Born Yesterday (1993)

A businessman shows up in Washington to lobby agendas that are friendly to his construction plans. His ditsy ex-showgirl bimbo proves to be an embarrassment in social situations, so he ... See full summary »

Director:

Luis Mandoki

Writers:

Garson Kanin (play), Douglas McGrath (screenplay)

Stars:

Melanie Griffith, John Goodman, Don Johnson

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Melanie Griffith	...	Billie Dawn
John Goodman	...	Harry Brock
Don Johnson	...	Paul Verrall
Edward Herrmann	...	Ed Devery
Max Perlich	...	JJ
Michael Ensign	...	Phillipe
Benjamin C. Bradlee	...	Alex Duffee, Sect. of the Navy
Sally Quinn	...	Beatrice Duffee
William Frankfather	...	Sen. Kelley
Fred Dalton Thompson	...	Sen. Hedges
Celeste Yarnall	...	Mrs. Hedges
Nora Dunn	...	Cynthia Schreiber, NPR Talk Show Host
Meg Wittner	...	Mrs. Kelley
William Forward	...	Sen. Duker
Mary Gordon Murray	...	Bindy Duker

Storyline

A businessman shows up in Washington to lobby agendas that are friendly to his construction plans. His ditsy ex-showgirl bimbo proves to be an embarrassment in social situations, so he hires a reporter to teach her how to appear more intelligent. Soon it becomes apparent to the reporter that she isn't so stupid after all, and things become more complicated as she begins questioning the papers her sugar daddy keeps getting her to sign, and the reporter begins falling in love with her.

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Plot Keywords:

reporter | bimbo | businessman | ex showgirl | millionaire | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for language and a scene of abusive behavior

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 March 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nacida ayer

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$17,952,857 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hollywood Pictures, Touchwood Pacific Partners 1

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was originally intended to be made by Cannon in 1987 with Walter Matthau and Whoopi Goldberg set to star. The studio's financial troubles killed this version though it was announced at Cannes.

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Goofs

The art museum is supposedly in Washington DC, but we see Renoir's "Jean as a Huntsman" which is at the L.A. County Museum of Art (LACMA) (where the scene was filmed).

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Quotes

Paul: Maybe we haven't gotten to our time yet.
Billie: No, we did. And you just dropped the ball.

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Connections

Version of Born Yesterday (1950)

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Soundtracks

"BECAUSE"
Written by Dave Clark
Performed by The Dave Clark Five
Courtesy of Hollywood Records and EMI Records

User Reviews

Propensity for trying...

If at first you take and forget that this is a remake, it will help for those who remember the original actors and such to get through this. On the other hand, as this is a current movie, (at that time) and sometimes updating a story can be entertaining, fun and necessary. Some stories don't seem to age well, now I'm not at all talking about this movie in that context. But with all said and done, after the movie ended, I had a good time. I really enjoyed it, so did many others, when "Born Yesterday" played in theaters . Don Johnson, as Paul, the reporter was good, no tough-talking bad boy role here. Then there was, the third character, John Goodman. Here is a comedic big-man! He has and brings a whole different ingredient to this story. If it had been another big man, it would have been all together not the same. Now Melanie Griffith, I have always had a 'soft' spot for in my heart for her, in a friendly way. She came in behind Judy Holiday and took on the role of a modern day 'simpleton' wife, who had her routine and therefore was happy as a pig in mud. It won't win any awards, but if you just look at that body of work and give it an honest chance, it comes through, delivering good laughs.

The chemistry and interest among Johnson and Griffith was sustaining and entertaining which if it's lacking, will ruin just about anything that the main story could offer a viewer. Born Yesterday, has a propensity for trying. Sometimes 'trying' is too much and doesn't work and sometimes the movie makers hit a hard-and really good remake and make a new stake in the film remake game. At any rate, this was an enjoyable film that I would recommend to a comedy fan. With John Goodman playing it out and out funny and the bad-guy too, you can't miss. It's tough to beat William Holden, in a dirty-day mature adult affair type story, so this doesn't have the feeling to it that the original has. Even so they are two different films that can be enjoyed. The supporting cast was a nice choice as well as the main personalities. (**)