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Harry Connick, Jr. plays union rep. Ted Mitchell in the romantic comedy New in Town. In a familiar story arc, he's Renee Zellweger's primary foe at the start and the man of her dreams by the closing credits.
While the movie is set in Minnesota, it was shot in Winnipeg. "Now that makes Minnesota look like the Caribbean!" Connick said. "You know, I've been to Minnesota -- I was there a month ago and crazy snow and everything -- [but] nothing like that Canadian arctic cold where you can't even hardly blink." Not surprisingly, much of New in Town's plot revolves around the frigid temperatures. "The weather, itself, was the funniest character in the whole movie because it was debilitating," Connick says.
And, unfortunately, it's looking like Connick may be right. New in Town has scored a frighteningly low 13 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In fact, one critic said it lacked "the bare-knuckled realism" of the Doris Day flick The Pajama Game. Brrrr.
Fans may want to skip the movie and head to our interview with Harry Connick, Jr. instead.
Posted 01.30.09 by reelz -
Renee Zellweger plays a high-powered Miami executive sent to restructure a Minnesota-based manufacturing plant in the slapstick comedy New in Town. "I read this script and I laughed out loud imagining the ridiculous situations that this character finds herself in," Zellweger said. "I loved how rigid she was, and I find it so funny when the perfectionist fails."
Zellweger clearly wasn't kidding about the ridiculous situations. Her character finds herself crow hunting with Harry Connick, Jr. and in a "no-holds-barred pudding-fight scene." Find out more in our interview with Renee Zellweger.
Posted 01.29.09 by reelz -
Variety is reporting that Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr. are negotiating to co-star in a romantic comedy called Chilled in Miami, about a Miami businesswoman who gets transferred to rural Minnesota.
Our prediction of the Chilled storyline: Renee is a high-powered Miami suit who finds out she has to move to East Bufu, MN. This will of course be during the winter, so we can contrast the hot, fun, glamorous, Latin-flavored Miami with the cold, snowy, 'conservative' Minnesota prairie (note: Minnesota is actually a blue state, but it won't be in this movie).
She gets there and she is not pleased. She is surrounded by wild-rice-chewing farm rubes. She won't have any cold-weather wear, which will be fodder for jokes.
Her neighbor/mailman/other device to bring him repeatedly into her life is Harry Connick Jr., and although she is initially snooty to him, she soon realizes he spends his long winter nights pumping up his pecs in his home gym/playing the piano and love blossoms--probably during a snowstorm.
She realizes Minnesota isn't so bad after all, changes her name to Swenson, learns how to trap moose, and lives happily ever after.
You know we're right.
Posted 08.30.07 by reelz