Junebug (2005)

Director:

Phil Morrison

Writer:

Angus MacLachlan (written by)

Release Date:

22 February 2006 (Belgium)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

A dealer in "outsider" art travels from Chicago to North Carolina to meet her new in-laws, challenging the equilibrium of this middle class Southern home.

Plot Keywords:

Art | North Carolina | Pregnant | Art Gallery | Sister In Law

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 16 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Embeth Davidtz	...	Madeleine
David Kuhn	...	Auctioneer
Alessandro Nivola	...	George Johnsten
Alicia Van Couvering	...	Bernadette
Jerry Minor	...	Scout who stays outside
Matt Besser	...	Scout who goes in
Will Oldham	...	Bill Mooney, scout
Frank Hoyt Taylor	...	David Wark
Scott Wilson	...	Eugene Johnsten
Ben McKenzie	...	Johnny Johnsten
Celia Weston	...	Peg Johnsten
Amy Adams	...	Ashley Johnsten
Bobby Tisdale	...	Norman Venable at Replacements, Ltd.
Beth Bostic	...	Lucille, the neighbor
Joanne Pankow	...	Sissy, David Wark's sister

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content and language.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Brazil:14 | UK:15 | Ireland:15A | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Australia:M | Germany:o.Al. | Finland:K-15 | South Korea:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Wake Forest University - 1834 Wake Forest Road, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA

Company:

Epoch Films

Trivia:

Ashley's monologue about cheer leading and meercats was used for Amy Adams's audition. The scene was also later used on the talk-show circuit when Adams was promoting the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the hospital room, something that appears to be a saucer under the water pitcher appears and disappears between shots over George's shoulder.

Quotes:

Peg: What did you do with my eggs?
Johnny Johnsten: Stuffed 'em up my butt!

Movie Connections:

References The Birth of a Nation (1915)

Soundtrack:

Schöne Ida

Brilliant

Phil Morrison has created a film that is among the best I've seen so far in 2005. He has taken a simple country mouse-city mouse tale and given it cosmic implications. It is the story of everyone who grew up in the boonies and then gone on to make it big in the big city. It beautifully portrays the embarrassment you feel about taking a worldly spouse back to your small hometown and its pettiness; the small-mindedness and envy of the siblings who never left town or made good; the reinvention of one's self when one moves to a big metropolis like Chicago. I did NOT feel the Bible Belt North Carolinians were stereotyped, as some viewers have remarked; I felt they were all portrayed as real people who simply had a tough time articulating their feelings, and who were just SIMPLE people...church-goers, family people who have no complexity of emotions or doubts, like city people are wont to have. The actress who played the sister-in-law was brilliant, funny and totally believable; the mother was the next Gena Rowlands; Alessandro Nivola and the girlfriend were extremely appealing ciphers (which they were supposed to be); and the unrestrained horror of their having to return to this small Southern town was so palpable, that it made watching the film very uncomfortable at times (especially if a viewer's own life resembles that of the main characters'). Deliberately underwritten, beautifully paced, it is one to remember, savor, and wind up at the Festivals. Bravo!