Film critics rarely blink when Hollywood stereotypes Middle Americans as God fearin’ folk who cling to their guns and NASCAR T-shirts.
But they sure take exception to films mocking Minnesotans.
Consider the blistering assaults on “New in Town,” the romantic comedy which playfully jabs at some “youbetcha” spouting Minnesotans.
USA Today’s Claudia Puig went ballistic.
“Not content to be merely inane and predictable, it is downright insulting, humorlessly deriding those who choose to live in rural America, labor in factories or have a strong Christian faith.
Puig isn’t alone. Check out The Wall Street Journal’s Joe Morgenstern’s take on the locals:
“[They're] speaking in farther-gone-than-”Fargo” accents and behaving like bumptious idiots.”
The Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Carol Cling also complained about the accents (note: Mrs. WWTW hails from Minneapolis, and plenty of people do speak exactly like this …)
“They also lard their dead-on-arrival dialogue with plenty of “You betchas” and “Doncha knows” to make darn tootin’ sure.”
AP film critic Christy Lemire all but shouts from the rooftops with her review:
“Good people of Minnesota: Stand up! Fight back! Take back your state and your culture and your accent!”
Ironically, two film critics from major Minnesota newspapers weren’t offended in the least.
The Pioneer Press’s film critic Chris Hewitt all but embraces the film and how it depicts his fellow citizens.
“Instead of making fun of faith, friendship and small-town values, “New in Town” says there might just be something there that would benefit a corporate high-roller from Miami.”
The Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Colin Covert called the film “charming” (or at least the headline writer thusly summed it up.
Shouldn’t those two papers be leading the charge against the film?
Or are we dealing with mock outrage?
(Photo: Blanche Gunderson (Siobhan Fallon Hogan, standing center) and Trudy Van Uuden (Frances Conroy, seated right) in “New in Town.” Photo credit: Rebecca Sandulak)
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
My wife and I saw the movie and liked it. We also lived in North Dakota for 4 years (in the USAF) and spent considerable time in Minnesota. The movie made us a little homesick, but we don’t miss the snow and cold!
I really can’t wait to hear what people from that part of the country think of the film … and whether or not they find it offensive.
Thanks for your thoughts, Marty.
The Minnesotans and North Dakotans that I knew would not be offended by the movie, or at least I don’t think they would.
As a southerner (born in SC, raised in NC), I always find it amusing to hear the awful southern accents on TV and in movies. I’m not offended by it, just amused. It is funny that even southern actors can’t seem to do a decent southern accent! Why is that?
Hey there Christian. I didn’t see this film, but my wife and her family did. They certainly didn’t find it offensive or anything like that, though they didn’t think it was very good. They did mention the accent issue though. They said the film takes place in southern Minnesota where just about no one has the ‘Minnesota’ accent.
I told my Minnesota-born friend a joke related by William H. Macy on the “Fargo” DVD’s “Minnesota Nice” featurette:
Q: How do you get four drunk Minnesotans out of the swimming pool?
A: “Hey, fellas, it’s time to get out of the pool!”
He topped it with, “And they’d probably say, ‘Yah, thanks for askin!’”
Good info, Tom … Hollywood can be pretty sloppy sometimes, eh? How hard would it have been to set the story in a fictional Minnesota town just to avoid any problems?
BTW, I believe the film was shot in Canada, not Minnesota…