Julie Johnson

Aroview: Lily Taylor makes good fist of a wannabe scientist in this empowering story of a downtrodden housewife in pursuit of knowledge and self-improvement.

With the assistance of galpal Courtney Love and a sympathetic college tutor (the late Spalding Gray), the film’s titular character blossoms, but not without the dramatic speed bumps for effect along the way. Perhaps lessened by an unnecessary lesbian sidenote, Taylor’s track record in odd, unorthodox roles keeps the film from straying into entirely implausible, telemovie territory, as does the presence of a scholarly Gray.