New in Town (2009)

A Miami businesswoman adjusts to her new life in a tiny Minnesota town.

Director:

Jonas Elmer

Writers:

Ken Rance, C. Jay Cox

Stars:

Renée Zellweger, Harry Connick Jr., Siobhan Fallon

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Renée Zellweger	...	Lucy Hill
Harry Connick Jr.	...	Ted Mitchell
Siobhan Fallon	...	Blanche Gunderson (as Siobhan Fallon Hogan)
J.K. Simmons	...	Stu Kopenhafer
Mike O'Brien	...	Lars Ulstead
Frances Conroy	...	Trudy Van Uuden
Ferron Guerreiro	...	Bobbie Mitchell
Barbara James Smith	...	Joan
James Durham	...	Rob Deitmar
Robert Small	...	Donald Arling
Wayne Nicklas	...	Harve Gunderson
Hilary Carroll	...	Kimberley
Nancy Drake	...	Flo
Stewart J. Zully	...	Wallace Miller (as Stewart Zully)
Marilyn Boyle	...	Winnie

Storyline

A high-powered consultant in love with her upscale Miami lifestyle is sent to a middle of nowhere town in Minnesota to oversee the restructuring of a blue collar manufacturing plant. After enduring a frosty reception from the locals, icy roads and freezing weather, she warms up to the small town's charm, and eventually finds herself being accepted by the community. When she's ordered to close down the plant and put the entire community out of work, she's forced to reconsider her goals and priorities, and finds a way to save the town.

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Plot Keywords:

plant | minnesota | love | small town | manufacturing | 

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Taglines:

She's an executive on the move. But her career is taking her a little farther than she expected.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for language and some suggestive material

Details

Official Sites:

Lionsgate [us]

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

30 January 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chilled in Miami

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£438,979 (UK) (27 February 2009)

Gross:

$16,699,684 (USA) (20 March 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lionsgate, Gold Circle Films, Epidemic Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In an interview on Rachael Ray: Episode #3.100 Renée Zellweger said Winnipeg was so cold during filming (as low as -55° C), the camera could only run for up to 1 minute per take, to prevent the heat generated by the camera's electric motor from cracking the icy lens.

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Goofs

When Lucy jogs at the beginning along the shore, there is a boat on the horizon. The same scene is replayed near the end, after her time in New Ulm.

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Quotes

[repeated line]
Billy Gunderson: Awesome.

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Crazy Credits

During the closing credits, we're shown what is supposed to be the completed version of the scrapper book that Siobhan Hogan's character gives to Renee' Zellweger's. Various stills from the movie are shown as pictures 'pasted' into the scrapbook, along with humorous tag lines on each (page).

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Connections

References Juno (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Life Is Good"
Written by Tammy Hyler, Liz Rose and Bill Crain (as Billy Crain)
Performed by Brittini Black
Courtesy of Brittini Black

User Reviews

New in Town, Old in Theatres

Although a personal Zellweger fan myself, I did not feel that this was one of her shining moments.

The movie was predictable-one of many romantic comedy plots that have graced the screens of theatres. The characters were rather stale and unoriginal, and the jokes were old enough to have multiple colonies of mould growing on them.

Haivng said that, there were some bright spots in the film (though admittedly not enough to power a small light bulb), they did save the film from making my "Worst Movies of 2009" list. The jokes and quips were cute, and the exaggerations on small town life were amusing.

Both Harry Connick Jr. and Renee Zellweger were just about average in this film; not bad enough to avoid like the plague for the rest of their movie careers, yet not good enough to stand out from a crowd of actors.

Special mention, however, must be given to Siobhan Fallen, who happened to be one of the "bright spots". Her accent and mannerisms were hilarious; one of the few things that saved this movie.

My suggestion? Don't waste your money watching it in theatres when you can do so in the comfort of your own home.