NEW IN TOWN

 

Headline:  ** Not That Funny **

Title:  NEW IN TOWN

Quality:  * *     Acceptability:  -1

SUBTITLES:  None

WARNING CODES:

Language:  LL

Violence:  V

Sex:  None

Nudity:  None

 

RATING:  PG

RELEASE:  January 30, 2009

TIME:  96 minutes

STARRING:  Renee Zellweger, Harry Connick, Jr., J.K. Simmons, Siobhan Fallon Hgoan, and Frances Conroy

DIRECTOR:  Jonas Elmer

PRODUCERS:  Paul Brooks, Darryl Taja, Tracey Edmonds, and Peter Safran

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS:  Scott Niemeyer and Norm Waitt

WRITERS:  Kenneth Rance and C. Jay Cox

BASED ON THE NOVEL/PLAY BY:  N/A

DISTRIBUTOR:  Lionsgate

 

CONTENT:  (BB, CC, Ab, LL, V, AA, M) Strong moral worldview of wanting to help others along with both positive and negative portrayals of Christians, but the positive becomes stronger; 16 obscenities and two profanities; man shot and wounded offscreen in hunting accident; no sexual content but "making out" is implied; no nudity, but revealing blouse; drinking of wine and beer, plus drunkenness; no smoking; and, corporate layoffs without concern for people.

 

GENRE:  Romantic Comedy

INTENDED AUDIENCE:  Older children and adults

 

Please address your comments to:

 

Jon Feltheimer, CEO

Lionsgate AKA Lions Gate Films

2700 Colorado Ave.

Santa Monica, CA  90404

Phone:  (310) 449-9200

Fax:  (310) 255-3870

Website:  www.lionsgatefilms.com

 

SUMMARY:  NEW IN TOWN is the story of Lucy, an ambitious career woman from Miami assigned to a small Minnesota town in order to lay off half the workforce and modernize a production plant. The story contains a generally positive portrayal of some Christian characters and is mostly free of negative elements, but the story is weak and feels familiar.

 

IN BRIEF:

 

NEW IN TOWN stars Renee Zellweger as Lucy, an ambitious career woman from Miami. She is assigned to a small Minnesota town to lay off half the workforce and modernize a production plant. Once there, however, she befriends the locals, especially the union representative, and her life is never the same. When Ted, the union rep and part-time firefighter, rescues her from her car in a snow bank, she warms up to the townspeople. Helping Ted's teenage daughter get ready for her first school dance bonds Ted and Lucy together, and they discover a love for each other. Lucy has to save the day when the company decides to close the plant.

 

NEW IN TOWN has a very charming plot, but covers familiar ground without bringing much new to this familiar story. Also, many jokes fall flat, and some are too repetitive. The movie contains a small town group of people that seem to Christians. While at the beginning these references to Christians are negative, the movie eventually portrays these Christian characters in a strong positive light. With such a positive message, it's a shame the movie isn't better.