Ed (film)

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Ed
Ed poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Bill Couturié
Screenplay by David Mickey Evans
Story byKen Richards
Janus Cercone
Produced byRosalie Swedlin
Bill Finnegan [1]
Starring
CinematographyAlan Caso
Edited byRobert K. Lambert
Todd E. Miller
Music by Stephen Endelman
Production
company
Longview Entertainment [2]
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date
  • March 15, 1996 (1996-03-15)
Running time
94 minutes
Budget$24 million[ citation needed ]
Box office$4,422,330 [3]

Ed is a 1996 American sports comedy film starring Matt LeBlanc about a talented baseball pitcher and his friendly ball-playing chimpanzee as his team's mascot.

Contents

The film received negative reviews from critics, with a 6% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Plot

Jack "Deuce" Cooper is a farm boy who arrives at an open tryout for a minor league baseball team. He makes the team after blowing away the scouts with his 'rocket' arm as well as having a strong training camp. Deuce also befriends a chimpanzee, Ed, after being told the chimp is his roommate and teammate. After they move into their apartment, Deuce develops a relationship Lydia his neighbor. Ed becomes very close with her and Elizabeth, her daughter. Deuce's game really begins to take off as well as Ed's and the team becomes a league contender. Deuce's coach, Chubb, thinks Deuce can play in the major leagues. But after the owners sell Ed to make a buck, Deuce takes matters into his own hands and goes to find Ed only to see him being tortured by a pair of goons. Deuce saves Ed but Ed escapes and finds a truck of frosted bananas and does not realize he is stuck inside. Ed ends up in the hospital after almost freezing to death before the final game. Deuce questions his own ability to continue playing without his best friend. Deuce ends up playing and struggles. But when Ed, Elizabeth, and Lydia arrive at the game together, Deuce turns up the heat and the Rockets win. Deuce eventually gets called up to the Dodgers. Deuce and Lydia get married and them and Ed and Elizabeth become a family.

Cast

Production

In May 1993, the film was announced to be in development under the title You Should See Them Play and was one of three active monkey/ape films announced to be in development along with Dunston Checks In (then known as Prime Mates) at 20th Century Fox and Monkey Trouble (then known as Pet) at New Line Cinema. [4] Ken Richards wrote the original screenplay and rewrites were provided by Janus Cercone and David Mickey Evans. [4] [5] Matt LeBlanc and Matthew Perry competed for the lead role of Jack "Deuce" Cooper with LeBlanc winning out over Perry. [6] The titular Ed was brought to life through a mixture of animatronics made by David Nelson and Norman Tempia while gymnasts Jay Caputo and Denise Cheshire would play the role in full make-up when more fluid actions were needed. [7] Ed marked the narrative film debut of documentary filmmaker Bill Couturié. [8] The movie was shot from April through July of 1995 in Los Angeles, California. [9] During production, the film was known under the working title of Mickey's Monkey. [5] On his decision to do Ed, LeBlanc said in a 2014 interivew:

That was, on paper, a great idea. [Laughs.] It was supposed to be like a Disney movie for kids, but made by Universal, about a guy who played baseball, and there was a chimp on the team who played third base. The script was great, and the guy learned about his life, turned his life around. It was just this kind of warm, sweet little kids’ movie. I went to a few screenings, and the kids did love it. It was a cute little movie. [10]

Primatologist Roger Fouts served as a technical advisor and directed Caputo to effectively mimic chimp behaviors. [10]

Release

Ed was released theatrically in the United States on March 15, 1996. [8] A home video released followed on August 6, 1996. [8]

Reception

The film was a box office disappointment.[ citation needed ]On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 6% of 17 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 2.7/10. [11] It received four Razzie Award nominations for Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay (David M. Evans), and Worst Screen Couple (for LeBlanc and Ed the chimpanzee), losing all of those categories to Striptease starring Demi Moore. LeBlanc was also nominated for Worst New Star for his role, but "lost" to Pamela Anderson in Barb Wire .[ citation needed ] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 25 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. [12] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "B+" on a scale of A+ to F. [13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "TV and film producer William Finnegan dies at 80". Los Angeles Times . December 2, 2008. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Ed (1996)". BFI . Archived from the original on May 8, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Ed". Box Office Mojo.
  4. 1 2 "Burton's off 'Reilly'". Variety. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
  5. 1 2 "FUTURE FILMS". Variety. Archived from the original on December 3, 2024. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
  6. ↑ Mell, Eila (2013). Casting Might-Have-Beens: A Film by Film Directory of Actors Considered for Roles Given to Others. McFarland. ISBN   9781476609768.page 254
  7. ↑ Erickson, Hal (April 26, 2010). The Baseball Filmography, 1915 through 2001, 2d ed. McFarland. ISBN   978-0-7864-4497-7.
  8. 1 2 3 "Ed (1996)". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Ed (1996)". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
  10. 1 2 Harris, Will (March 14, 2014). "Matt LeBlanc on the legacy of Joey Tribbiani and playing himself". The A.V. Club . Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Ed". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved October 6, 2021. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  12. ↑ "Ed". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
  13. ↑ "Cinemascore". Archived from the original on December 20, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
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