Hollywood Online (1998)

Rosy Visions at 'Hope Floats' Premiere

LOS ANGELES - Sandra Bullock was all smiles at the premiere of her latest romantic comedy "Hope Floats." After the disastrous "Speed 2," her career looked like it needed a buoy. Bullock, who served as executive producer of "Hope Floats," hand-picked the script as a pet project. She agreed to star in "Speed 2" if Fox would produce "Hope Floats," and the gamble finally paid off.

With her down-home charm intact for the folksy "Hope Floats," Bullock stars as Birdee, a Chicago mother and housewife whose world collapses around her. Lured onto a national talk show by her best friend (Rosanna Arquette), Birdee thinks she's in store for a free makeover. Instead, she's publicly humiliated when her friend announces she's having an affair with her husband.

With no choice left but to slink back to her Texas hometown, Birdee moves back in with her eccentric mother (Gena Rowlands). Birdee's glory days as high school prom queen haunt her as she endures snide remarks from the townsfolk glorying in her comeuppance.

One resident, however, is happy to have her back. Former classmate Justin Matisse (Harry Connick, Jr.) still carries a torch for Birdee after all the years. While he was too shy to approach her in high school, he has since grown into his tight jeans. Justin charms her with his small-town swagger, but Birdee only dreams of recapturing her former life with her husband.

At the premiere, Sandra Bullock and Matthew McConaughey proved a photogenic couple off-the-screen. The set of "A Time to Kill," created a time for romance for the duo, and they have been inseparable ever since co-starring in the John Grisham thriller.

Taking a break from his singing career, crooner Harry Connick, Jr. has been flirting with acting since his film debut in 1990's "Memphis Belle." His next project will be voicing a part in the animated action film "The Iron Giant." With his lovely wife, a Victoria's Secret lingerie model, Connick also had the flashbulbs popping as they swept by the red carpet.

Don't lose hope yet, ladies. Although Matthew and Harry are taken, eligible bachelors Jason Patric and Andrew McCarthy showed up solo at the premiere. Patric, who co-starred with Bullock in "Speed 2," has been working in the world of independent film to jump-start his career. Look for him in the black comedy "Friends and Neighbors" this summer, directed by Sundance darling Neil LaBute ("In the Company of Men.")

  Sandra Bullock looks pretty in purple

© 1998 by Nina Davidson