New in Town (2009)

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

Director:

Jonas Elmer

Writers:

Ken Rance (as Kenneth Rance), C. Jay Cox

Stars:

Renée Zellweger, Harry Connick Jr., Siobhan Fallon Hogan

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Renée Zellweger	...	Lucy Hill
Harry Connick Jr.	...	Ted Mitchell
Siobhan Fallon Hogan	...	Blanche Gunderson
J.K. Simmons	...	Stu Kopenhafer
Mike O'Brien	...	Lars Ulstead
Frances Conroy	...	Trudy Van Uuden
Ferron Guerreiro	...	Bobbie Mitchell
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
Dan Augusta	...	Billy Gunderson

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 | small town | manufacturing | love | 

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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 [United States]

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

30 January 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

32 and Single

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,741,530, 1 February 2009, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$16,734,283, 26 March 2009

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$24,970,613, 3 May 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

J.K. Simmons' character ordered a "Maker's Mark, up" at the bar. That was what Ellen Page's character said she wanted during the adoption interview in the movie Juno - in which J.K. Simmons played Juno's father.

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Goofs

Opening shots of New Ulm include Manitoba highway signs. Manitoba is over 300 miles from New Ulm.

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Quotes

Lucy Hill: [conversation at dinner table] Industrial competition in a free-market economy is what built this country.
Ted Mitchell: No, robber barons built this country, and they did it from the blood of working folks. Hell, you steal somebody's car, you get thrown in jail, you steal somebody's life savings, you get to be a CEO.
Lucy Hill: I'm planning on being a CEO.
Ted Mitchell: Well, Blanche, you better count the silverware before she leaves, then.
Lucy Hill: Oh, don't bother, I'm leaving now.
Ted Mitchell: Not if I leave first.
[both get up to leave together]

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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

Featured in El Reviewer Random: New in Town (2012)

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Soundtracks

That's Where It Is
Written by Melissa Peirce, Gregory Becker and Steve Robson
Performed by Carrie Underwood
Courtesy of 19 Recordings Ltd. and Arista Records, Inc.
By Arrangement with Sony/BMG Music Entertainment

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.