“New in Town”
Rating: 2.5/5
Cast: Renee Zellweger, Harry Connick Jr.
Director: Jonas Elmer
Genre: Romantic comedy
Running time: 96 min.
Rating: PG
Release date: Jan. 30
It is a trope older than “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Elizabethtown” – the hip and cool everyman from urban civilization finds him or herself in the exotic rural jungles of the flyover states. In Jonas Elmer’s “New in Town,” Lucy Hill (Renee Zellweger) will do anything to climb the corporate ladder, even if it means leaving Miami to oversee and downsize a struggling production plant in New Ulm, Minn.
While the actual town of New Ulm is in southern Minnesota, the movie gives it a northwoods feel. Lucy’s high heels and luxury car don’t take very well to the weather. She doesn’t know how to shoot, set up a real fireplace or pee in the woods. Her secretary and self-appointed sidekick, Blanche Gunderson (Siobhan Fallon Hogan), ignores professional boundaries. The plant’s stubborn foreman, Stu Kopenhafer (J.K. Simmons), knows Lucy’s job is to make layoffs, and he is determined to make that job miserable. Worst of all, she must butt heads with the local union leader and fellow East Coast transplant Ted Mitchell (Harry Connick Jr.), who is inconveniently cute.
Lucy is initially put off by the locals’ affinity for drinking games, Jesus and ice fishing. But with Ted’s help, Lucy comes to see that these noble savages – while perhaps not too bright – are more hard-working, spiritual and warm-hearted than the soulless corporate drones she is used to.
Originally written by Minnesota native Ken Rance and later submitted to studio revisions, the script is an awkward marriage of Frank Capra and Jeff Foxworthy. It takes its small-town subjects seriously and affectionately one moment, then mercilessly stereotypes them the next. The characters speak in the exaggerated “Fargo” accent, but without any of that film’s sense of irony. In the Coen Brothers’ film, the character Marge’s funny-talkin’ and lackadaisical demeanor belie her sharp detective skills – don’tcha know.
While not too deep, this film does have its moments. As a formulaic romantic comedy, it fulfills its basic tasks of presenting a cute couple, and gets some laughs out of the audience – though some of the love scenes are awkwardly timed. With superficially borrowed elements from “Legally Blonde,” “She’s All That,” and the other aforementioned films, “New in Town” is nothing new.
