NOLA
Directed & Written by: Alan Hruska.
Produced by: Jill Footlick & Rachel Peters.
Director of Photography: Horacio Marquinez.
Edited by: Peter C. Frank.
Music by: Edmond Choi.
Released by: Samuel Goldwyn.
Country of Origin: USA. 97 min. Rated: PG-13.
With: Emmy Rossum, Mary McDonnell, Steven Bauer & James Badge Dale.

Emmy Rossum (Mystic River) stars as Nola, a wide-eyed, know-it-all who escapes her abusive stepfather and drug-addicted mother in Kansas to search for her biological father. All Nola knows of her dad is a nickname, Hutch, and that he lives in New York. Seems plausible - people try to locate relatives all the time; it's a daytime TV staple. The movie begins to veer into the realm of fairytaleland, though, once Nola steps foot on the pavement outside the Port Authority bus station.

With nowhere to go, Nola sleeps in Central Park. Yes, the Central Park in New York City. When she has to fend off a derelict, (by brandishing a pair of large scissors), Nola finds someplace a little safer - the doorway of a closed restaurant. She's awoken the next morning by a friendly policeman telling her to move along. We're not supposed to question why only one harmless person - and no rodents - bother Nola, or why the officer doesn't bother to ask why this teenager, obviously from out-of-town, is sleeping in a doorway. That would detract from the plot.

Thanks to a nice pretzel vendor who tells her about an opening, Nola gets a job as a waitress at a little coffee shop in the East Village, where the cook is a hot law student (James Badge Dale, 24) who lets her crash upstairs in his apartment. Phew, no more sleeping in doorways for Nola! Now she can concentrate on finding her dad.

When the owner of the coffee shop, Margaret (Mary McDonnell) comes in one day and hears Nola singing, the plot goes from fairytale to foolish. See, Margaret is also the operator of an "escort service" and she recognizes the song Nola is singing and decides to make Nola her personal assistant. With no prior experience, Nola is soon running the show and becomes embroiled in a vendetta involving a vicious client and a transvestite-prostitute that almost lands Margaret in prison. I say almost because hottie law student comes to her defense. Oh, yeah, Margaret knows Nola's dad. What luck!

I'm all for fulfilling one's dreams, but my advice is to skip this movie and read a book that's less predictable and corny. I believe there's a new Danielle Steel hitting the shelves. Tanya Chesterfield
July 22, 2004