The Cider House Rules
Honored with two Academy Awards -- Best Supporting Actor Michael Caine and Best Adapted Screenplay, John Irving -- The Cider House Rules tells a compelling and heartwarming story about how far a young man must travel to find the place where he truly belongs! Homer Wells (Tobey Maguire -- Pleasantville, The Ice Storm, Wonder Boys) has lived nearly his entire life within the walls of St. Cloud's Orphanage in rural Maine. Though groomed by its proprietor, Dr. Larch (Caine), to be his successor, Homer nonetheless feels the need to strike out on his own and experience the world outside. Then, while working at an apple orchard, Homer falls for the beautiful Candy (Charlize Theron - Reindeer Games, The Devil's Advocate) and learns some powerfully indelible lessons about life, love and home! Based on John Irving's best-selling American classic and featuring a sensational all-star cast including Delroy Lindo and newcomer Erykah Badu, this entertaining motion picture earned raves from critics and moviegoers everywhere!
Member Reviews
Great Academy Movie - LilyandMick
It was great casts for this movie. Everyone in this movie played their roll excellent and perfect fit for the roll. The story was so touchy and emotional, but at the same time, great throughout. I loved this story from the start. You don't want to miss this movie.Dull Adaptation of John Irving's Novel - revsdd
Not every good book should be turned into a movie. "The Cider House Rules" is a classic example of that rule.
Tobey Maguire plays Homer Wells in this story of a young man raised in an orphanage desperately searching for his identity and his destiny. I have to confess that from a personal point of view, that was the first problem with the movie. Maguire, to me at least, is not a first rate actor. He's not bad, but lacks the power to be a lead actor. The same applies in this movie. Maguire is OK, but not great. Michael Caine offers a good performance as Dr. Wilbur Larch, the operator of the orphanage Wells was raised in, but he doesn't have enough of a presence in this movie to make a huge impact. Charlize Theron was good as Candy, Homer's love interest, but it was hardly a role that stretched her talents. The best performance, in what to me became the most interesting of the several sub-plots in the movie, was offered by Delroy Lindo as Mr. Rose, who, as the head of the apple-picking team, teaches Homer everything there is to know about apples.
The problem with the movie wasn't with the individual performances. They were all - I'll say it again - OK. It's just that I really didn't think that the cast meshed all that well as a team (in particular, Theron and Maguire just aren't a credible couple.) On top of that they were burdened with a dull, slow-moving script that seemed to take forever to get going. The movie picks up in the last half-hour or so, but only to a crawl, and the end is completely predictable. How this ever got nominated for an Academy Award is completely beyond me.Oliver Twist this is not. - cathyottawa
The word "Dickensian" was thrown around liberally in 1999 when describing this movie, and it tries really hard to be charming.
Tobey Maguire gives his best "awe shucks golly gee" performance, but it didn't win me over.
This is an overrated, schmaltzy mess. Michael Caine won an Oscar for his performance here, and he is good. It's just too bad his character was in this movie.
The movie brings up the subject of abortion, but doesn't really know what it wants to say about it. It brings up incest, and resolves that storyline in an awkward way. And smack in the middle is an uninteresting love story.
It didn't agree with me at all.
Member Reviews
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Great Academy Movie - LilyandMick
It was great casts for this movie. Everyone in this movie played their roll excellent and perfect fit for the roll. The story was so touchy and emotional, but at the same time, great throughout. I loved this story from the start. You don't want to miss this ...Dull Adaptation of John Irving's Novel - revsdd
Not every good book should be turned into a movie. "The Cider House Rules" is a classic example of that rule.
Tobey Maguire plays Homer Wells in this story of a young man raised in an orphanage desperately searching for his identity and his destiny. ...Oliver Twist this is not. - cathyottawa
The word "Dickensian" was thrown around liberally in 1999 when describing this movie, and it tries really hard to be charming.
Tobey Maguire gives his best "awe shucks golly gee" performance, but it didn't win me over.
This is an overrated, schmaltzy ...