Junebug

Theatrical Release Date: 2005 08 03 (USA - Limited)

UPC: 043396119390

Studio: Columbia TriStar

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Mild Violence, Nudity, Adult Situations, Adult Humor, Profanity, Sexual Situations]

Summary: Phil Morrison, who collaborated with screenwriter Angus MacLachlan for his acclaimed 1990 short, Tater Tomater, joins forces with MacLachlan again for his feature-film debut, Junebug. Junebug takes place in rural North Carolina. Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz), a sophisticated Chicagoan who owns a gallery devoted to "outsider art," goes south in an effort to woo an eccentric painter (Frank Hoyt Taylor) to her gallery. She brings along her husband, George (Alessandro Nivola), a native of the area, and the couple stays with his family. Peg (Celia Weston), George's mother, gives Madeleine a rather chilly greeting, and seems to think she's a poor match for her eldest son, while his father, Eugene (Scott Wilson), is a bit more welcoming, in his quiet way. George's younger brother, Johnny (Ben McKenzie), is still living at home with his very pregnant wife, Ashley (Amy Adams), and seems to feel nothing but resentment for George. For her part, Ashley is a gregarious young woman, and she's immediately smitten with her "new sister." Junebug was selected by the Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center for inclusion in the 2005 edition of New Directors/New Films. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Category: Comedy Drama

Awards: In Competition – Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize for Acting – Sundance Film Festival Best First Screenplay – Independent Spirit Awards Best Supporting Actress – Independent Spirit Awards Producers Award – Independent Spirit Awards Best Supporting Actress (Runner-up) – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actress – Broadcast Film Critics Association Special Mention for Excellence in Filmmaking – National Board of Review Best Supporting Actress – San Francisco Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actress – Chicago Film Critics Association Most Promising Director – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actress – Screen Actors Guild Best Supporting Actress – National Society of Film Critics Best Supporting Actress – Online Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actress – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Features: ccDeleted scenes
Cast commentary
Behind-the-scenes featurettes
Casting sessions

Junebug

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 01/17/2006

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Alternate Wide Screen

Audio: DD5.0 Dolby Digital 5.0

Runtime: 106 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: French

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Junebug
1. Start [4:48]
2. David Wark [2:36]
3. From a Dream [2:53]
4. Meet the Family [6:19]
5. Homecoming [3:00]
6. Arts & Crafts [7:16]
7. Panther Pride [1:39]
8. Nails [4:29]
9. High-Fallutin' Talking [2:53]
10. Meerkat [3:43]
11. Small Potatoes [2:38]
12. A Little Rusty [6:59]
13. Night Walk [3:15]
14. Huck & Jim [2:41]
15. Misunderstanding [4:39]
16. Lost Screwdriver [2:56]
17. "She's Still... Strange" [3:40]
18. Labor Pains [4:06]
19. A Better Offer [1:33]
20. "It Means Something" [2:41]
21. Wooing Work [5:30]
22. "We Lost Him" [2:55]
23. The Scariest Thing [6:22]
24. So Sorry [1:58]
25. "We're Going" [3:50]
26. Nothing to Worry About [3:51]
27. "Look What I Found" [1:22]
28. "I'm So Glad We're Outta Here" [5:46]

Perry Seibert

Phil Morrison's Junebug has many of the elements expected from American independent films. It is character driven, offers a geographically specific location that is rarely seen in American films, and features lead characters who change in small and possibly, depending on one's appreciation of the film, profound ways. The strengths of the film are in the women. Embeth Davidtz plays Madeline, the sophisticated art dealer visiting the rural backwater that is home to her husband's family. She manages to make a character that should be unsympathetic very empathetic mostly because she does nothing consciously to offend her hosts' sensibilities. Hers is a finely modulated performance. Amy Adams, as the talkative sister-in-law who desires to gain some of Madeline's worldliness, serves up a great performance. The character lacks the prejudice seen in the other characters. Her performance is as open as her character, full of wide-eyed wonder and -- when the time comes -- deeply felt sadness. She portrays all of these emotions without ever sounding a false or actorly note. Where Morrison's film fails is in not clearly defining the role of Madeline's husband, George (Benjamin McKenzie). He seems disinterested and disassociated from everyone and everything except for the few moments when he is deeply engaged in a particular activity or person. Those changes in attitude seem so arbitrary that one is left with the suspicion that the character's ambivalence stems more from the filmmaker's inability to figure him out than from the character himself. While this problem disrupts the overall effect of the film, Adams and Davidtz make Junebug a worthy experience for anyone who appreciates fine acting. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Jill Wagner  Actor 
Yo La Tengo  Composer (Music Score) 
Phil Morrison  Director 
Daniel Rappaport  Executive Producer 
Dany Wolf  Executive Producer 
Mike S. Ryan  Producer 
Angus MacLachlan  Screenwriter 
Mindy Goldberg  Producer 
Mark P. Clein  Executive Producer 
Ethan D. Leder  Executive Producer 
Amy Adams  Actor 
Embeth Davidtz  Actor 
Benjamin McKenzie  Actor 
Alessandro Nivola  Actor 
Frank Hoyt Taylor  Actor 
Celia Weston  Actor 
Scott Wilson  Actor 

Country: USA