Zellweger is such a great name!
In New In Town she plays a Floridian corporate exec who’s transferred to frozen Minnesota. Hmmm. Doesn’t sound so good, does it? But think of it as Gung Ho meets A Prairie Home Companion‘s News from Lake Webegon. That’s a good thing!
I liked how the hicks aren’t stupid. So I guess there’s a little Doc Hollywood in there too.
There are some oddities. You get no hint that Zellweger’s character was the offspring of a factory worker until she drops it as a bomb. But they do end up explaining how Harry Connick Jr. got to Minnesota.
Siobhan Fallon is always great. There is a depth to her character. It could have been just a caricature, but she puts a whole person there. And J.K. Simmons, who was awesome as the CIA chief in Burn After Reading, gained 40 pounds and grew a huge beard so he could truly live his part. His beard should have been listed separately in the credits. It was so much better than Harry Connick’s.
It was filmed in Canada during really cold weather, and it shows. People’s breath steams nicely.
Best of all, there’s plenty of Mrs. Gunderson’s tapioca pudding for everyone!
Now, this movie is not going to change your life. But it’s a fair diversion for a summer’s night.
Don’t watch it in Winter or you might get too cold.
