Junebug (2005)

A dealer in "outsider" art travels from Chicago to North Carolina to meet her new in-laws, challenging the equilibrium of this middle class Southern home.

Director:

Phil Morrison

Writer:

Angus MacLachlan

Stars:

Embeth Davidtz, David Kuhn, Alessandro Nivola

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 19 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Embeth Davidtz	...	Madeleine
David Kuhn	...	Auctioneer
Alessandro Nivola	...	George
Alicia Van Couvering	...	Bernadette
Jerry Minor	...	Scout who stays outside
Matt Besser	...	Scout who goes in
Will Oldham	...	Bill Mooney, scout
Frank Hoyt Taylor	...	David Wark
Scott Wilson	...	Eugene
Ben McKenzie	...	Johnny
Celia Weston	...	Peg
Amy Adams	...	Ashley
Bobby Tisdale	...	Norman Venable at Replacements, Ltd.
Beth Bostic	...	Lucille, the neighbor
Joanne Pankow	...	Sissy, David Wark's sister

Storyline

Successful Carolinian George Johnsten meets Chicago art gallery owner Madeleine at an electoral benefit art auction- love at first sight. Madeleine decides to meet a Southern original artist, so George seizes the opportunity to come along and present her to his North Carolina parents Eugene and Peg, drop-out brother Johhny and his high-pregnant wife Ashley. Confronting the outsider soon opens a can of worms as emotions revive or emerge, like admiration and jealousy.

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Plot Keywords:

art | north carolina | artist | love | jealousy | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content and language

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Classics [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 February 2006 (Belgium)

Also Known As:

Gundelj

Filming Locations:

Wake Forest University - 1834 Wake Forest Road, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$74,739 (USA) (5 August 2005)

Gross:

$2,678,010 (USA) (2 December 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Junebug Movie, Epoch Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

For the house in which most of the film takes place, two real houses in Winston-Salem were used, one for internal shots and another for external ones. Filming was simplified by the fact that the two houses were down the street from each other. The same house that was used for the external shots was also used for the basement/garage scenes. The exterior house also housed the makeup department.

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Goofs

In the hospital room, something that appears to be a saucer under the water pitcher appears and disappears between shots over George's shoulder.

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Quotes

Madeleine: I even bite my toenails.
Ashley: You do not!

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Crazy Credits

A list of 121 extras is included in the credits, although these credits are given separately from the cast list, after most of the crew credits have been shown.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Episode #3.20 (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Gratzer Galop"
Composed by Franz Schubert
Performed by The Boskovsky Ensemble
Courtesy of Vanguard Classics, a division of Artemis Classics, LLC

User Reviews

Brilliant

Phil Morrison has created a film that is among the best I've seen so far in 2005. He has taken a simple country mouse-city mouse tale and given it cosmic implications. It is the story of everyone who grew up in the boonies and then gone on to make it big in the big city. It beautifully portrays the embarrassment you feel about taking a worldly spouse back to your small hometown and its pettiness; the small-mindedness and envy of the siblings who never left town or made good; the reinvention of one's self when one moves to a big metropolis like Chicago. I did NOT feel the Bible Belt North Carolinians were stereotyped, as some viewers have remarked; I felt they were all portrayed as real people who simply had a tough time articulating their feelings, and who were just SIMPLE people...church-goers, family people who have no complexity of emotions or doubts, like city people are wont to have. The actress who played the sister-in-law was brilliant, funny and totally believable; the mother was the next Gena Rowlands; Alessandro Nivola and the girlfriend were extremely appealing ciphers (which they were supposed to be); and the unrestrained horror of their having to return to this small Southern town was so palpable, that it made watching the film very uncomfortable at times (especially if a viewer's own life resembles that of the main characters'). Deliberately underwritten, beautifully paced, it is one to remember, savor, and wind up at the Festivals. Bravo!