The Estate | |
---|---|
Directed by | Dean Craig |
Written by | Dean Craig |
Produced by |
|
Starring | |
Cinematography | Darin Moran |
Edited by | Annette Davey |
Music by | Will Bates |
Production companies |
|
Distributed by |
|
Release date |
|
Running time | 96 minutes |
Countries |
|
Language | English |
Budget | $10.5 million [2] |
Box office | $572,062 [3] |
The Estate is a 2022 black comedy film written and directed by Dean Craig. It stars Toni Collette and Anna Faris as sisters who try to get back in the good graces of their estranged aunt before she passes to inherit some of her fortune. The film was released on November 4, 2022, by Signature Entertainment.
Two sisters, Macy and Savannah are denied for a bank loan. Their mom says her sister, with a $20 million estate, has cancer. Savannah suggests to her sister that they attempt to get their aunt Hilda's inheritance money. Macy's boyfriend is moving to Alaska for a year if there is no money, so she agrees to the plan.
But when they arrive at their aunt's mansion, they find their cousin Beatrice also there along with her husband James, making soup in kitchen. They accuse her of trying for the inheritance. Later, another cousin Richard alias Dick joins them. They trade insults between themselves. Richard hits on Macy, even though they are cousins.
Macy and Savannah take their aunt to see her sister for reconciliation, but they start physically fighting with each other. Richard buys flowers and cake for his aunt. James and Beatrice make the aunt a photo album - which she likes. Macy and Savannah are unable to compete against their cousins, so they plan to bring out the aunt's high school crush Bill. Beatrice overhears the plan and decides to get her aunt to sleep with her husband James, who rebels against it.
Macy and Savannah see Bill, but he lives in a Halfway House for sex offenders who are out of prison. They bribe him with $200, and give him the aunt's address.
Bill arrives for the date, and Dick remembers that Bill is a flasher and mentions it to Beatrice who breaks into the aunt's room and tells her about Bill being a sex offender. Aunt is willing to give Bill a second chance and get married, so Bill would inherit the estate, which spoils the cousins' plans.
The cousins all join together to take out Bill, deciding to split the estate equally between them. The plan is to show that Bill is still a flasher. Their younger sister is set as a bait for the sex offender Bill, and she agrees to get him drunk, and get him to flash.
James leaves, and wants his wife to come with him. He says it's either him or the money, and Beatrice chooses the money. The cousins lure Bill out to the garden and seat him with Ellen, but he passes out. Savannah unzips his pant and takes some pictures. Macy tries to zip him up, when her boyfriend Geoff arrives to see it happen. Aunt sees Bill's dick out of his pants and asks him to leave. She starts foaming at the mouth and a doctor is called who informs them it's time to say their goodbyes. The cousins give the aunt a will to sign with her giving up her estate to them. After forcing her to sign it, she rebukes them before taking her last breath.
At the will execution, the lawyer says the aunt had 17 million dollars, but only $38.17 remain after debts are accounted for. Plus Macy gets the painting of the aunt's dog.
When Macy and her sisters go home, they discover a document with the painting's value assessed at $4.3 million.
Signature and Capstone announced that Dean Craig was writing and directing The Estate in December 2021, and Toni Collette and Anna Faris would star in the film. [4] In the following months, Kathleen Turner, Rosemarie DeWitt, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, David Duchovny, and Ron Livingston joined the cast. [5] [6]
Filming took place in New Orleans between February and March 2022. [5] [7]
Signature released the film to limited theaters on November 4, 2022. [8] It released on DVD on January 10, 2023. [9]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 32% of 31 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.3/10.The website's consensus reads: "With a coarse and leaden script persistently at odds against the film's stellar cast, most viewers will find The Estate taxing." [10]
Toni Collette is an Australian actress. Known for her work in television and independent films, she has received various accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and five AACTA Awards, with nominations for an Academy Award and a Tony Award.
Muriel's Wedding is a 1994 Australian comedy-drama film written and directed by P. J. Hogan. The film, which stars Toni Collette, Rachel Griffiths, Jeanie Drynan, Sophie Lee, and Bill Hunter, focuses on the socially awkward Muriel whose ambition is to have a glamorous wedding and improve her personal life by moving from her dead-end hometown, the fictional Porpoise Spit, to Sydney.
Thomas Haden Church is an American actor. After starring in the 1990s sitcom Wings and playing the lead for two seasons in Ned & Stacey (1995–1997), Church became known for his film work, including his role of Lyle van de Groot in George of the Jungle (1997), his Academy Award–nominated performance in Sideways (2004), his role as the Marvel Comics villain Sandman in the superhero films Spider-Man 3 (2007) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), as well as his starring roles in Over the Hedge (2006), Smart People (2008), Easy A (2010), We Bought a Zoo (2011), Max (2015), and Hellboy (2019). He also made his directorial debut with Rolling Kansas (2003). In 2023, he starred as antagonist Agent Stone in the post-apocalyptic action comedy series Twisted Metal.
The Pallbearer is a 1996 American romantic comedy film co-written and directed by Matt Reeves in his directorial debut and starring David Schwimmer, Gwyneth Paltrow, Toni Collette, Michael Vartan, Michael Rapaport, and Barbara Hershey. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival.
Emma is a 1996 British-American period comedy film based on the 1815 novel of the same name by Jane Austen. Written and directed by Douglas McGrath, and produced by Patrick Cassavetti and Steven Haft, the film stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Alan Cumming, Toni Collette, Ewan McGregor, and Jeremy Northam.
The Staircase is a 2004 French-produced, English-language documentary television miniseries directed by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade about the trial of Michael Peterson, convicted of murdering his wife, Kathleen Peterson.
Ramona Forever is a humorous children's novel written by Beverly Cleary. The seventh book in the Ramona Quimby series, continues the story of Ramona, her older sister, Beezus, and their family. They are finally old enough to stay home together, and they work hard to get along. Mrs. Quimby is expecting a baby and Aunt Bea gets engaged in a book that sees Ramona coping with growing up. It was originally published in 1984.
Rosemarie Braddock DeWitt is an American actress. DeWitt played Emily Lehman in the Fox television series Standoff (2006–07), co-starring with her future husband Ron Livingston, as well as Charmaine Craine on United States of Tara. She also was the title character in 2008's Rachel Getting Married, garnering several awards and nominations for best supporting actress. She starred as Ryan Gosling's sister Laura Wilder in the Oscar-winning movie La La Land. She also starred in the horror/thriller Poltergeist (2015), a remake of the 1982 film of the same name.
Observe and Report is a 2009 American crime comedy film written and directed by Jody Hill and starring Seth Rogen, Anna Faris, and Ray Liotta. It follows a mentally unstable vigilante mall cop who attempts to join the police academy and pursues a flasher tormenting female visitors to the mall where he works. It was released on April 10, 2009, and grossed $27 million.
The House Bunny is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Fred Wolf written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, and produced by Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo, Anna Faris, Allen Covert, and Heather Parry. The film stars Faris, Colin Hanks, and Emma Stone, and tells the story of a former Playboy bunny who signs up to be the "house mother" of an unpopular university sorority after finding out she must leave the Playboy Mansion.
The Heiress is a 1947 play by American playwrights Ruth and Augustus Goetz adapted from the 1880 Henry James novel Washington Square. Two years later, the play was adapted into the film The Heiress starring Olivia de Havilland.
Krampus is a 2015 Christmas black comedy folk horror film based on the eponymous character from Austro-Bavarian folklore, directed by Michael Dougherty, who co-wrote with Todd Casey and Zach Shields. The film stars Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allison Tolman, Conchata Ferrell, Emjay Anthony, Stefania LaVie Owen, with Krista Stadler, and introducing Lolo Owen, Queenie Samuel, Maverick Flack, and Sage Hunefeld. In the film, a dysfunctional family squabbling causes a young boy (Max) to lose his festive spirit. Doing so unleashes the wrath of Krampus, a fearsome, horned demonic beast in ancient European folklore who punishes naughty children at Christmas time. As Krampus lays siege to the neighborhood, the family must band together to save one another from a monstrous fate.
The Yellow Birds is a 2017 American war film directed by Alexandre Moors and based on the novel The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers. The film stars Tye Sheridan, Alden Ehrenreich, Toni Collette, Jason Patric, Jack Huston, and Jennifer Aniston.
Hearts Beat Loud is a 2018 American musical comedy-drama film directed by Brett Haley, from a screenplay by Haley and Marc Basch. It stars Nick Offerman, Kiersey Clemons, Ted Danson, Sasha Lane, Blythe Danner and Toni Collette, and follows a Brooklyn record store owner who tries to convince his daughter to start a band with him after a song they recorded goes viral.
Overboard is a 2018 American romantic comedy film directed by Rob Greenberg, who wrote the screenplay with Bob Fisher and Leslie Dixon. A characteristically-reversed remake of the original 1987 film, the film stars Eugenio Derbez, Anna Faris, Cecilia Suárez, Eva Longoria, and John Hannah. It follows a struggling, working-class single mother who convinces a rich playboy with amnesia that they are married.
Hereditary is a 2018 American psychological horror film written and directed by Ari Aster in his feature directorial debut. Starring Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, Ann Dowd, and Gabriel Byrne, the film follows a grieving family tormented by sinister occurrences after the death of their secretive grandmother.
The Staircase is an American biographical crime drama television miniseries created by Antonio Campos, based on the 2004 true crime docuseries of the same name created by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade. The series stars Colin Firth as Michael Peterson, a writer convicted of murdering his wife Kathleen Peterson, who was found dead at the bottom of the staircase in their home. The series premiered on HBO Max on May 5, 2022.
Mafia Mamma is a 2023 American action comedy film directed by Catherine Hardwicke, from a screenplay by Michael J. Feldman and Debbie Jhoon, and based on an original story by Amanda Sthers. It stars Toni Collette as an American woman who travels to Italy following the death of her grandfather, whom she discovers was a mafia Don. Monica Bellucci, Eduardo Scarpetta and Sophia Nomvete also star.