Review of New Waterford Girl (1999) by Mark A — 09 Feb 2011

New Waterford Girl is a quirky, largely implausible story about a young girl who dreams of leaving the small town in Nova Scotia where she grew up. Moonie (Liane Balaban), is a dreamer who doesn't quite fit in with the narrow-minded provincialism that living in the town of New Waterford on Cape Breton requires in order to prosper there.

Enter Lou (Tara Spencer-Nairn), a girl from New York City, who inspires Moonie to put in motion a plan to get herself out of this backwater, involving a soiled reputation and a vendetta against the âguiltyâ?.

As mentioned, there are some plot devices that defy logic, but the humorous way in which they unfold and the skill of the actors managed to get this viewer to suspend disbelief and just settle in to enjoy the show.

The supporting cast was excellent. Cathy Moriarty, as the mom, and Nicholas Campbell, as the dad, were spot on. They exhibited the right combination of loving concern over their youngest daughter and her quirks mixed with a level of distraction that having five children often engenders.

This one was fun and managed to exert a draw on the emotions with a cute ending that managed to stay away from becoming maudlin.