2/5 Nothing new in this town...
  by Andrew Ellington (Mulholland Drive)
One of those pointless romantic comedies, `New in Town' has absolutely nothing in it that sets it apart from the rest of the pack. The acting is mediocre, at time excruciatingly amateur, and that script is so cookie cutter that it borrows so much from other, better films to create a complete waste of time.

And yet I'm compelled to give this two stars for the mere fact that I did laugh kind of hard a few times.

Lucy Hill is a Miami businesswoman who gets transferred to a small town in Minnesota in order to whip a plant into shape. She is not given a warm welcome, as the townsfolk know with her she brings layoffs, but what starts off rocky soon becomes smooth as Lucy warms up to Ted, the local Union Officer, not to mention Blanche, her secretary. Of course, it can't stay smooth for long, especially once her corporate office makes some abrupt changes in her plans. But, have no worries; like every movie it steals its many scenes from, there is a happy (and very sappy) ending in store for us.

My issue is that nothing here is fresh, exciting or noteworthy.

Except Harry Connick Jr.

I credit every funny scene in this film to Connick Jr., an actor I used to kind of hate but who has lately made me take a double take (his work in 07's `Bug' was extraordinary). He is funny, charming and totally natural here, even when everyone around him is nothing more than an over-emphasized stereotype. He stands out, not just because everyone else is horrible, but because he is BETTER THAN THIS MOVIE.

Zellweger used to be so lovely. Remember when she waded through `Bridget Jones' movies with spunk and sweetened naturalism? Remember when she blew us all away with her beautifully charming breakthrough in `Jerry Maguire'? Remember her sizzle through `Chicago'? WHERE IS THAT GIRL!?!? I miss her. Her she is nothing, truly NOTHING. Her squished face barely registers an emotion through this entire film. In fact, the only scene she nails is the one where she plays drunk. Siobhan Fallon is really nothing but a carbon copy of a `Fargo' character, yet without the intelligence that the Coen brothers brought to their characters. J.K. Simmons is a great character actor, but his accent is so iffy that he really loses points here. I will say that the weight and the beard suit him (he should think about getting fat) but aside from that he was absolutely pointless.

Why does every one of these films containing a diner waitress name her Flo?

Skip this one. Really. Stay away. It's sad, because I really liked Connick Jr.'s performance and want to say "watch this for him" but even he is not worth suffering through the rest of this film for. My wife even said about halfway through; "is this torture for you too?" and the answer was "yes", but I have this thing where I need to finish what I start, even if the only reason is to tear it apart the next day in a review!

5/5 New In Town
  by Janet Sue (Columbus, OH)
What a great movie!!! A delightful romantic comedy! I watched it 3 times in a row and caught something different each time. Also thoroughly enjoyed to actor and director interviews on the Special Features after watching the movie. Just hearing how they had to endure those horrible below zero weather conditions while filming this movie was increadible and makes you want to watch the movie all over again. Harry Connick Jr was his usual wonderful self and as a sweet hometown like guy (similar to the charachter he played in Hope Floats) makes me wonder where all these nice hometown guys are and how come I can't find someone sweet like that!!! Renee Zellweger was fantastic too and played a very sweet and funny roll! And the way the hometown people pulled together makes you hope there is still that "we can do it" attitude and spirit still somewhere in America. Tapioca pudding, anyone???

3/5 Cute Movie
  by Sasha (Central Valley, CA)
Very predictable but cute at the same time. I like Renee Zellweger and enjoy seeing her fall in love on screen which is something she does the great majority of the time in her movies. The movie was ok.

5/5 Awesome movie!
  by G. Jay (Beaverton, OR United States)
I liked this movie because it was clean enough for the whole family to watch AND it had a great story line- funny, sweet, romantic- everything you want in a feel-good movie :)

5/5 New in Town
  by James L. Davis (Rawlings, MD)
Great comedy and romance. Renee and Harry have good chemistry! Hometown kind of movie. Funny situations and good old fashion humor! Spectacular picture quality. Blu Ray rocks!