It happens. Sometimes you see a movie, and the movie you see doesn’t entirely resemble the movie you thought you would see. Take, for example, the latest romantic comedy “New in Town.” Although the film does resemble the rom-com trailer we all have been watching, the film is more about Ren?e Zellweger’s character and her transformation.
“New In Town” chronicles the story of Lucy Hill (Ren?e Zellweger, “Leatherheads”), an aspiring CEO. When she is given the responsibility of directing the reform of a manufacturing plant in rural Minnesota, she plans to do so in a strictly professional manner. However, after being saved from a near-death experience by fireman Ted Mitchell (Harry Connick Jr., “P.S. I Love You”), Lucy allows herself to emotionally connect with her employees.
When Lucy’s boss tells her that the factory is going to be shut down, she finds herself caught in between the two worlds and in the position of saving the factory, and the workers’ jobs along with it.
The main catalyst for the film is the humor that fills the divide between Lucy’s city life and Ted’s rural life. The entire audience was laughing at these continual jokes, but humor alone can’t save the film entirely.
Zellweger carries out her part well as an icy, power-hungry businesswoman. This marks a departure from her past roles as the lovable, quirky woman, and she pulls it off well.
However, Connick Jr. does not stand out at all; any other actor could have played his character. He makes no strong presence, and this film shows he’s not leading man material.
The chemistry between the two actors is not anything striking either. Although a rom-com law typically states that viewers must root for the romantic interests, viewers are left with nothing to care about. This is largely due to the finicky flow of time that occurs through the movie, which leaves us wondering where Lucy and Ted are in their relationship and, again, why we care.
As far as the characters are concerned, it is Lucy’s local assistant and newfound friend Blanche Gunderson (Siobhan Fallon, “Baby Mama”) who is the standout personality in this movie. Apart from the bad Minnesotan accent, she plays her part well as a reflection of small-town Minnesota.
While “New In Town” is unpredictable in certain aspects, it is not suspenseful and it does not compel the audience to care about the conclusion of the movie. The depiction of time and transition between occurrences and interactions did not help either. Time soars by unexpectedly fast in this movie, sometimes catching the audience members off-guard. This inconsistency causes brief confusion in how the relationships have developed at such a rapid pace.
“New in Town” admittedly has entertaining moments throughout, especially the heavily-accented language. It is not every day you hear somebody say, “Oh, for crying in the beer cheese soup.” There are actually a couple of exceedingly humorous scenes.
The humor is especially comprehendible to native Midwesterners. It may be difficult for others to fully understand the references to Midwestern weather and culture. Although the movie had its funny moments, it is definitely not worth taking a bus for.
1 star out of 5
