Mr. Wrong
| Mr. Wrong | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Nick Castle |
| Produced by | Marty Katz |
| Written by |
Chris Matheson Kerry Ehrin Craig Munson |
| Starring |
Ellen DeGeneres Bill Pullman Joan Cusack Dean Stockwell Joan Plowright |
| Music by | Craig Safan |
| Cinematography | John Schwartzman |
| Edited by | Patrick Kennedy |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures |
Release dates |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $19 million |
| Box office | $12.3 million |
Mr. Wrong is a 1996 American romantic/black comedy film starring Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Pullman. DeGeneres still mentions it occasionally in her talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show. It was a critical failure and a box office bomb.
Plot summary
The film begins with Martha Alston (DeGeneres) in a wedding gown incarcerated in a Mexican prison. The investigators call her Mrs. Crawford and listen to her explain why she committed murder on her wedding day.
Some time ago, at her younger sister's wedding, Martha is pestered by her family about when she'll get married. At work, she rejects a date with a younger coworker, Walter (John Livingston). Disappointed by her dull Valentine's Day blind date, she goes home to sulk in front of the TV, where, inundated by romantic imagery, she is prompted to get out of the house.
Martha goes to a bar where she drops her quarter in front of the jukebox. She bends down to get it when a man shows up and selects the same song she would have chosen. He is Whitman Crawford (Pullman), and they instantly hit it off. They go back to his house and have sex. He says he's a poet and an investor. He reads her one of his poems.
Martha introduces Whitman to her family and he impresses them. But by the time she meets his mother, she has become convinced he is not Mr. Right at all. His ex-girlfriend, Inga (Joan Cusack), and her accomplice, Bob (Brad William Henke), harass her. Inga refuses to believe that Martha has dumped him. He refuses to believe it either, and begins stalking her and trying to woo her back in increasingly ridiculous ways. He even buys off her private investigator (Dean Stockwell) and abducts her to Mexico to marry her there.
Walter shows up to rescue Martha from the wedding, but trips. His gun falls into her hand and she shoots Whitman. Then she's arrested, and the investigators conclude that she murdered him. Walter springs her out of jail and explains that it was Inga who did it.
Walter and Martha ride a horse west towards the sunset. Title cards over this scene explain that they eventually turned north towards the American border, Inga and Bob get married and open a pet store in Albuquerque, and Whitman continues his search for love.
Cast
- Ellen DeGeneres as Martha Alston
- Bill Pullman as Whitman Crawford
- Joan Cusack as Inga Gunther
- Dean Stockwell as Jack Tramonte
- Joan Plowright as Mrs. Crawford
- Hope Davis as Annie
- Ellen Cleghorne as Jane
- Robert Goulet as Braxton
- John Livingston as Walter
Reception
The film received extremely negative reviews, garnering a score of 4% on Rotten Tomatoes.[1]
Mick LaSalle, writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, found the film "dreadful" and "inherently unfunny" after Martha dumps Whitman and he begins stalking her.[2]
Rita Kempley, writing for The Washington Post, assessed the film a "sour, listless debunking of romantic comedies, ... [with] fewer laughs than Looking for Mr. Goodbar" and laments that "Ellen DeGeneres, a comedian and sitcom star in her film debut, [who] is ostensibly the protagonist here" does not control the action, but her character "merely reacts to [Whitman's] twists and turn-ons".[3]
Not every critic was disparaging of the film, however. Martin and Porter gave it three stars, and while acknowledging that "the script is predictable and Nick Castle's direction is only adequate", they found that "DeGeneres's personal charm and a few inspired gags make it all worthwhile".[4]
Box office
The film debuted at No. 6.[5]
References
- ↑ "Mr. Wrong (1996)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster, Inc. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
- ↑ Mick LaSalle, "Little Right About `Mr. Wrong'" San Francisco Chronicle, August 23, 1996, p. D-18
- ↑ Rita Kempley, ‘Mr. Wrong’ (PG-13), Washington Post, February 17, 1996
- ↑ Mick Martin & Marsha Porter, DVD & Video Guide 2005 New York: Random House Publishing Group (2004), p. 737
- ↑ ROBERT W. WELKOS (21 February 1996). "Weekend Box Office : It's a Bull's-Eye for 'Broken Arrow'". L.A. Times. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
External links
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