Movie: New In Town
Cast: Renee Zellweger, Harry Connick Jr.
Director: Jonas Elmer
As the Bridget Jones actress one would expect Renee Zellweger to introduce us to that sweet and simple girl beneath every ruthless corporate task master. However, in her latest flick New In Town she does anything but that. A Miami girl, Lucy Hill (played by Zellweger) gets a culture shock when she ends up in New Ulm, a sleepy snowy town in Minnesota to streamline operations at her company’s food processing unit. Not just the hardliner approach, but even her power dressing lacks élan. What’s worse is that Renee looks haggard throughout the movie, making her come across as a sleep-deprived insecure worrier.
A change of heart happens when union representative Ted Mitcheel (played by Harry Connick Jr.) comes to the rescue when her car dives halfway into snow. While this backdrop provides the perfect premise for a city Cinderella to bump into her chivalrous knight, writers (Kenneth Rance and C.Jay Cox) choose not to cash on this contrast. Ted is portrayed as a private person, one who has little interest in anything but his 13-year old daughter Bobby’s wellbeing. So while Lucy continues to blush every time her assistant, Blanche Gunderson (Siobhan Fallon Hogan) mentions how they would make for a perfect pair, Ted’s reaction is plain amicable. For reasons left unexplained, Lucy continues to be drawn to him. So much so that the first time they have a ‘conversation’ at his pad, she kisses him abruptly and he responds out of what comes across as sheer loneliness.
Clearly, the movie doesn’t score high on romantic chemistry. Unfortunately, director Jonas Elmer has even got it wrong with what could have been the movie’s potential saviour – the comedy. When Lucy’s zipper gets stuck during a crow hunt trip, Ted makes a slit in her fur suit’s backside to help her answer nature’s call. If this sounds lame and perhaps even gross to you, there’s more. As Lucy tries to balance herself, she accidentally fires the gun with bullets going straight up Ted’s backside!
The only area where the movie scores is its depiction of countryside charm. Moments like Blanche gifting Lucy a home-made stole with emergency numbers of locals does make one sit back and smile, even if the slightest. Stu Kopenhafer’s (played by J.K.Simmons) composed attitude towards Lucy after she fires him once again radiates that small-town big-heartedness. One star for the countryside charm and half each for Siobhan Fallon Hogan and J.K.Simmons. Go watch this only if you have much time at your hand and all you expect is a virtual snow vacation with neighbourhood aunties poring over you.
Tags: harry connick jr, movie reviews, movie-review, new-in-town, renee zellweger, romantic-comedy
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