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NEW IN TOWNMovie Reviews
Romantic comedy about an ambitious young executive who takes a temporary assignment in the middle of nowhere and learns more important things when she meets the man of her dreams. Cast:Renée Zellweger, Harry Connick, Jr., J.K. Simmons, Frances Conroy, Siobhan Fallon-HoganDirector:Jonas ElmerRelease Date:January 30, 2009DVD Release:May 26, 2009From:LionsgateRating:PGLength:1 hr 37 min
New in Town played to weak reviews. • Christy Lemire wrote for Associated Press, "...soggy... chock full of stereotypically folksy folks... All the women like scrapbooking and all the men like ice fishing. All of them." • And Betsy Sharkey wrote in the Los Angeles Times, "...flat, the romance is listless, the pacing is sluggish, and the fish-out-of-water flops..." More Reviews Below...
New in Town Positive Reviews (41 Reviews, reviews below)
Leah Rozen, People: MODERATE(cg) "...will appeal to those who are happy to see a romantic comedy -- you know who you are -- even when its every scene and character seem recycled from an earlier, better film."(See all of Leah Rozen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 190 words, 01/29/09
Mary Pols, Time: WEAK "I'm not sure who should be more appalled by it: female executives or people from Minnesota, especially the ones who don't polka or wear Viking helmets..."(See all of Mary Pols's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 804 words, 01/29/09
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: VERY GOOD(cg) "How much do I want to believe in America 2.0 as a place where a Suit might help factory workers survive hard times? Enough to swallow 'New In Town'..."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 97 words, 01/30/09
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: POOR(cg) "...soggy... chock full of stereotypically folksy folks... All the women like scrapbooking and all the men like ice fishing. All of them."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 633 words, 01/29/09
Claudia Puig, USA Today: POOR(cg) "Not content to be merely inane and predictable, it is downright insulting, humorlessly deriding those who choose to live in rural America..."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 490 words, 01/30/09
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (12 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: WEAK "Watching Ms. Zellweger's joyless performance, you have to wonder what happened to this charming actress... where is her most appealing mannerism, her dimpled smile?"(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 585 words, 01/30/09
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: POOR(cg) "As unpleasant as it is to see shalow pink-slip humor while thousands lose their jobs daily, it's equally tough to see Zellweger stumble again..."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 434 words, 01/30/09
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: MODERATE(cg) "J.K. Simmons has grown a bushy beard... A bushy beard is the enemy of an actor's face unless he is playing Santa or attacking with a chain saw."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 715 words, 01/29/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: POOR "...flat, the romance is listless, the pacing is sluggish, and the fish-out-of-water flops -- flip-flop, flip-flop, I can hear it still.... So what went wrong? Just about everything."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 827 words, 01/30/09
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: POOR(cg) "This movie's idea of Minnesota - we won't embarrass the credited writers - seems to have been entirely gleaned from watching 'Fargo' on TV in the middle of the night..."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 427 words, 01/30/09
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: MODERATE(cg) "Zellweger can be a game comedian given half a chance. She needs better gags, however, than a protracted bit involving freezing temperatures and women's nipples..."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 581 words, 01/30/09
John Anderson, New York Newsday: MODERATE(cg) "Director Jonas Elmer is content to recycle the basic tropes and allow Zellweger and co-star Harry Connick Jr. to charm the movie into life. It almost works."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 342 words, 01/30/09
Brian Miller, Village Voice/LA Weekly: POOR "With a cheap, for-hire Danish director and a co-writer whose major credit is 'Sweet Home Alabama,' the movie wrong-foots Zellweger from the start."(See all of Brian Miller's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 207 words, 01/28/09
Bob Strauss, Orange County Register: MODERATE(cg) "...so elementary it makes most after-school specials look sophisticated. Your average episode of 'Northern Exposure' or 'Men in Trees' seems Shakespearean by comparison."(See all of Bob Strauss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 393 words, 01/30/09
Susan G. Cole, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "A quirky character, an unlikeable something, a teeny, tiny sad moment somewhere - could we have at least one of the above? Seems not."(See all of Susan G. Cole's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 172 words, 01/29/09
KEY CITIES (17 Reviews)
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: WEAK(cg) "Even the normally enjoyable character actor J.K. Simmons looks less like a working stiff than someone who's entered the witness protection program."(See all of Michael O'Sullivan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 411 words, 01/30/09
John DeFore, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: WEAK(cg) "The humor is mild and perfectly likable, but those seeking romantic chemistry or a memorable gag should head elsewhere. There's nothing 'New' here."(See all of John DeFore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 379 words, 01/30/09
Michael Granberry, Dallas Morning News: FAIR(cg) "...meant to be a winsome romantic comedy, which might have been able to reach its destiny if it didn't have to chop its way through a thicket of stereotypes and bad jokes."(See all of Michael Granberry's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 575 words, 01/30/09
Randy Cordova, Arizona Republic: POOR(cg) "You end up really reaching if you try to pinpoint the film's redeeming qualities. It's like discussing Adolf Hitler and saying, 'Boy, he sure had a cute mustache.' "(See all of Randy Cordova's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 366 words, 01/29/09
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...so choppy that it would seem to have been edited with a pickax. Maybe somewhere on his editing floor are the scenes that flesh out the relationship..."(See all of Carrie Rickey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 410 words, 01/30/09
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: MODERATE(cg) "You've seen it before, and you've seen it done better. Still, it's a sweet-hearted bit of anemia, pleasant and obvious, and there are a few honest laughs to it..."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 552 words, 01/30/09
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...those of us who can look in the mirror and laugh at our earflap hats won't find it half-bad. The hokey caricatures are affectionate, not abrasive..."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 468 words, 01/30/09
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: MODERATE(cg) "...sometimes it's cute, but there's nothing fresh here; it's a Bridget-Jones-meets-'Baby Boom'/fish-out-of-water/opposites-attract kind of thing."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 443 words, 01/30/09
Clint O'Connor, Cleveland Plain-Dealer: MODERATE(cg) "Zellweger's charisma warms up some scenes, but she can't make up for all of the script's shortcomings. Connick is a likable guy, just never terribly compelling..."(See all of Clint O'Connor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 352 words, 01/30/09
Marc Mohan, Portland Oregonian: POOR(cg) "...feels like a cinematic ort from the Bush era. Except for the part in the third act where the workers take over the means of production, that is. Reprehensible."(See all of Marc Mohan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 140 words, 01/30/09
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: MODERATE(cg) "You might think Sarah Palin was called in for a script polish. Is this a message movie? You betcha. Is it a good one? Not so much, don't ya know?"(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 442 words, 01/29/09
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The movie's 'downsizing' and corporate callousness make it timely, the dialogue is funny enough and the predictable happens in a predictably warm way."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 446 words, 01/29/09
Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: WEAK(cg) "The ghastly first half is as close to unwatchable as any moment in 'Bride Wars.' The fact that it stars Renée Zellweger just makes it harder to bear."(See all of Connie Ogle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 497 words, 01/30/09
Carla Meyer, Sacramento Bee: MODERATE(cg) "...somewhere near the middle of the subpar pack of films released since Zellweger's flawed comic heroine ate, drank and smoked her way into moviegoers' hearts."(See all of Carla Meyer's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 469 words, 01/30/09
Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun: POOR(cg) "In her tailored suits, Zellweger moves her rump with such an irritating, tick-tock regularity that she could have served as a metronome."(See all of Michael Sragow's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 595 words, 01/30/09
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (6 Reviews)
Brian Miller, Village Voice/LA Weekly: POOR "With a cheap, for-hire Danish director and a co-writer whose major credit is 'Sweet Home Alabama,' the movie wrong-foots Zellweger from the start."(See all of Brian Miller's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 207 words, 01/28/09
Tom Meek, Boston Phoenix: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The predictable squalls of melodrama and touching resolve flow like 'poop through a tall Swede,' as a random yokel puts it."(See all of Tom Meek's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 164 words, 01/29/09
Susan G. Cole, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "A quirky character, an unlikeable something, a teeny, tiny sad moment somewhere - could we have at least one of the above? Seems not."(See all of Susan G. Cole's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 172 words, 01/29/09
HIGHBROW PRESS (3 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: WEAK "Watching Ms. Zellweger's joyless performance, you have to wonder what happened to this charming actress... where is her most appealing mannerism, her dimpled smile?"(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 585 words, 01/30/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: POOR "...flat, the romance is listless, the pacing is sluggish, and the fish-out-of-water flops -- flip-flop, flip-flop, I can hear it still.... So what went wrong? Just about everything."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 827 words, 01/30/09
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Joe Leydon, Daily Variety: WEAK "...never really recovers from its overbearingly shrill, laugh-free first act.... so predictable, so reminiscent of other, better romantic comedies, it actually seems longer than it is."(See all of Joe Leydon's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 603 words, 01/23/09
Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter: WEAK " 'Chilled in Miami' and 'Moonlighting in Minnesota'... whatever its name, 'New in Town' is strictly old hat -- and a poorly assembled hat at that."(See all of Michael Rechtshaffen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 380 words, 01/23/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: POOR "...flat, the romance is listless, the pacing is sluggish, and the fish-out-of-water flops -- flip-flop, flip-flop, I can hear it still.... So what went wrong? Just about everything."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 827 words, 01/30/09
Stephen Holden, New York Times: WEAK "Watching Ms. Zellweger's joyless performance, you have to wonder what happened to this charming actress... where is her most appealing mannerism, her dimpled smile?"(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 585 words, 01/30/09
18.7 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
New in Town's reviews are separated by an average 18.7 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
New in Town (41 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:New in Town's reviews cover 78.9% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 16,862 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 411 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
New in Town Coverage, Volume & Length (41 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 14.8 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
New in Town's reviews on average broke 14.8 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is New in Town's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
New in Town (41 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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