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The Whole Wide World (1996) Reviews

The Whole Wide World (1996)
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A touching and unusual love story, The Whole Wide World was based on a memoir by Novalyne Price Ellis, in which she recalled her brief romance with Robert E. Howard, creator of Conan the Barbarian and one of the finest and most prolific pulp writers of his day. In 1933, Novalyne Price (Renee Zellweger) is a pretty but shy Texas schoolteacher who would like to be a writer some day. A friend offers to introduce her to Howard (Vincent D'Onofrio), who writes broad, bold yarns about superhuman heroes and damsels in distress and has little patience for writers of more pretentious fiction. Novalyne likes Howard and he seems to like her, but she finds him a hard man to deal with. He lives in the world of his stories, and he devotes as much time as possible to his bedridden mother, which leaves him little time to pursue a romance. But when Howard discovers that another man has been courting Novalyne, he's heartbroken -- even if they didn't have a conventional romance, he felt there was a special emotional bond between them, and he hates to see it thrown away. Renee Zellweger and Vincent D'Onofrio both deliver fine performances and are a believable (if unconventional) romantic couple; D'Onofrio also co-produced. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Starring:
Vincent D'Onofrio, Renée Zellweger, (more)
Director(s):
Dan Ireland
Theatrical MPAA Rating:
PG
Format(s):
DVD
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Average Ratings

(22 member reviews)  

Member Reviews

Jennifer R.

He gets it. If REH were alive today he would be diagnosed with some type of mental illness. The struggle inside the mind of a creative genius that is socially inept and in-love is portrayed by Vincent D'Onofrio. You can see the anguish on his face as he deals with the intense love he feels for Novalyne and the bond he shares with his mother, whom I think also suffers from some kind of mental illness. The bond between mother and son is one of mutual understanding. It takes one to know one. One of the earlier reviewers said that this movie is slow. It is deliberately slow so that you wade through the emotions with him. Watch with the perceptive eye of a parent as they witness their child wrestle with tough choices in their lives. Thank you Mr. D'Onofrio, this one is a keeper.

Yes   |   No


Jodi S.

Vincent D'onofrio was wonderful. Ren'ee Zellweger did very well herself. The movie dispite its PG rating was surprisingly dark. A unique love story and great preformances.

Yes   |   No


Amanda H.

I enjoyed this movie because I like love stories, but some would say it was kind of slow. Don't expect your everyday cuddle with your loved one movie and cry a happy tear at the end... if you want that rent a romantic comedy or even the Princess Bride. This movie was based off of the true story of a woman in Robert E. Howard's life. I looked up his name on Google after the movie and the movie is very close to the truth. If you like true stories, watch this movie.

Yes   |   No


Tamara S.

great story, too much cussing. i thought it would be slow, but the characters really hold your attention.

Yes   |   No


Ginger M.

While the ending was expected, it was a very moving movie. I really enjoyed it and would watch it again.

Yes   |   No


Kathy T.

Very odd movie, but very good...at least to watch once. I'd never seen Vincent D'Onofrio in anything other than Law and Order. He's actually a better actor than I thought!

Yes   |   No


Teresa R.

It was OK; kind of slow, a bit sad. Two main actors did a great job. Wouldn't watch it again, however.

Yes   |   No


Katie T.

I found this film a bit boring. However, I thought it had an interesting love story, and I thought it did the real life characters justice but not honor. D'Onofrio did a great job as REH. Adding to his believable acting was his stricking resemblance to the real Howard. The film showed how eccentric Howard was. One concern was that it presented the mom as if she was in love with her son. In fact, the mom was suffering from a tumor and simply wanted her son to herself and not let him go to another woman. Also, in real life Price was one of Howard's former teachers. The film showed her as a teacher who just happened to meet Howard. If the film would have been more historically accurate, I think it would have been better and had a more passionate love story.

Yes   |   No


Sherri R.

Wow this movie was so boring I forced myself to watch at least half of it hoping for it to get better but it never happened. I got it because I really like Renee Zellweger, and she acted great in this movie. There just was no plot for the movie to go to. It was same scene over and over, it just went no where.

Yes   |   No


Daniel C.

The initial chemistry between D'Onofrio and Zellweger is HOT and their acting is excellent, but being the story of a doomed relationship, it has nowhere to go but down. After their third spat, I found it unbearably boring watching them fight like Ralph and Alice Kramden! Also, the significance of Robert E. Howard might have been better conveyed by depicting just how famous Conan The Barbarian ultimately became. Conan O'Brien is probably better known to most people today!

Yes   |   No


 
 
 

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Member Reviews
Read all (22)
 
Jennifer R.

He gets it. If REH were alive today he would be diagnosed with some type of mental illness. The struggle inside the mind of a creative genius that is socially inept and in-love is portrayed by Vincent D'Onofrio. You can see the anguish on his face as he deals with the intense love he feels for Novalyne and the bond he shares with his mother, whom I think also suffers from some kind of mental illness. The bond between mother and son is one of mutual understanding. It takes one to know one. One of the earlier reviewers said that this movie is slow. It is deliberately slow so that you wade through the emotions with him. Watch with the perceptive eye of a parent as they witness their child wrestle with tough choices in their lives. Thank you Mr. D'Onofrio, this one is a keeper.

Yes   |   No

 
Jodi S.

Vincent D'onofrio was wonderful. Ren'ee Zellweger did very well herself. The movie dispite its PG rating was surprisingly dark. A unique love story and great preformances.

Yes   |   No

 
Amanda H.

I enjoyed this movie because I like love stories, but some would say it was kind of slow. Don't expect your everyday cuddle with your loved one movie and cry a happy tear at the end... if you want that rent a romantic comedy or even the Princess Bride. This movie was based off of the true story of a woman in Robert E. Howard's life. I looked up his name on Google after the movie and the movie is very close to the truth. If you like true stories, watch this movie.

Yes   |   No

 
Read All 22 Reviews
 

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