Her Minor Thing (2005)

The life of a successful professional woman turns chaotic when her boyfriend accidentally reveals on TV a highly personal secret about her.

Director:

Charles Matthau

Writers:

Debra Meyers (story), Jim Meyers (story),

Stars:

Estella Warren, Christian Kane, Michael Weatherly

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Estella Warren	...	Jeana
Christian Kane	...	Paul
Michael Weatherly	...	Tom
Rachel Dratch	...	Caroline
Flex Alexander	...	Marty
Kathy Griffin	...	Maggie
Ivana Milicevic	...	Zsa Zsa
Victoria Jackson	...	Norma
David Fine	...	Cab Driver
Larry Milburn	...	Randy
Keary Ann Bixby	...	Wendy Sagen
Rick Kleber	...	Carl
Rachel Songer	...	Alison
Elisabeth Nunziato	...	Susan
Heather Simpson	...	Monica

Storyline

Jeana does IT for the Sacramento Fire Department. She and Tom, a self-confident local TV news reporter, are about to go on a cruise to Rio when he lets slip on TV that she is a virgin. It's a slow news week, so this becomes a story: the media pursue Jeana, she breaks up with Tom and wants the tickets or her cruise money back, and Tom can't believe she's serious. Her path crosses that of Paul, a photographer recently arrived from Texas who's also Tom's cameraman; he's had six serious relationships that have ended with his heart broken. A triangle of sorts develops. Will Jeana end up with either man? Will she end up on the cruise? And what about that minor thing?

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Plot Keywords:

vacation | virginity | boyfriend girlfriend relationship | divorcee | television reporter | 

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Taglines:

She's got a secret they can't keep.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 June 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Romantica Jeana

Filming Locations:

Sacramento, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Crescent Moon Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene where Jeana and Paul are cuddling on the couch watching a movie, he tells her the movie needs Cary Grant. She tells him it needs Walter Matthau. This movie was directed by Walter Matthau's son, Charles.

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Connections

References The Jerry Springer Show (1991)

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Soundtracks

"Love Makes Me Stupid"
Composed by Chris Webster
Performed by Mumbo Gumbo
Courtesy of Ruby Records

User Reviews

Learning the meaning of love

I may be alone in this, but I think the point of this movie is the emotional growth of a tough and impressive but vulnerable young woman. The way Jeana (Estella Warren) is presented at the beginning of this film she comes across as very naive and idealistic. She has been wounded in love, but thinks she has found Mr. Right in Tom (Michael Weatherly) a shallow self-centered TV news reporter who seems to think or talk about little besides himself.

Tom wants to have sex with Jeana but she keeps holding him off. When she explains why she is holding back Tom is so self involved that he can't see this as an interesting aspect of a complex woman, but instead seems to treat it as a weird quirk. He ends up blabbing out Jeana's secret to his cameraman Paul (Christian Kane) over a live feed broadcast to the entire city.

The rest of the film examines the consequences of Tom's lack of discretion on his relationship with Jeana. At first Jeana is very understanding and forgiving, but over time Tom's lack of sensitivity and his ceaseless self-involvement begin to wear on their relationship. Jeana still tries to love Tom, but he seems to care more about sex than he does about her, which may not be what she really wants.

I realize that many viewers of this film have criticized Estella Warren's performance, but to me they have missed the point. Jeana comes off as a young woman who has a pretty good sense of herself, but is weak when it comes to men. Estella Warren seems to wear her beauty more lightly than any other actress. She is a powerful physical presence, but she also comes off as intelligent and self aware. She does not do the histrionics that lead most people to think a person can "act", so she is considered to be a flat or indifferent actress. To me she is more like a female Jeff Bridges or Henry Fonda, an actor who underplays their emotions and seems self-contained.

The last few scenes that Jeana has with Tom are very powerful but they are not blatant or obvious. Some have questioned whether Jeana loves any of the men in this film. I think the answer is obvious, but she has to learn to identify love and distinguish the real thing from her fantasies. By the end of this film it is obvious that Jeana has grown considerably as a woman through her experience and that Tom may never understand what he did wrong, although it should be obvious to anyone who pays attention. Both Weatherly and Warren effectively reveal their characters in these sequences: the depth of Jeana and the shallowness of Tom.

I know this film did not get a wide release but I would rather see this film 100 times than ever see another of the widely released films starring some combination of Ashton Kutcher, Matthew McConaghey, Kate Hudson, Brittany Murphy, Jason Biggs, Sandra Bullock, etc. In Her Minor Thing you get to see a couple of interesting characters actually grow and mature. As a result, this film had one of the most satisfying endings I have ever seen in a romantic comedy.