So, I loved this movie when it came out, the book was fantastic... But one thing that has always bothered me, and I wondered if anyone noticed it… Thelma Sister Husband passed in a tornado on June 10, 1998, and left Novalee her “entire estate” which included a parcel of land, the insurance on the trailer and belongings, life insurance policy, and oil stock. The Lawyer says it comes to 41,000.00…. Back in 1998 that’s still not much, it’s like what 80K means to us today. Novalee & Lexie act like they won the l******, and proceed to build a really cute little house & it solves all Novalee’s problems... I remember being a teenager watching this movie thinking how could they build a house & with 40K?… This entire story takes place in Sequoyah Oklahoma, which is only 2 hours from where I have lived my whole life, so I know how much 40K can buy in this area and it’s just not realistic…
It’s thought processes like this that really make it hard to enjoy a movie lol… Does anyone else do this?? Like pick movies apart?
Omg thank youuuu.. It’s almost like the people in Hollywood don’t know how the rest of us live so the represent us inaccurately 👁️👄👁️
1
Crowe__42Mar 31, 2026
+4
It was enough for collateral on a loan.
4
HeathenHareMar 31, 2026
+1
AaaahhhHA!… BUTBUTBUT…. She was/is working at Walmart, in 1998, and has no credit… how she gonna afford ‘dem payments? 👀👀
1
Crowe__42Mar 31, 2026
+1
I dunno…70% easier than today?
1
SonOfOMRMar 31, 2026
+1
I think its possible. in real estate its always location, location, location.
For comparison, I sold my house, which was built in the 50's, in '98 in Vegas for 90K. 1500sqft, so so neighborhood. Just looked it up on Zillow and the estimated value is 320K - basically, it looks the same.
So, home prices have really gone up all over the place since then.
I can imagine an off the beaten path location in tornado alley in the mid-90's you might have found a home for that amount of money.
1
HeathenHareMar 31, 2026
+1
Yea, living in the area… My parents paid around 40K, I think in 88/89 for my childhood home— its 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, bigger backyard… They did it with like 5-8K down… Maybe Novalee did something like that. In 98 you could live much better…. It just bugs meeee
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