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.
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...Written by
Ari Herzog <ari@ici.net>
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. See more »
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. See more »
Quotes
Senator Avery:
And when you get tired of being stupid in public, then we'll talk!
See more »
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!
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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!