I made a mistake. I picked up New in Town thinking I’d find a heartwarming, redemptive tale of girl meets boy ending with a happy twist. Ten minutes into the film, I knew I had something else entirely on my hands. New in Town is a vapid movie that attempts to cull together all the “right” elements (i.e., brand named actors and a romcom storyline ala The Proposal) only to discover its heart is missing and it doesn’t have anything new or different to say.
New in Town feels very much like a storyboarded film where the director gets lost in making sure all the appropriate romantic comedy scenes are present, but forgetting that what the audience really wants is to fall in love with the characters. Whether we admit it or not, most of us can live with a subpar plotline if we care about and are invested in the characters. This film never invites us to care. For me at least, it’s the small things that help me connect with a film’s characters. You know, the little idiosyncrasies we all have from the way we brush our teeth to how we prepare our coffee. These tiny moments are completely missing in this film and their absence spells doom. Well, that and its terrible acting, uninspired cinematography, lame soundtrack, and limp script.
You must be wondering why exactly I continued watching this film beyond its first ten minutes. Fair question. I could lie and say it’s because I believe in seeing a film through to its end credits before I review it, but truthfully it’s because I’m a romantic at heart and wanted to believe that it would get better and redeem itself. It does not. I implore you not to see this film, ever. A friend of mine noted that Renee Zellweger’s name above the title should have be warning enough, and while that may be true, I was sucked in by good cover art and the promise of more. Don’t be a fool like me. New in Town is a 100% certified, 90-minute mistake. Run.
