Finding Normal

A New York City doctor drives coast to coast through small town North Carolina and gets caught in a speed trap. Her punishment is to spend 3 days in Normal, where she learns about trust, manners, love and God.

She gets to know the residents of this small town and starts to understand their way of life.

Meanwhile, her possibly fiance, back in New Yawk, continually reminds her that she is costing him $2500/visit while she is not with him.

It's sort of your typical predictable movie, but it is still worth watching.

It would be good for the whole family to watch it together.

Good acting all around.

Trevor St. John as the judge, doctor, and preacher is a cross between Morgan Freeman and Kieth David. Good actor.

My wife and I enjoyed the movie.

Dearly love actor, producer Lou Beatty in movie Finding Normal. He steals your heart in this movie. He's so likable, lovable, intelligent, quick with humor, wonderfully caring & has a great deal of wisdom.

Found this one on Netflix a couple of years ago and don't even remember why I added it to my list. None of the cast members were known to me. Might have been looking for some lightweight escapism.

This provided. It seemed like the kind of rom-com that Reese Witherspoon might have made, and there is more than a passing resemblance between Candace Cameron Bure and Reese. Something about this movie drew me in. I especially liked Lou Beatty Jr. as the judge. There weren't many false notes in the movie, all the way up to and including the "message" contained in the courtroom sequence. Agree or disagree with the legal issues, they don't take up a lot of time and won't cause you any trauma. I'm not the least bit religious and strongly support separation of church and state. Despite that, there was much more to like about Finding Normal than to dislike, and I have recommended it to a lot of my friends.

A doctor (Candace Cameron Bure), eager to reach her new life in another city, is caught for speeding and when the license is run, is found to have a number of outstanding violations. At her hearing, she is held without in the town without incarceration until the fines are paid off and her car impounded as a precautions for a potential flight risk. Without local access to her regular means of cash for emergencies, the judge, being the town's secretly ailing physician, has an opportunity for some leisure in his remaining days and uses his less than willing detainee to tend to his many patients who need to be seen on regular rounds during his brief absences. Without a hotel and an open jail and without the use of her car, uses available transportation and the available jail cell each night as her hotel room and during the day makes rounds to his many patients. Over the short time the doctor (Bure) reflects on initial hardships and those she has met and begins to look at life in this small town and the contrast of the life of as a city physician, a physicians's wife while being drawn to a local man. A light romance that injects a twist on the Doc Hollywood. With some funny moments this warm, light romance is a keeper that I will see again and again.

Finding Normal was an enjoyable movie for the whole family. There were humorous moments and some poignant phrases that brought the film to a deeper level. As a mother with young children, it is nice to come across a movie that doesn't scare them or embarrass me. The acting was very well done and I enjoyed the country scenery. It was refreshing to see small town life portrayed in a positive light, exposing some of the stereotypes that float around unchallenged. I was also pleased to see homeschooling portrayed as a viable option for a "normal" family, again challenging certain unfair stereotypes. Overall, the film gently but honestly depicted American small town life in a friendly, understanding manner supporting strong family values and challenging some of the more sensational small town depictions that other films like to portray.