality The town-representing conventionality and conformity, on one hand, and various adults and peers who are more-or-less sympathetic and ready to help...if Dinky will let themRoxy, the larger-than-life image that means something different to everybody.The editing of the movie has come in for criticism over the years but the various cuts are there to show that everyone, including Dinky, has a *different reason* to be in an uproar over Roxy's impending arrival. Some commenters were angry that Roxy never arrived, but by that point in the movie she had served her purpose. Her nonarrival served as a moment of self- revelation for everyone who had been reacting to her in their individual ways, baring their motives at least to themselves.It may seem a reach, but in plot structure this movie actually reminds me just a tiny bit of Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying" In that book, the grandmother dies, they load her coffin into the wagon and begin a trek to town to bury her. A saga of mishap and delays ensues. As the grandmother gets riper and riper, the wagon moving in a miasma of stench, everyone who meets them is unable to understand why each and every family member is adamant about burying her according to her last wishes. In various chapters Faulkner makes the readers aware that each of these family members would have been easily turned aside and sensibly buried her as soon as possible but for their different individual, private reasons to go to town.Baz

Stunningly beautiful in places, surprisingly funny, often deeply touching. At just 19, Winona Ryder had already scored two massive hits with Beetlejuice and Heathers, but this performance eclipses them easily - and is possibly one of her best ever. She is hugely talented, and I can't get enough of her when she's on this kind of form - which sadly isn't often enough in recent years. Jeff Daniels' performance is spot-on, and together on screen these two stars shine brightly - not to take anything away from the superb supporting cast.One of my all-time favourite movies, and one that still looks as fresh today as it did 16 years ago - testament to the people who made it. Quite under-stated, almost apologetic, but it will delight you. Someone else here described it as a 'hidden treasure' and I agree - it is hugely underrated and is a must-see for anyone who loves movies, Winona Ryder, Jeff Daniels, or has ever felt something was missing, confused or that they didn't belong. If I had to choose one movie to rescue from my burning house, this would certainly be the one.

Wow, I saw this such a long time ago but did really enjoy it as I enjoy most of Rider's work. This is another "movie with a message". It was extremely well done, well acted and interesting movie. There was just one problem.SPOILER ALERT: The ending WAS pretty much a tease. I don't like when a movie teases you with something and then it never happens. Another IMDb reviewer wrote how bad this ending was and I agree-completely-it's to much a tease-you'll turn the movie off feeling cheated and since that's never a good way to be at the end of a flick I wouldn't rate this movie past a 6. I understand endings are not always as we, the audience would like them to be but there is a difference between endings that are necessary to the plot of the movie and endings that just seem contrived to cheat the viewer out of something they've waited for the whole film. Watch it if you haven't and you'll see what I mean.

One of the best qualities of this film is the soundtrack. From the Soulsearching "Let the Sun Shine Through" to the frank and rythmic "If You Don't Like What You See," this film has many exceptional lyrics.