New in Town

New in Town is a 2009 romantic comedy-drama film directed by Jonas Elmer, starring Renée Zellweger, Harry Connick Jr., and Siobhan Fallon Hogan. It was filmed in Winnipeg and Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada, and in Los Angeles and South Beach, Miami, Florida. 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, 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 leaving sunny Miami and arriving in cold Minnesota, she finds a frosty reception from the weather, the locals, icy roads and a culture she has difficulty dealing with. As an example, before her first day at the factory she proceeds to insult a Ted Mitchell, the guest of honor at a home-cooked meal organized by the plant's secretary. The next day, Ted turns out to be the head of the workers' union. Likewise, she antagonizes the waitress in the local hangout, Flo; Flo turns out to be the ex-wife of the plant's foreman who she will fire. She learns to appreciate the locals and their way of life, and vice versa. In one of various scenes, Ted in his pickup truck rescues Lucy from freezing when she gets stuck in the snow as she tries to evade a cow wandering on the road; later Lucy's knowledge about fashion and style helps Ted's 13 year old daughter to get ready for her first dance. Eventually, Lucy kisses Ted as they acknowledge their mutual attraction.

When Lucy is ordered to close down the plant, which will 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 getting another one big bowl of tapioca pudding, prepared according to her secretary's secret recipe of tapioca pudding, she gets the bright idea to have the company make and market the product, with their former yogurt production line and the existing personnel.

When the tapioca becomes extremely successful, Lucy's company wants to shut down the small Minnesota plant, which can not produce enough for the national market they envision. However, instead Lucy puts together a group of financiers who purchase the plant, with a construction that will gradually transfer ownership to the employees. As part of the deal Lucy becomes the CEO. Lucy announces the purchase to the employees gathered on the plant floor, including a now clean-shaven Ted who pledges the cooperation of the Union. Lucy and Ted seal the deal with a kiss, applauded by everyone.

Cast

 * Renée Zellweger as Lucy Hill
 * Harry Connick Jr. as Ted Mitchell
 * J.K. Simmons as Stu Kopenhafer
 * Siobhan Fallon Hogan as Blanche Gunderson
 * Frances Conroy as Trudy Van Uuden
 * Jimena Hoyos as Cathy
 * Ordena Stephens-Thompson as Leslie

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, 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 of The Guardian 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 handbook."

DVD
The "making of..." feature on the DVD documents that the cast and crew survived bitterly cold temperatures of below -50 F in Manitoba, which sometimes resulted in malfunctions of cameras and other equipment.

Soundtrack
Songs featured in trailer/TV spots:
 * Kelly Clarkson – "Breakaway"
 * David Archuleta – "Crush"
 * Ingrid Michaelson – "Be OK"
 * The Kills – "Cheap and Chearful"
 * Lenka – "The Show"

Songs featured in the film:
 * Perk Badger – "Do Your Stuff"
 * Donavon Frankenreiter – "Move by Yourself"
 * APM Music – "I'm Movin' Out"
 * T-Rex – "20th Century Boy"
 * Katrina and the Waves – "Walking on Sunshine"
 * Renée Zellweger – "I Will Survive"
 * Crit Harmon – "Boss Of Everything"
 * Missy Higgins – "Steer"
 * Elizabeth & The Catapult – "Race You"
 * Brittini Black – "Life Is Good"
 * Craig N. Cisco – "On The Other Side"
 * Tift Merritt – "Another Country"
 * Marty Jensen – "Just Because We're Over"
 * Carrie Underwood – "That's Where It Is"
 * Moot Davis – "In The Thick Of It"
 * Natalia Safran – "Hey You" (featuring Mikolaj Jaroszyk)