The greatest movie ever made..!

Great Film overall

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

While this road trip movie isn't as good as Thelma and Louise, it really shouldn't be compared. The two films are very different. While Thelma and Louise are on the run the police, Mary Ann and Darly (the two main characters of Leaving Normal) are only on the run from themselves. Meg Tilly and Christine Lahti play the title characters with just the right touches of naivete and cynicism. Mary Ann is leaving a bad marriage (her second) and Darly is heading to Alaska to reclaim land from an earlier marriage. Their paths merge in Normal, Wyoming and they set out on a road trip that changes both of them. A few of the scenes (thankfully very few) don't seem to work - almost as if they were added for comic effect. Both actresses give great performances. If you can overlook a few plot problems (their new overweight friend Sixty-six seems to find a rich man and leaves all of her belongings behind with Mary Ann and Darly all in the same day) I think you'll find this movie to be an enjoyable and touching tale. The tag line of the movie is: Sometimes the only way to find where you're going is to lose your way. I don't know about you, but in my life that has been true more than a few times. Oh, be sure not to miss the best scene in the whole film. When returning to their car with coolant after it has overheated to find the car stripped and their possessions strewn everywhere Mary Ann (always trying to believe things will work out) says, "We'll still get there. We'll still get to Alaska." Cynical Darly gets the best line in the film, "You're just like a punching bag aren't you, Mary Ann? Knock you down and you get back up. I bet you're one of those people who say when life gives you lemons make lemonade. Well, guess what, sweetheart, life hasn't given us lemons, it's given us SHIT!" I laughed so hard the first time I watched this scene and it's still a line I quote on one of those days when nothing seems to go right. Rent this movie and you won't be sorry.

I really liked this movie. When I saw the cover in a local video rental, I thought it would be a cheezy Thelma & Louise knock-off. I was wrong. I was impressed by the performances of Lahti and Tilly. While a bit odd and quirky, the characters were also real. Both women annoyed me at times but I could also feel sympathy for them. Some parts of the movie were kind of dreamy and surreal, which gave the film more character. The wilderness backdrops were breathtaking. I laughed my butt off on several occasions.In all, this was a really cool movie. It's not for all tastes but I think it's worth viewing.

The movie had a lovely opening with Meg Tilly confiding to a series of fellow passengers on a Greyhound Bus, that she is sure her life was about to change, even though she was marrying a person she did not know very well. About two minutes later, she is back out on the road, illusions shattered. Her character(Marianne) bumps into Christine Lahti, who is also ready for a change, after burning just about everybody who has ever be-friended her. So, Marianne-Pollyana and the queen of bitterness take off for Alaska. Some of the surprises include a poet-trucker, and Christine's dancing abilities.

No, there is no such place as Normal, Wyoming...except maybe on a psychological landscape. Leaving Normal is the story of an unusual journey and friendship. Meg Tilly as Marianne Johnson is a wide-eyed naif who has never made a good decision in her rambling life. Christine Lahti (now seen on ER) is a cynical cocktail waitress whose choices haven't been much better; together the two somehow cobble a relationship that enriches both, as well as some oddball others. They travel to Alaska, where each finally has the room she needs to build a life. You will probably find this movie in the comedy section of your video store, but it doesn't really belong there, even though some of the dialogue is HILARIOUS. Some nice cinematography, particularly the 4th of July scenes and the aurora borealis. The coffee mug motif is pretty cool, too. Will appeal to anyone who liked Thelma & Louise or Fried Green Tomatoes but wished the heroines of these would have been alive at the end. See it!