''New in Town'' is a 2009 American-Canadian

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

film, directed by

Jonas Elmer Jonas Elmer (born 28 February 1988) is a Swiss footballer who currently works for FC Stäfa as a player-assistant coach. Football career Early career Elmer was signed by English Premier League side Chelsea in the summer of 2005 from Grasshopp ...

, starring

Renée Zellweger Renée Kathleen Zellweger (; born April 25, 1969) is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards, she was one of the world's highest-paid ...

Harry Connick Jr. Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. (born September 11, 1967) is an American singer, pianist, composer, actor, and television host. He has sold over 28million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top60 best-selling male artists in the Uni ...

, and

Siobhan Fallon Hogan Siobhan Fallon Hogan (pronounced , born May 13, 1961) is an American actress and comedian. She has appeared in films such as ''Men in Black'', '' Forrest Gump'', ''The Negotiator'', '' Holes'', ''Daddy Day Care'', ''Going in Style'', and '' The H ...

. It was filmed in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

and

Selkirk, Manitoba Selkirk is a city in the western Canadian province of Manitoba, located on the Red River about northeast of the provincial capital Winnipeg. It has a population of 10,504 as of the 2021 census. The mainstays of the local economy are tourism, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and

South Beach South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south of Dade Boulevard. This area was the fi ...

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. The film opened to negative reviews but was a financial success grossing $30 million against its $8 million budget.

Plot

High-powered consultant Lucy Hill, who loves her upscale Miami lifestyle, is sent to

New Ulm, Minnesota New Ulm is a city in Brown County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,120 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Brown County. It is located on the triangle of land formed by the confluence of the Minnesota River and the Co ...

, to oversee the restructuring of a food manufacturing plant. The factory is meant to add Japanese automation, and reduce staff by at least 50 percent. After enduring a frosty reception from the locals, icy roads and freezing weather, Lucy warms up to the small town's charm, and eventually finds herself being accepted by the community. Specifically the head of the workers' union, Ted Mitchell and she gets off on the wrong foot. However, Ted rescuing Lucy from a snowbank and later her helping the widower's 13 year old daughter get ready for her first dance, causes them both to see the good in each other. When Lucy is ordered to close down the plant and put the entire community out of work, she's forced to reconsider her goals and priorities, and find a way to save the town. After tasting her secretary's secret recipe of

tapioca pudding Tapioca pudding (similar to sago pudding) is a sweet pudding made with tapioca and either milk or cream. Coconut milk is also used in cases in which the flavor is preferred or in areas in which it is a commonplace ingredient for cooking. It is ...

, she decides to adapt their former

yogurt Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial Fermentation (food), fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in t ...

production line to produce this special recipe of tapioca. When the tapioca becomes extremely successful, Lucy's company is set to expand across the country, shutting down the small Minnesota plant. Before they can do so, she negotiates so that the employees become shareholders. She becomes the CEO, and Lucy and Ted seal the deal with a kiss on the plant floor.

Cast

as Lucy Hill *

as Ted Mitchell *

J.K. Simmons Jonathan Kimble Simmons (born January 9, 1955) is an American actor, considered one of the most prolific and well-established character actors of his generation. He has appeared in over 200 films and television roles since his debut in 1986. He i ...

as Stu Kopenhafer *

as Blanche Gunderson *

Frances Conroy Frances Hardman Conroy is an American actress. She is best known for playing Ruth Fisher on the television series '' Six Feet Under'' (2001–2005), for which she won a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and received four Pr ...

as Trudy Van Uuden

Release

The film was released at 1,941 theaters on January 30, 2009 and grossed in its opening day approx. $2.4 million to $2.5 million. By the end of the first 3-day weekend, it had grossed an estimated $6.75 million, placing it 8th for the weekend in gross box office ticket sales.

Box office

The film grossed $16,734,283 at the domestic box office, $12,276,534 at the foreign box office for a total gross of $30,010,817 worldwide.

Critical reception

''New in Town'' received mostly negative reviews from critics. The film has a 27% approval rating on the review aggregator website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, based on 171 reviews with an average rating of 4.2/10, with the consensus: "Clichéd and short on charm, New In Town is a pat genre exercise that fails to bring the necessary heat to its Minnesota setting." Allan Hunter of the ''Daily Express'' has said, "Predictable and uninspired, it is one more example of the dumb comedies that Hollywood is churning out at an alarming rate."

Peter Bradshaw Peter Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire''. Early life and education Bradshaw was educated at Haberdashers ...

of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' was also critical, stating "Renée Zellweger's rabbity, dimply pout – surely the strangest facial expression in Hollywood – simpers and twitches out of the screen in this moderate girly flick that adheres with almost religious fanaticism to the feelgood

romcom Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

handbook."

DVD

The "making of..." feature on the DVD documents that the cast and crew survived bitterly cold temperatures of below in

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, which sometimes resulted in malfunctions of cameras and other equipment.

Soundtrack

Songs featured in trailer/TV spots: *

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debu ...

– " Breakaway" *

David Archuleta David James Archuleta (born December 28, 1990) is an American pop singer. At ten years old, he won the children's division of the Utah Talent Competition, leading to other television singing appearances. When he was twelve years old, he becam ...

– " Crush" *

Ingrid Michaelson Ingrid Ellen Michaelson (born December 8, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Her first album, '' Slow the Rain,'' was released in 2005, and she has since released eight more albums: '' Girls and Boys,'' '' Be OK'', '' Everybody' ...

– " Be OK" *

The Kills The Kills are an English-American rock duo formed by American singer Alison "VV" Mosshart and English guitarist Jamie "Hotel" Hince. They are signed to Domino Records. Their first four albums, '' Keep On Your Mean Side'', ''No Wow'', ''Midni ...

– "Cheap and Chearful" *

Lenka Lenka Kripac (born 19 March 1978) is an Australian singer-songwriter and actress best known for her song " The Show", from her debut album, ''Lenka''. " The Show" has been used in numerous advertisements, most notably for Old Navy, as well as ...

– "The Show" Songs featured in the film: * Perk Badger – "Do Your Stuff" *

Donavon Frankenreiter Donavon Frankenreiter (born December 10, 1972) is an American musician and surfer. His debut self-titled album was released in 2004 on Brushfire Records through Universal Music. Career Frankenreiter was born in Downey, California, United Sta ...

– " Move by Yourself" * APM Music – "I'm Movin' Out" *

T-Rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...

– "

20th Century Boy "20th Century Boy" is a song by T. Rex, written by Marc Bolan, released as a stand-alone single on 2 March 1973. It entered in the UK Singles Chart at number 3, on 10 March 1973 and peaked three weeks in a row at that position. It stayed a ...

" *

Katrina and the Waves Katrina and the Waves were a British rock band widely known for the 1985 hit " Walking on Sunshine". They also won the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Love Shine a Light". History Pre-history (1975–1980) The band's earliest inc ...

– " Walking on Sunshine" *

– "

I Will Survive "I Will Survive" is a song by American singer Gloria Gaynor, released in October 1978 as the second single from her sixth album, '' Love Tracks'' (1978). It was written by Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris. A top-selling song, it is a popular di ...

" * Crit Harmon – "Boss Of Everything" *

Missy Higgins Melissa Morrison Higgins (born 19 August 1983), known professionally as Missy Higgins, is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. Her Australian number-one albums are ''The Sound of White'' (2004), ''On a Clear Night'' (2007) and ''The Ol ...

– "

Steer Steer, Steers or Steering may refer to: Animals * Steer or bullock, castrated male cattle * Ox, a steer used as a draft animal People * Steer (surname) * Steers (surname) Places * Steer Creek (West Virginia), a tributary of the Little K ...

" *

Elizabeth & The Catapult Elizabeth & The Catapult is a Brooklyn-based project by the American singer-songwriter Elizabeth Ziman. She is best known for her 2009 album ''Taller Children,'' produced by Mike Mogis and Dan Molad and released on Verve Forecast. History Ziman, ...

– "Race You" * Brittini Black – "Life Is Good" * Craig N. Cisco – "On The Other Side" *

Tift Merritt Tift may refer to: Places * Tift County, Georgia, a county in south-central Georgia, United States People with the given name * Tift Merritt (born 1975), American singer-songwriter People with the surname * Andrew Tift (born 1968), British portr ...

– " Another Country" * Marty Jensen – "Just Because We're Over" *

Carrie Underwood Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005. Her single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the only country artist to debut atop the ''Bill ...

– "That's Where It Is" * Moot Davis – "In The Thick Of It" * Natalia Safran – "Hey You" (featuring Mikolaj Jaroszyk)

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:New In Town 2009 films 2009 romantic comedy films American romantic comedy films Canadian romantic comedy films English-language Canadian films Films produced by Peter Safran Films scored by John Swihart Films set in Miami Films set in Minnesota Films shot in Los Angeles Films shot in Miami Films shot in Winnipeg Gold Circle Films films Lionsgate films Selkirk, Manitoba Films directed by Jonas Elmer (director) 2000s English-language films 2000s American films 2000s Canadian films