A relaxed Sayles goes against the grain by pacing his story as measured and gracefully as the rhythmic flow of life itself.
Comment
06/20/02
Sunshine State (2002)
80
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:106
Fresh:85
Rotten:21
Average Rating:7/10
Consensus: Wonderfully acted, but the story and pacing can use a little work.
Runtime: 2 hrs 21 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Welcome to Delorna Beach and the 2nd Annual Buccaneer Days! Take a trip! Take a drive! See Florida Today! Oceanfront motels. T-shirt shops. Golf courses. Palm trees. Sandy beaches. Condominiums.... [More]
Starring: Edie Falco, Angela Bassett, Jane Alexander, Ralph Waite
Director: John Sayles
Reviews for Sunshine State
It creates a cinematic mosaic of American lives unprecedented in its range, balance, subtlety and even-handedness.
06/20/02
Top CriticRamshackle, leisurely and crammed with fine actors given free rein to do what they do best.
06/20/02
Even if it pushes its agenda too forcefully, this remains a film about something, one that attempts and often achieves a level of connection and concern.
06/20/02
Top Critic
John Sayles delves into dilemmas of love, duty and responsibility, along with family history and racism - too bad he does it at such a slow pace.
06/20/02
The whole of Sunshine State is less than the sum of its parts, but the parts are often lovely, and always true.
06/19/02
Watching it is rather like an overlong visit from a large group of your relatives. As your relatives swap one mundane story after another, you begin to wonder if they are ever going to depart.
06/18/02
Sayles ... once again strands his superb performers in the same old story.
06/18/02
Edie Falco and Angela Bassett shine...a good, often funny film from Sayles.
06/06/02
It is an indelible epic American story about two families, one black and one white, facing change in both their inner and outer lives.
06/06/02
You can feel the heat that ignites this gripping tale, and the humor and humanity that root it in feeling.
06/05/02
Exquisite performances and strong, atmospheric cinematography by Patrick Cady lift John Sayles' flawed new drama, Sunshine State, to a memorable, if sometimes ragged, film.
06/05/02
Leave it to John Sayles to take on developers, the Chamber of Commerce, tourism, historical pageants, and commercialism all in the same movie . . . without neglecting character development for even one minute.
06/03/02
Sayles continues exactly where Faulkner left off, tackling the institutionalized racism that seethes in the New South.
05/30/02
An effective, character-driven drama about real people facing real situations on an island in Florida faced with the encroachment of developers.
05/29/02
While you could never fault Sayles for speedy exposition, the donkey-cart pace makes you want to whip the thing along.
05/25/02
Sayles and an excellent cast examine modern American lives, values, dreams and shortcomings with verve, honesty and a respect for the seemingly lost art of everyday conversation.
05/19/02
Top CriticLatest News for Sunshine State
June 23, 2005:
Production Wraps on Roth's "Freedomland"
Revolution Studios issued a press release that ComingSoon.net was kind enough to publicize, and here's the scoop: The Joe Roth mystery thriller "Freedlomland," which... More...
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