My New Gun
| My New Gun | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Stacy Cochran |
| Produced by |
Becky Arntzen (associate producer) |
| Written by | Stacy Cochran |
| Music by | Pat Irwin |
| Cinematography | Edward Lachman |
| Edited by | Camilla Toniolo |
| Distributed by | IRS Media |
Release dates | 26 October 1992 |
Running time | 99 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
My New Gun is a 1992 American satirical comedy film directed by Stacy Cochran. It stars Diane Lane, James Le Gros, Stephen Collins, and Tess Harper, with an early minor role for Philip Seymour Hoffman.[1] The film is about a husband who buys his respectable New Jersey housewife an unwanted revolver which she later comes to enjoy. My New Gun is the first of Cochran's feature films, directed shortly after she graduated from Columbia Film School.[2]
Cast
- Diane Lane as Debbie Bender
- James Le Gros as Skippy
- Stephen Collins as Gerald Bender
- Tess Harper as Kimmy Hayes
- Bruce Altman as Irwin Bloom
- Maddie Corman as Myra
- Bill Raymond as Andrew
- Suzzy Roche as Checkout Girl
- Philip Seymour Hoffman as Chris
- Patti Chambers as Janice Phee
- Stephen Pearlman as Al Schlyen
- Leslie Brett Daniels as Waitress
- Paul J.Q. Lee as Desk Manager
- Angela Marie Baker as Maid at Ramada
- Kent Gash as Bell Hop
Production
My New Gun was shot on a budget of $2.1 million, financed from IRS and Columbia-TriStar HomeVideo.[3] It was shot on location in Teaneck, New Jersey, and a townhouse was utilized for the interior of multiple homes.[3]
Release and reception
The film was a commercial failure that met with mixed reviews. One critic panned it and said, "after seeing this film I need a new gun so I can shoot myself." But the film was praised by another critic for its "masterfully understated structure" and eccentricities, which some considered to be influenced by Thelma and Louise or an update of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House.[2] Terrence Rafferty of The New Yorker praised the film for its cinematography and stated that "Cochran’s screenplay delights in fouling up the audience’s expectations".[4] Emanuel Levy has noted the way in which "the gifted director Stacy Cochran examines suburbia in a manner devoid of the usually nasty, mean-spirited approach to the subject", and unlike other downtown New York films, it "displays no irony or condescension; yet its quirkily laconic, minimalist perspective goes against expectations."[3]
References
- ↑ Oliver, David (2 February 2014). "Timeline: The life of Philip Seymour Hoffman". USA Today. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- 1 2 Allon, Yoram; Cullen, Del; Patterson, Hannah (2002). Contemporary North American Film Directors: A Wallflower Critical Guide. Wallflower Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-1-903364-52-9.
- 1 2 3 Levy, Emanuel (2001). Cinema of Outsiders: The Rise of American Independent Film. NYU Press. p. 393. ISBN 978-0-8147-5124-4.
- ↑ Rafferty, Terence. "My New Gun". The New Yorker. Retrieved 18 February 2014.