New in Town

This film is about a business woman from a big city who got transferred to a small town. She encounters much trouble adjusting to the small town life.

"New In Town" is another romantic comedy with Renee Zellweger as a person who achieves despite her mischievousness. She is already heavily typecast, but then she really is adorable and likable so it is OK. The plot is very predictable, but is enjoyable mainly due to the small town warmth. Seeing acquaintances and colleagues help each other out, and giving hand made gifts is refreshing. It enhances the positive spirit of the film, and makes the characters more engaging.

"New In Town" is a heartwarming comedy, I enjoyed watching it.

(Synopsis) Lucy Hill (Renee Zellweger) is a high achiever shooting to become a Vice President. To show the President that she has the ability, she takes an assignment to restructure one of their small manufacturing plants in Minnesota. From the high life in Miami to the bitter cold, snow, and icy roads, Lucy must endure these hardships to succeed. Lucy is treated as an outsider when she arrives, and the locals give her a week before she leaves. Lucy is a fighter and wants to win. She meets Ted Mitchell (Harry Connick, Jr.) who is the union representative. At first, she has some conflicts with the workers, but soon they begin to accept her. The new product line is a bust, and she is ordered to close the plant and fire everyone. However, she has a better idea of making money for the company and saving everybody's job.

(My Comment) This is your typical chick flick, girl meets boy, she thinks he is a loser, and he thinks she is too. After a few disaster type dates which should have ended the whole thing, you guessed it, they get involved. Along the way, they save the company, and both become heroes. Renee Zellweger did a fine job of being the outsider in the small Minnesota town and getting them to accept her. What do you think, who wouldn't accept Renee Zellweger. I know the women will like Harry's performance as well. Even though you know how the story will end, you will still enjoy the movie. You will love listening to the Minnesota accents that were used, and seeing some of their customs. (Lionsgate, Run Time 1:36, Rated PG-13)(5/10)

Though its payoff scenes are as predictable as could be, this entertaining romantic comedy is an effective vehicle sure to please Renee Zelweger fans. Well-timed to a winter release (the film's heartwarming Xmas scene occurs early in the story as an intended anticlimax preceding the plot complications to come), this modern fable set in a small town in frozen Minnesota is well-photographed on atmospheric Manitoba locations. Zellweger top lines as the fish out of water, volunteering in her high-profile Miami based conglomerate to head north to makeover a tiny food plant, cut its workforce by half and retool for an automated new product launch. She's the typical jargon-laden, fast-track advancement type, dreaming of CEO-hood and sorely lacking in empathy or any recognizable people-to-people skills. Strutting around in inappropriate high heels (closeups of which are a bit overdone by Danish director Jonas Elmer making his Hollywood debut), she quickly alienates every Minnesotan in sight and looks to be headed for disaster in a hopeless hatchet-woman assignment. Led by a warm & funny supporting turn by Siobhan Fallon Hogan (who channels the local persona even better than Frances McDormand's Oscar-winning stint in Fargo), as her local assistant, a tapioca pudding whiz who spends equal time on scrapping (making scrapbooks) and religiosity, the very cute cast of hayseeds play off hard-bitten Zellweger quite well in a time-honored clash of city smarts vs. folksy wisdom. Sure it's very, very corny, but fun all the same. Harry Connick Jr. plays the area union chief who is always in view as Renee's romantic interest, and there is also a dynamite turn by J.K. Simmons (fresh from his triumph in Juno) as the plant foreman who runs afoul of Renee's plans. New in Town is not in the league of the great old movies of Riskin and Capra, but is genuinely amusing and a fine platform for Zellweger to display both physical & romantic comedy skills. The spectre of layoffs and disappearing companies we are currently living through was probably not in mind when this light feature was scripted and shot, but it resonates as a timely, escapist treatment of all-too-painful realities.

"do you want me to go over the fireplace?" "no, i'm a city girl but i know how to light a fire. . . . where's the uh the switch?"

I enjoyed this movie and i usually detest romcoms.

this is well written, well acted, well edited and well directed. it has its charming moments and of course a few formulaic ones but all-in-all the cast and writing are so strong it works. great filming too. the music was fitting and the perfect punctuation to some scenes, especially that 10-second tune played as she raises the creative distress flag on her snow-wrecked car antenna. hilarious.

zellweger portrays a believable decisive corporate leader and brings great comedic timing and delivery to the role. i really enjoyed her in this -- she's a very strong lead and her humorous reactions at times reminded me of diaz in The Holiday. despite her corporate trained demeanor you sense a warmer spirit underneath if only it could be thawed, like keaton in Baby Boom.

connick, jr. delivers as always and the easy chemistry between the two makes their interactions relatable and interesting not cringey.

there are laugh out loud moments and only a spare amount of the sentimental romance stuff. and for a union girl like me this movie put the human back in human resources.

a delight.

6.5/10

In 1953 Richard Bissel wrote a novel titled "7&1/2 Cents." In 1955 his novel became the book for a Broadway Musical titled "The Pajama Game." Then George Abbott had Bissel write the screenplay for a musical film version of the play. In that movie, as in the book, a female Iowa pajama factory worker who is head of the union at the factory falls in love with a male superintendent who has been hired by the factory's boss to help oppose the workers' demand for a pay rise (7 & 1/2 cents.) Take this book and change the male role into the union rep and make the female role to be an executive from a corporation who want to downsize the candy factory or close it down. Then move it from the Sunny South to the frozen north (Minnesota,) remove the music, and you have this film. I just simply could not get the "The Pajama Game" or "7&1/2 Cents" out of my mind as I watched this film. And the ending was exactly the same.