After sinking in Speed 2, Sandra Bullock grabs for a life belt by co-producing this vehicle for herself. Unfortunately for her, it's a drab family dramedy which unreasonably promises that no matter how bad things are, "just give hope a chance to float up - and it will". Birdee (Bullock) might also find a prescription for Prozac useful.
The plot is as limp and inert as its protagonist. Eventually she's going to have to attend to her unhappy daughter, come to terms with her mother, magically turn her youthful hobby of photography into a job and open her heart to her persistent admirer - as if we much care.
Actor-turned-director Whitaker's success with Waiting To Exhale apparently has qualified him as a "women's director", but he allows the soapy script to dawdle along, its petty angst and unlikelihoods emphasised by way too many musical interludes. Only the ever-glowing Rowlands and a likeable Connick Jr. are really pleasing.