Hump Day #55: NEW IN TOWN

It’s Wednesday, hump day. The week is half over, and the weekend is just around the corner, so what is a dedicated movie watcher to do? In this weekly column, AngieBee makes her suggestions on what movies you should check out to get you through the rest of the week.

AngieBee here with NEW IN TOWN, a fun little rom-com that I found completely charming. Though I have to admit that I’m really not sure if I actually liked the movie because it was great or because it reminded me of my youth. I think my enjoyment of this came from something other than the quality of the film.

I think I may have I liked it because it reminded me of the small town I grew up in. The kind of town where everybody knows everybody and there’s no such thing as secrets. As a teenager I couldn’t get away with anything because someone would catch me and report back to my parents. We moved to Boiling Springs (SC) when I was in second grade. All they had was one red light and a Community Cash (grocery store, for those who don‘t remember). We thought we had hit the big time when we got a Hardees. Just as I thought of Boiling Springs as my hometown, J thought of Minot, North Dakota as his hometown. J spent most of his teenage years in a small town with very cold weather and only one major road connecting everything together. Basically, he grew up in a town much like the one in NEW IN TOWN.

I love Renee Zellweger, she has been one of my favorites since BRIDGET JONES DIARY. I liked that movie (and the sequel) so much that I end to almost always watch them back-to-back. Feels like one super-long rom-com epic to me. Recently, she’s done other stuff like CASE 39, which was good but not what I’m used to. I’m just glad to see her back in a romantic comedy. The truly amazing thing here is that Zellweger managed to not squint for most of movie. Her eyes are completely open and that is just not normal for her. In most of her movies, she always appears to have just gotten sprayed in the eyes with lemon juice.

To make movie so much better it adds Harry Connick Jr, who I have loved since HOPE FLOATS. I just love to hear him talk, his voice is just soothing to me. He is strong, sexy and can take care of you. With these two seasoned pros at the center of TOWN, I knew I was in for a good time.

Lucy (Zellweger) is a high powered consultant who comes in to modernize the one manufacturing plant that employs just about everyone in town. She is real cute in a “city girl comes to the country” sorta way. You know ,high heels, short sleeve shirts and skirts. She moves from Miami to Minnesota in the winter and has no idea of what she has gotten herself into. Lucy gets a real chilly reception, these people know that modernizing means less people will be needed and eventually there will be layoffs.

Ted (Connick Jr.) plays the most adorable country bumpkin I have ever seen. He is super sexy and lets just say I would date him (if I wasn‘t married) if he rolled up and laid down that country charm on me. He is the head of the local union, so, of course, Ted and Lucy butt heads. Ted is actually just a sweet guy trying to keep everyone happy. Harry embodies everything I want to see in rom-coms. He is the tough guy, the savior, and the sexy guy. The one that you want because he is standing there saying “I am your guy“.

My favorite character is Blanche (Siobhan Fallon). Somehow she makes the whole “country hick” cliché work and not seem incredibly offensive. I don’t know why she seems to play this role so well but she does. She constantly cooks tapioca, it’s just how she deals with things. Blanche is so unintentionally good natured that she eventually saves the town without even knowing it.

I love the whole “quaint little town” cliché in film and I can understand why Lucy started feeling at home in this town. Even to the point that she eventually has to defend the workers at the plant in an effort to keep it open. And you know she falls for Ted (who wouldn’t?) and you‘ll probably see the ending coming from a mile away. Personally, my favorite scenes are the character stuff. I really understand where these people are coming from. This is a sweet movie about putting yourself in someone else’s place. Making yourself think about walking in someone else’s shoes. I like it when a rom-com delivers a message that is something more than “I’m a woman and I need a man in my life in order to be truly happy”.

Congratulations, you made it. The week is half over and Friday is just around the corner.