In a trailer, a woman who used to be an alternate on her high school tennis team beats her boyfriend senseless once a week. Meanwhile, an eight-year-old girl experiences an awakening that makes her wonder if the guy next door driving the ‘89 Subaru is, in fact, the guy she thinks he is. On the other side of the tracks, Kobe beefsteaks and manicured gardens go hand in hand, a man of privilege has an epiphany at the dinner table that ultimately leads to a contusion and a revelation. Told in three subtly related segments, featuring a cast of mostly non-professionals and exploring passive racism, geo-political vagaries, good intentions, faith and disappointment, this deeply personal film manages to tread the lines between vulgar and humane, between absurd and tender, and finds its heart in the story segment featuring the director’s own daughter and a man living in a van.
“Anywhere U.S.A. reduces every audience that sees it into a delighted, giggling mob. The talented cast of non-professionals reminds one of what the word , ‘amateur’ really means: to love. As silly, provocative, risky and downright loose-screwed as Mr. Haney-Jardine and his cast are, the sense that they did this movie out of love-- love for the weird, love for the unsayable idea, love for the privilege of movie making-- proved to be one of the most moving experiences at the Sundance Film Festival. It reminds one of the joy of sitting in an audience of strangers while everyone laughs hysterically.” Quentin Tarantino |
