Tumbleweeds (1999) on Netflix
Mary Jo Walker's answer to a relationship in trouble is to load her car and start over somewhere new, with her daughter Ava. Trucker Jack Ranson helps them move to San Diego.
- Netflix3.7/5
- IMDb6.7/103,801 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes82%
Trailer
Plot summary
Mary Jo Walker and her daughter Ava have left one city after another whenever a relationship of Mary Jo's falls apart, and Ava is tired of the routine. A reunion with an old boyfriend in Missouri goes worse than Mary Jo hoped, so she gives in to Ava's wish to see the Pacific Ocean and drives west, the two of them throwing Mary Jo's clothes out of the car window along the way. Long-haul trucker Jack Ranson assists them on the road, and he turns up again once they have settled in San Diego. Ava makes friends at school and wins the role of Romeo in the school play. Mary Jo quits her office job and starts dating Jack.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Tumbleweeds (1999)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Janet McTeer was cast as Mary Jo after Gavin O'Connor spotted her on the Charlie Rose show; producers doubted a British theater actress was a recognizable enough name to headline, so he and Angela Shelton financed the film themselves.
- Angela Shelton's unpublished memoir about traveling with her mother, who married and divorced several times during her upbringing, was the inspiration for Tumbleweeds, which she co-wrote with Gavin O'Connor.
- O'Connor married Angela Shelton in 1994 and they started the script soon after; despite divorcing in 1996, the pair kept working on it as it went through several drafts.
- Tumbleweeds premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, where its Dramatic Filmmakers Trophy win helped it land a distribution deal with Fine Line Features.
