New in Town Movie Review

Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick, Jr. Star in Romantic Comedy

Jan 30, 2009

Comedy in "New in Town" outshines the romance in this big-hearted wintry film about a displaced corporate executive.

No one in the corporate office in Miami wants to mechanize a small, recently acquired factory in New Ulm, Minnesota. When ambitious executive Lucy Hill (Renee Zellweger) shows up late to an important meeting, she gets tasked with this unpleasant assignment – partly as punishment for being late and partly for being the only woman in a room full of men. Expecting to handle matters over the phone and the Internet, she is dismayed to find out that she needs to physically leave her sub-tropical paradise and head for Minnesota during the coldest time of the year.

Lucy Hill is New in Town

Once in New Ulm, Lucy meets Blanche Gunderson (Siobhan Fallon Hogan), a helpful community leader and tapioca cook, who works as her personal secretary at the factory. Blanche and the rest of the small town moonlight as matchmakers trying to hook up Lucy with handsome widower Ted Mitchell (Harry Connick, Jr.), who also works as the union leader at the factory.

A cranky foreman (J.K. Simmons, who gained 35 pounds for the role) and his loyal followers strive to make life tough for the Miami transplant who now controls their livelihoods. Some of the local people’s antics toward Lucy feel mean-spirited at times, but one way or another her attitude does need adjusting now that she’s trying to run this small town business like a big city corporation.

Most of the humor derives from Lucy’s inability to deal with the cold weather and the tough situations. A hard worker, she climbed the corporate ladder with her designer suits, high heels, and cool control – none of which help her one bit when it comes to the simple townsfolk of New Ulm.

The rest of the humor comes from Lucy’s clumsiness, which Zellweger handles more than adequately, and Blanche’s quirkiness, which Hogan delivers full force. A few laugh-out-loud moments are balanced with several smiles and chuckles throughout, although the story by screenwriter Kenneth Rance never deviates too far from a traditional romantic comedy featuring attracting opposites who come together through a series of contrived coincidences.

More Comedy Than Romance

In his English-language feature film debut, Danish director Jonas Elmer plays the film for laughs, and shortchanges the romance a little in the process. Zellweger and Connick, Jr. both come across as likeable sorts of eccentrics, but the chemistry between them needs to be generated in the mind of the viewer because there’s not much on screen.

Elmer’s penchant for close-ups allows the actors nowhere to hide, making New in Town feel like a real community peopled by flawed individuals with their own unique personalities and appearances. With its PG rating and mild sexual references, this film makes a fun date movie for romantic couples of all ages looking for a few good laughs.

For more information about New in Town, visit the film’s official website at Lionsgate.

The copyright of the article New in Town Movie Review in Romantic Comedy Films is owned by Leslie C. Halpern. Permission to republish New in Town Movie Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.