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Rating: 4.5 out of 5
I recently went back home to small Beaufort, SC, for the first time in 12 years. Yes, it had been 12 years since I stepped foot in my hometown. A part of me wasn’t really excited to go back. I left my small town behind, but the other part of me wanted to see my brother, who had moved back. During Christmas, I went back home. Many different feelings rushed inside me as my brother, and I drove around the town. Many buildings were erected or torn down. Many businesses that were once there were gone and replaced with new businesses. The feel of the town was somewhat the same, but everything was different. It felt like I was a stranger to the place I grew up. I bring this all up because I just watched The Trip to Bountiful, and it reminded me of wanting to see home one last time.
The Trip to Bountiful revolves around the adventure of Mrs. Carrie Watts. Carrie Watts (Page) is in the twilight of her life in post-World War II. Mrs. Watts lives in an apartment in hot-ass Houston, Texas, with her quiet son, Ludie (Heard), and controlling, loud-mouth daughter-in-law, Jessie Mae (Glynn). Mrs. Watts dreams of revisiting her home in Bountiful, Texas, one last time before she dies. Two things are holding her back from seeing her home. First, Mrs. Watts’s health is not the greatest, as her son doesn’t think she can make the trip alone. Second, Bountiful has been abandoned and doesn’t show on any maps. When there is a will, there is a way. Mrs. Watts decides to escape her prison and make her way to Bountiful one last time.
I was really hesitant about watching this film because I had no idea what it was about. I thought it would be some film about a person whose imagination makes up a place called Bountiful for a misspelling of beautiful. I got a movie that showed a person who wanted to see her hometown before she died and hated where she currently lived. At the film’s beginning, I was really annoyed with Mrs. Watts. She seemed to have a good home and was taken care of. That all changed when her daughter-in-law, Jessie Mae, opened her damn mouth.
I see why Mrs. Watts wanted to leave her home and return to where she grew up and was raised. Anyone having to live with Jessie Mae should leave also. This is where the film became excellent. Mrs. Watts dipped and dodged her son and daughter-in-law by getting on a bus. She tried the train first but then went to the bus depot. It was sad at first because no one knew of heard of Bountiful. You wondered if it was a real place. Yet, Mrs. Watts managed to get on a bus to a stop 10 or so miles outside Bountiful. I will say this, Mrs. Watts hustled her way on that bus.
What was enjoyable about the film was the connection Mrs. Watts developed with Thelma. Thelma sat beside Mrs. Watts on the trip to her stop. Thelma allowed Mrs. Watts to vent, sing and be herself without her daughter-in-law. During this moment, we really learn about Mrs. Watts. We hear about her love life and wanting to marry someone else. We learn how she really just wants to see her hometown one last time before she dies. It is not an unreasonable wish. We learn about her childhood and see that she is not an old, senile woman but one who wants to see things before her passing.
The last half of the film was the toughest. When Mrs. Watts made it to her bus stop, she learned that there is NOTHING in Bountiful and the one person she really wanted to see had passed a few days before. When the sheriff came, you thought it was the end of her journey, and Mrs. Watts gave a compelling and tearful reason for wanting to see Bountiful. This is where it got really sad, and those tears almost came out. When the sheriff drove Mrs. Watts to her home, there was nothing but fields. When she made it to her house, it was old and abandoned. A small gust of wind would knock it down like the big bad wolf. Here is where the powerful feelings hit. We learn about Mrs. Watts’s life and childhood. It makes you really think about the place you grew up. It brought me back to my grandparents’ home. They lived on a farm in Kansas City, and the memories I had there are priceless. If you have those memories, you really understand what Mrs. Watts is going through.
The end was touching because Ludie and Jessie Mae catch up with her. Mrs. Watts seemed at peace with herself because she accomplished her one last dream of seeing her home. Here, Mrs. Watts and Ludie have a touching moment as Ludie explains how he wanted kids but couldn’t have them. He also states how he remembers being in the fields and playing with his grandfather. These scenes really bring out the memories and love the two have for each other. Hell, even loud-mouth, spoiled, pain in the ass, Jessie Mae and Mrs. Watts come to an agreement.
This film’s credit must be given to Geraldine Page as Mrs. Watts. She was the one who truly made this film worth watching. As Mrs. Watts, you would think she is an airhead, but she is a caring woman who wants to see her home one last time. Page played her beautifully because she reminds you of many other people that you have met in life.
I want to say that Rebecca De Mornay was BEAUTIFUL. She is still beautiful but my lawd, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. As Thelma, De Mornay played her as a sweet woman traveling home. She had the sweetest voice and just listened to Mrs. Watts tell her story. Even though I couldn’t stand her, I must give it to Carlin Glynn as Jessie Mae. She played that Southern Belle role to the fullest. Glynn was beautiful, but she played Jessie Mae as a spoiled and annoying person. I couldn’t stand her ass, and I wanted Mrs. Watts to tell her off so many times. I guess that is what makes you a great actress. Causing emotions in the audience.
The Trip to Bountiful was an excellent film about acceptance. Mrs. Watts goes on a journey to see her home one last time. The story is simple but fun to watch as you see Mrs. Watts come to terms with her past life. Geraldine Page is excellent as Mrs. Watts and should be applauded for how she acted. I highly recommend watching this film and when you are done, think about your hometown and maybe visit it.
