Trixie (2000)

An eccentric, unconventional woman whose naive aspirations to rise from her job as a security guard to full-fledged private eye lead her into a tangled PL: mess.

Director:

Alan Rudolph

Writers:

Alan Rudolph (story), John Binder (story)

Stars:

Emily Watson, Dermot Mulroney, Nick Nolte

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Emily Watson	...	Trixie Zurbo
Dermot Mulroney	...	Dex Lang
Nick Nolte	...	Senator Drummond Avery
Nathan Lane	...	Kirk Stans
Brittany Murphy	...	Ruby Pearli
Lesley Ann Warren	...	Dawn Sloane
Will Patton	...	W. 'Red' Rafferty
Stephen Lang	...	Jacob Slotnick
Mark Acheson	...	Vince Deflore
Vincent Gale	...	Sid Deflore
Jason Schombing	...	Ramon
Robert Moloney	...	Alvin
Troy Yorke	...	Cleavon Arris
Wendy Noel	...	Coffee Shop Waitress
David Kopp	...	Bell Boy

Storyline

Emily Watson stars as Trixie, an eccentric woman who aspires to quit her job as a security guard and become a private detective. However, comedy intervenes and the mess begins...

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Plot Keywords:

neo screwball comedy | character name as title | forename as title | male full frontal nudity | pubic hair | 

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Taglines:

The only crime she couldn't solve was the murder of the English language

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language, sexuality and violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stephen Lang enjoyed working with costar Brittany Murphy so much, he later tried out and was cast as Sheriff Brent Marken in Cherry Falls (2000). Scheduling conflicts prevented him from playing the role and the part eventually went to veteran actor Michael Biehn. Lang later admitted the only reason he wanted to be in the film was because he would have gotten to work with Murphy again.

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Goofs

At one point, Senator Avery mentions the people of "my district" but as a Senator, he doesn't have a district as such. A Senator's "district" is the entire state. It is Representatives that have districts.

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Quotes

Senator Avery: And when you get tired of being stupid in public, then we'll talk!

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Connections

Referenced in The Brittany Murphy Story (2014)

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Soundtracks

Perky Bossa
Written and Performed by Rick Frystak
Published by Rickdolph Music (BMI)
Courtesy of InTone Music

User Reviews

I saw the WHOLE MOVIE!

While the movie was flawed in some ways (never quite believed the connection between Trixie & Dex, for example), I found it engaging in many ways. Ms. Watson is certainly a versatile actress, and her Trixie is a marked departure from her other movie portrayals--especially her most recent in "Angela's Ashes". One can't help but admire a performer who takes such risks.

I don't think I've sat with such wrapt attention to the next utterance of a character since Groucho did "Day at the Races"! Not only does Trixie raise malapropism to a new art form ("We'll all go to Hell in a handbag"; and as she grabs the bottle away from Leslie Ann Warren, she admonishes her with, "I'm not going to let you drink yourself into Bolivia!"), Ms. Watson rattles off these lines without a trace of affectation or laugh calculation, which makes them work so beautifully.

The aforementioned Ms. Warren turns in her usual strong performance. Nick Nolte's surly senator was rather over the top, but it did make him a likely suspect which added more interest to the plot. And Nathan Lane, while probably overqualified for his role, is always worth seeing (his NBC sitcom notwithstanding).

I'm not sure Mr. Abramsen and I saw the same movie, although it's clear only one of us saw the WHOLE movie! Sometimes I believe people walk out of plays or films just to brag to their friends that they've done it. This movie, I believe is worth an entire look; even a second one to recall all of Trixie's fractured English!

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures Classics

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 August 2000 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Trixie

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$41,620, 2 July 2000

Gross USA:

$295,683

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$295,683

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pandora Cinema, Sandcastle 5 Productions, Sony Pictures Classics

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1