Carolina (2003/I)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Marleen Gorris

Writer (WGA):

Katherine Fugate (written by)

Release Date:

4 July 2003 (Spain)

Genre:

Romance | Comedy

Plot:

A young woman escapes her wildly eccentric family in search for a life of normalcy. |

Plot Keywords:

Christmas Party | Thanksgiving | Los Angeles California | Book Reading | Growing Up

Cast

Julia Stiles	...	Carolina Mirabeau
Shirley MacLaine	...	Grandma Millicent Mirabeau
Alessandro Nivola	...	Albert Morris
Randy Quaid	...	Theodore 'Ted' Mirabeau
Edward Atterton	...	Heath Pierson
Azura Skye	...	Georgia Mirabeau
Mika Boorem	...	Maine Mirabeau
Jennifer Coolidge	...	Aunt Marilyn
Alan Thicke	...	Chuck McBride - Perfect Date Host
John Capodice	...	Ernie the Cook
Lisa Sheridan	...	Debbie
Ambyr Childers	...	Young Carolina
Daveigh Chase	...	Young Georgia
Lauri Johnson	...	Susan the Waitress
Michael Panes	...	John

Also Known As:

Carolina - Auf der Suche nach Mr. Perfect (Germany)
Carolina Torn Asunder (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual content.

Runtime:

Canada:96 min (Ontario)

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:M | Spain:7 | USA:PG-13 | Germany:6 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Bregman-IAC Productions

Trivia:

Kathy Bates was originally considered for the role of Grandma Mirabeau, later given to Shirley MacLaine.

Goofs:

Continuity: The rings on Carolina's left hand change repeatedly between shots when she's kissing Albert at the end of the movie.

Quotes:

Grandma Mirabeau: [Saying grace at a Thanksgiving's Day dinner] Lord, bless my family. Fill their bellies and keep them warm and safe. And, now, Lord, let's get personal. Please find Georgia a man to daddy that young 'un she's carrying. Give Maine those lottery numbers before she loses her virginity on that rocking horse...

Movie Connections:

References Nine 1/2 Weeks (1986)

Horrible movie

Poor Shirley MacLaine. I have seen her in other movies (just today "Guarding Tess) so I know she can be good, but judging by her acting in this film one would think she is a bad actress. Here she plays another in a long line of eccentric characters. The problem is she is no longer in her 20s and can be cute and kooky as in "The Apartment", "What a Way to Go!", and "Sweet Charity".

Judging from the entire movie, the movie script fails her as the script is terrible. However Ms. MacLaine has been in the movie business since 1955 and has appeared in a number of excellent movies so she at least could have made her role good in this bad movie. Nope. Not in this movie. Take for instance the scene where she talks to the screen in the movie theater and then harangues the young usher who comes to ask her to be quiet. Dreadful performance in a dreadful scene. It is also an unnecessary scene as we already know MacLaine's character is embarrassing to her granddaughters.

Julia Stiles again plays a young uptight woman who needs to learn to loosen up. Ms. Stiles has acted since 1994, many years prior to this 2003 movie. She has experience playing this role before, i.e. in "10 Things I Hate About You" from 1999. Stiles also could have brought something interesting to her role here. She didn't.

The characters in this movie were all eccentric characters who were one dimensional and annoying, and not real at all.

Stiles played an uptight woman who never had more than three dates with one person. Her best friend is man (she has no women friends) who lives near her apartment. He writes romance novels under a fake name, has a crush on her, and she has no idea. Duh. As the best male friend in movies is often stereotypically a gay man, I initially thought he was gay. When he hired the gay housecleaning duo to clean her apartment, I was sure he was gay. Speaking of the gay house cleaners, talk about an offensive stereotype.

Anyway, her best friend is not gay, and although he claims to understand her well and can predict she will act a certain way - and tells her so, when she does act the way he knew she would, he gets upset. Huh? All a plot device to have "boy lose girl".

I don't think Stiles, MacLaine, or most any of the actors, cared for this movie. They must have been in it either because of an obligation or they needed the money.

Watching this movie is a waste of time, and I bet the actors wish they hadn't wasted their time making this movie.