Middle of Nowhere

Studious Grace Berry (Eva Amurri) is denied financial aid for school because her irresponsible mother Rhonda (Susan Sarandon) ruined her credit history. Her sister Taylor (Willa Holland) refuses to lie to get a lawsuit settlement. She works at the water park and needs $12k by the end of the summer to pay for school. Dorian Spitz (Anton Yelchin) is rebelling against his rich family and forced to work at the park. Dorian convinces Grace to sell drugs with him. She falls for rich kid Ben Pretzler (Justin Chatwin). Dorian has a crush on Grace and Taylor is interested in Dorian.

Eva Amurri is not quite right. She's a little too old. Her character is suppose to be a doormat but Eva is never that as a personality. The pull of pairing mother and daughter is not enough to justify the miscast. The family dysfunctions are compelling but not what is done with them. The movie is building some big drama. The actors are all doing good work. The movie just never gets all there.