New in Town [Blu-ray]
by Jonas Elmer
![New in Town [Blu-ray]](/images/New-in-Town-Blu-ray-B001WAKPR0-L.jpg)
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Blu-ray details
Actor: Frances Conroy, Harry Connick Jr., J.K. Simmons, Renee Zellweger, Siobhan Fallon HoganDirector: Jonas Elmer
Brand: Lions Gate
Blu-ray: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Original Language); French (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 97 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: 2009-05-26
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Lionsgate Home Entertainment
Blu-ray Reviews of New in Town [Blu-ray]
Blu-ray Review: Of Romance and Tapioca
Summary: 3 Stars
"New in Town" is both a romantic comedy and a fish-out-of-water story, setups so overused that they've pretty much lost all credibility. I will not go so far as to say that this is a bad film; in fact, it redeems itself to a degree with a subplot involving corporate greed and harsh economic realities, which could not be timelier. But as far as the romantic comedy stuff is concerned, this movie gives as absolutely nothing new, and it showed no ambition to do so. It's typical boy-and-girl-from-two-different-worlds material, with an executive from sunny Miami and a blue-collar union representative from snowy New Ulm, Minnesota crossing paths and hitting it off. Even more typical is the fact that, initially, the two can't stand each other, which I guess is proof of the age-old adage that opposites attract.
The Miami exec is Lucy Hill (Renée Zellweger), who lives a comfortable life and prefers business skirts and clacky high heels. She senses a possible promotion when her company announces it needs someone to restructure one of their out-of-state factories. She volunteers before realizing that she will be sent to New Ulm, one of those middle-of-nowhere towns with a population of less than 15,000 people. When she arrives, she tries to think positively: "How bad can it be?" she asks before stepping out the airport door and feeling a bone-chilling arctic wind. You'd think someone traveling to another state would have the foresight to check The Weather Channel before leaving; that way, you would know to pack the right kind of clothing. Alas, no such character exists in a romantic comedy.
Lucy soon meets Blanche Gunderson (Siobhan Fallon Hogan), a woman Sarah Palin could communicate with were it not for her thick Minnesota accent. She's wholesome, cheerful, and uncomplicated, a member of a scrapbooking club who guards her tapioca pudding recipe and regularly brings Jesus into everyday conversation. Did you expect anything less from a character named Gunderson? She's to be Lucy's secretary at the factory. For a time, she's also the only friendly face Lucy will come across; New Ulm is a tight-knit community that doesn't take kindly to corporate types, especially since they're more interested in making a profit than they are in the livelihoods of the working class. Indeed, Lucy's restructuring plan involves a serious number of job cuts.
The first to voice his opposing views is the union representative, Ted Mitchell (Harry Connick, Jr.), who also serves as a tow-truck driver and a volunteer firefighter. Aside from the fact that he and Lucy don't get along, the fact that he doesn't sound like anyone else in New Ulm is a big clue that the two will eventually fall in love. Ted is originally from North Carolina; he moved to Minnesota (for reasons I won't reveal), and now he's an overprotective single dad raising a shy teenage daughter named Bobbie (Ferron Guerreiro). Lucy can help, here, not because she has children of her own, but because she knows how to dress and put on makeup, which will help Bobbie on her date to a Valentine's Day dance. There are other factors, of course, but do any of them really matter? All we need to know is that Lucy and Ted are falling in love.
As the two get closer, the community begins to see Lucy in a different light. Likewise, Lucy begins to respect the community, seeing them as more than beer drinking, ice fishing lowlifes that like polka dancing. Before long, it becomes a life-changing event for everyone. This is about as predictable as some of the film's "funnier" moments, such as when Lucy and Ted are out crow hunting, and Lucy has to pee in the woods but can't undo her zipper. Or when a local named Stu Kopenhafer (J.K. Simmons) and a group of coworkers trick Lucy into thinking there's a holiday called Gopher Day. Or when Lucy gets drunk after driving into a ditch and getting stranded. I guess romantic comedies need moments like this, just like they need an assortment of quirky characters. God forbid screenwriters try their hand at witty dialogue or characters with believable personalities.
But "New in Town" does have the factory subplot to fall back on. There are a select few moments that are actually compelling, not only because they draw on plausible economic situations, but also because they allow the characters to temporarily set aside their quirks. They even give Zellweger the opportunity to finally seem like a real executive and not just a woman who looks silly pacing a factory in high heels. If only there were more moments like this. Maybe this movie didn't need to be a romantic comedy; maybe it could have been better as a dramatic story about a small American town and the corporate entity that seeks to ruin its reputation. It wouldn't allow for anything to bloom between Zellweger and Connick, Jr., but at least the story would be much more engaging. "New in Town" is no better or worse than your average romantic comedy, which is disappointing. By now, I wish someone would think up a new way tell this kind of story.
Description of New in Town [Blu-ray]
Award-winning actress Renée Zellweger stars as Lucy Hill, a high-powered executive in love with her upscale Miami lifestyle. Seeking to snag a big promotion, Lucy agrees to move to a remote Minnesota town to oversee the restructuring of a blue-collar manufacturing plant. After enduring icy roads, freezing weather and a chilly reception from the locals, she soon warms up to the small town and its people ? especially the town?s handsome union representative (Harry Connick, Jr.). What begins as a job assignment becomes the best thing ever to happen to her, in this heartwarming comedy that proves that the warmest people are often in the coldest places.Bestsellers in DVD
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