Themes: Down on Their Luck, Looking For Love, Women's Friendship
Main Cast: Christine Lahti, Meg Tilly, Patrika Darbo, Lenny Von Dohlen, James Gammon, Maury Chaykin
Release Year: 1992
Country: US
Run Time: 110 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Meg Tilly and Christine Lahti star in this female buddy story that recalls the earlier Thelma and Louise. Marianne (Meg Tilly) is a quiet waif who has just walked out on her abusive husband. Darly (Christine Lahti) is a brassy waitress who was a ballsy stripper using the stage name Pillow Talk. Darly is on her way to Alaska to claim a home being built for her and return to the family she abandoned eighteen years earlier. The two women run into each other and Darly allows Marianne to tag along as they journey to Alaska. On the way, they met a collection of colorful characters, including a strange-talking waitress named 66 (Patrika Darbo), and Walt (James Gammon), a road guy who recognizes Darly as the former Pillow Talk and wants to pay her big money for sex. The women finally make it to Alaska, where Darly finds that the house she was expecting to find has never been built. The two set up in a house trailer and, with the Alaskian wilderness as a backdrop, they begin to reevaluate their lives. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Eve Gordon - Emily Singer; Brett Cullen - Kurt; Rutanya Alda - Palmer Hospital Nurse; Ken Angel - Nuqaq; Sam Bob - Delivery Guy; Ahnee Boyce - Izuzu Judy; Ashlee Buhler - Young Marianne; Ruby Cox - Woman; John Bear Curtis - Michael; Darrell Dennis - Clyde; Jenny Drugan - Young Emily; James Eckhouse - Rich Singer; John Ferreira - Colin James Band Member; Trisha Gagnon - Tumbleweed Band Member; Thomas Heaton - Alec; Richard Hopkins - Colin James Band Member; Paul Jarrett - Charlie; Andrew Johnston - Nearest Guy; Darryl Layne - Topless Dancer; Marc Levy - Dave; Dennis Marcenko - Colin James Band Member; Darrell Mayes - Colin James Band Member; Brenda McDonald - Motel Clerk; Colin James Munn - Colin James Band Member; Lachlan Murdoch - Marshall; Mariane O'Brien - Clara; Deirdre O'Connell - Ellen; Ben Ratner - Next Nearest Guy; Barbara Russell - Izuzu Mother; Dave Schryver - Tumbleweed Band Member; Robyn Simons - Sarah; Desmond Smiley - Minister; Julie Taggart - Twelve-Year-Old Girl; Gordon Tipple - Danny; Gordon Tootoosis - Hank Amaruk; Timothy Webber - Spicy's Friend; Cathy-Anne Whitworth - Tumbleweed Band Member; Peter Anderson - Spicy; Ed Solomon - Jerk in Bar; Ray Godshall, Jr. - Mort; Mary Colquhoun; Paul Stanley - Man Customer; Dana Stevens - Marianne's Mother; Rob Morton - Bartender
Credit
Sandy Cochrane - Art Director, Pat Norris - Costume Designer, Edward Zwick - Director, Victor DuBois - Editor, W.G. "Snuffy" Walden - Composer (Music Score), Rob Young - Musical Direction/Supervision, Pat Norris - Production Designer, Casey Grant - Production Designer, Ralf Bode - Cinematographer, Fitch Cady - Producer, Lindsay Doran - Producer, Sydney Pollack - Producer, Sarah Caplan - Producer, Elizabeth Wilcox - Set Designer, Peter Kuran - Special Effects, Steve Maslow - Sound/Sound Designer, Ed Solomon - Screenwriter
Leaving Normal was a 1992Americanroad movie which featured two female leads. Directed by Edward Zwick and written by Ed Solomon, the film's plot resembled too much the 1991 commercially successful Thelma & Louise for it to find any of its own. It starred Meg Tilly as Marianne Johnson and Christine Lahti as Darly Peters, and co-starred an iconic cast fitting to the rugged geography of remote Canada and Alaska. [1][2]
Tilly and Lahti star in this female buddy story where Tilly plays child-like 20-something who has just walked out on her abusive husband. Darly is fleeing a life as a waitress and stripper and is on her way to Alaska to claim a home and family she abandoned eighteen years earlier after giving birth. The two run into each other on the road and Darly welcomes the company as they head north from Wyoming. Their journey is spotted with who they meet and their insightful dialogue on how their lives compare.
The women finally make it to Alaska, where Darly finds that the house she was expecting to find has never been built. The two set up in a house trailer Darly is towing and start living on the outskirts of the fictional Palmer Valley. The film ends with both accepting the location as a home fate has drawn them to.
Filming
The primary filming locations for the movie were in and around Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, as well as in Yoho National Park, British Columbia.[3]
