She's Funny That Way (film)

Last updated

She's Funny That Way
She's Funny That Way.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Peter Bogdanovich
Written by
  • Louise Stratten
  • Peter Bogdanovich
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyYaron Orbach
Edited by
Music by Edward Shearmur
Production
companies
  • Lagniappe Films
  • Venture Forth
  • Three Point Capital
  • Lailaps Pictures
  • Holly Wiersma Productions
Distributed by Lionsgate Premiere (United States)
Wild Bunch (Germany) [1]
Release dates
  • August 29, 2014 (2014-08-29)(Venice)
  • August 20, 2015 (2015-08-20)(Germany)
  • August 21, 2015 (2015-08-21)(United States)
Running time
94 minutes [2]
113 minutes (Director's cut)
Countries
  • United States
  • Germany [3]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10 million [4]
Box office$6 million [5]

She's Funny That Way (originally titled Squirrels to the Nuts) is a 2014 screwball comedy [6] [7] film directed by Peter Bogdanovich and co-written with Louise Stratten. It stars Owen Wilson, Imogen Poots, Kathryn Hahn, Will Forte, Rhys Ifans, and Jennifer Aniston. It marked the first feature film Bogdanovich directed in 13 years since The Cat's Meow . In addition, the film marked Bogdanovich' final non-documentary feature he directed and Richard Lewis' final theatrical film before their deaths in 2022 and 2024 respectively.

Contents

It received a limited release in the United States and was released through video on demand on August 21, 2015, by Lionsgate Premiere. [7] [8]

Plot

Broadway director Arnold Albertson—under the alias "Derek"—hires "Glo Stick", a call girl whose real name is Izzy Finklestein, despite Arnold being married with two children. Izzy dreams of becoming an actress, and "Derek" offers her $30,000 to quit being a call girl and pursue her true goal. She is not the first escort he has done this for. Lead actor Seth Gilbert sees Arnold kissing Izzy as she leaves his hotel room.

Arnold's wife Delta Simmons is the star of his new play A Grecian Evening. Izzy, keeping her promise to "Derek", shows up to audition for a part in the play as a call girl, unaware that Derek/Arnold is the director. Impressed, playwright Joshua Fleet becomes attracted to Izzy and invites her out to dinner, despite the fact that he is dating Jane Claremont, who happens to be Izzy's therapist. Meanwhile, Judge Pendergast is another client of Izzy's, and also a patient of Jane. He is obsessed with Izzy, and hires private investigator Harold Fleet, who happens to be Joshua's father, to follow her.

After the auditions, everyone ends up at the same Italian restaurant. Harold sees Izzy with his son Joshua. Jane arrives with her client Judge Pendergast—who both see Joshua with Izzy. Jane punches Joshua in the face and storms out the restaurant, quickly pursued by Judge Pendergast. Izzy sees Arnold and tries to escape out of the bathroom window, but Delta catches her and brings her back into the restaurant. Izzy's cover is almost blown when Seth arrives with a co-worker of Izzy's.

Although Arnold is initially unsure, Izzy is eventually given the role. While shopping, Delta discovers that Arnold has been hiring escorts when Margie, another former escort Arnold helped, thanks him profusely and indiscreetly. Joshua learns about Izzy when Judge Pendergast confronts the two of them while they are on a date; she runs off before he can talk to her. Arnold invites Izzy back to his hotel room to talk. Delta turns to Seth, who has long professed his love for her, for comfort, but finds another call girl hiding in his bathroom. She then storms into Arnold's room, only to find Izzy hiding in his bathroom.

Everyone shows up to the first table read the next day, despite the tension. Delta makes a point of kissing Seth passionately while rehearsing. Izzy's father shows up looking for the men who paid his daughter for sex. Jane shows up to cause a scene and identifies Judge Pendergast, Arnold, and Joshua as Izzy's clients. During the commotion, Seth and Jane catch each others' eye.

The play opens to great acclaim. In an interview some time later, Izzy says that it closed in a week because wives from Long Island are not interested in seeing a play about call girls. Nevertheless, she caught the attention of a man from Hollywood, and has achieved success as a film actress since. She and Joshua broke up; she is now dating Quentin Tarantino. Seth and Jane are still dating. Judge Pendergast was arrested for solicitation. His wife is now dating Harold Fleet. Arnold now works for a charity giving large sums of money to women's causes.

Cast

Cameo appearances

Production

Development

She's Funny That Way originated from a script written by director Peter Bogdanovich and ex-wife Louise Stratten around 1999 and 2000. Bogdanovich and Stratten, who were in financial distress at the time trying to buy back They All Laughed (1981), decided to write a comedy to uplift their spirits. While writing the script, Bogdanovich was inspired by an incident in Singapore during the time he was filming Saint Jack in 1978, where he was able to talk to many prostitutes after hiring them for his film. He would give them more money than their salary for them to leave the prostitution business. The script was originally titled Squirrels to the Nuts, but due to many people misinterpreting it as a children's film, Bogdanovich changed it to She's Funny That Way. [6] ("Squirrels to the Nuts" is a line used frequently in the film, lifted from the 1946 film Cluny Brown .) Bogdanovich originally wrote the role of Arnold Albertson for John Ritter, but due to his death, he shelved the project. Bogdanovich later became friends with Owen Wilson, introduced to him by Wes Anderson, and he decided to change aspects of the character of Albertson: all of the physical gags intended for Ritter were changed to verbal jokes to suit Wilson. [6] In 2010, Bogdanovich's protégés—Anderson and Noah Baumbach—offered their backing to get the film made, agreeing to serve as executive producers. [12]

Casting

When the script was originally written, Bogdanovich envisioned John Ritter, Cybill Shepherd and co-writer Louise Stratten in the lead roles. [13] In 2012, when the film was officially announced, Wilson, Brie Larson, and Olivia Wilde were signed on in lead roles. Larson was to play the call girl-turned-ingenue actress and Wilde would play the role of her therapist. Jason Schwartzman was also rumored to be in negotiations to play Wilde's playwright boyfriend. Due to production delays, Wilson is the only actor to remain with the project. [14] In February 2013, it was announced that Jennifer Aniston would replace Wilde in the role of the therapist, the same time Kathryn Hahn, Cybill Shepherd, and Eugene Levy were announced as cast members. [15] Aniston was initially offered the part of Delta Simmons, Arnold Albertson's wife, but she favored the role of the therapist, in which she was cast. [6] Despite the commencement of filming on July 11, 2013, Imogen Poots [16] and Richard Lewis [17] were announced for roles of the ingenue and her father on July 22, with Will Forte taking the role of a playwright two days later. [18] The same week, the casting of Joanna Lumley, [9] Debi Mazar, [9] Rhys Ifans, [19] Lucy Punch, [19] Ahna O'Reilly, [19] and Jake Hoffman [19] was set.

Filming

Principal photography lasted 29 days, [6] commencing on July 11, 2013, in New York City. [20]

Music

On July 15, 2014, Edward Shearmur was hired to score the music for the film, replacing Stephen Endelman, who had already recorded music for the film by the time of the announcement. [21] [22]

Release

She's Funny That Way premiered at the 71st Venice International Film Festival on August 29, 2014. [23] On September 12, it was bought by Clarius Entertainment at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. [24] A screening at the Tokyo International Film Festival was scheduled for late October. [25] In January 2015, the film was screened to the Palm Springs International Film Festival. [26]

The film was originally scheduled for a May 1, 2015, release in theaters nationwide, but Clarius Entertainment pulled the film from the schedule. [27] However, on June 2, 2015, Lionsgate Premiere acquired the film after Clarius Entertainment dropped the film for unknown reasons. [28] The film was released in the United States on August 21, 2015, in select theaters and through video on demand. [29]

In 2020, a copy of Bogdanovich's original cut of the film, still titled Squirrels to the Nuts, was found on eBay by James Kenney, an English lecturer at City University of New York. [30] [31] In the wake of Bogdanovich's death in January 2022, the cut was shown at New York's Museum of Modern Art beginning on March 28, 2022. [32]

Reception

Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 45% based on 100 reviews, with an average rating of 5.30/10. The site's critical consensus states: "She's Funny That Way is an affectionate, talent-filled throwback to screwball comedies of old—which makes it even more frustrating that the laughs are disappointingly few and far between." [33] Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 45 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [34]

Accolades

AccoladeCategoryRecipientResultRef
Jupiter Award Best International Actress Jennifer Aniston Nominated [35]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Aniston</span> American actress (born 1969)

Jennifer Joanna Aniston is an American actress. She rose to international fame for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends from 1994 to 2004, which earned her Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild awards. Since her career progressed in the 1990s, Aniston has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid actresses, as of 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Bogdanovich</span> American film director (1939–2022)

Peter Bogdanovich was an American director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian. He started his career as a film critic for Film Culture and Esquire before becoming a prominent filmmaker as part of the New Hollywood movement. He received accolades including a BAFTA Award and Grammy Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Owen Wilson</span> American actor (born 1968)

Owen Cunningham Wilson is an American actor. He has frequently worked with filmmaker Wes Anderson, with whom he has shared writing and acting credits on the films Bottle Rocket (1996), Rushmore (1998), and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)—the latter received a nomination for the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay. He has also appeared in Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), and The French Dispatch (2021). Wilson also starred in the Woody Allen romantic comedy Midnight in Paris (2011) as unsatisfied screenwriter Gil Pender, a role which received a Golden Globe Award nomination. In 2014, he appeared in Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice and Peter Bogdanovich's She's Funny That Way.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorothy Stratten</span> Canadian Playmate and actress (1960–1980)

Dorothy Ruth Hoogstraten, known professionally as Dorothy Stratten, was a Canadian model and actress, primarily known for her appearances as a Playboy Playmate. Stratten was the Playboy Playmate of the Month for August 1979 and Playmate of the Year in 1980, and appeared in three comedy films and in at least two episodes of shows broadcast on American network television. She was murdered shortly after starring in the movie Galaxina at the age of 20 by her estranged husband and manager Paul Snider, whom she was in the process of divorcing and breaking business ties. Snider committed suicide after he killed Stratten.

<i>Star 80</i> 1983 film by Bob Fosse

Star 80 is a 1983 American biographical drama film written and directed by Bob Fosse. It was adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning Village Voice article "Death of a Playmate" by Teresa Carpenter and is based on Canadian Playboy model Dorothy Stratten, who was murdered by her husband Paul Snider in 1980. The film's title is taken from one of Snider's vanity license plates. The film was Fosse's final film before his death in 1987.

<i>They All Laughed</i> 1981 film by Peter Bogdanovich

They All Laughed is a 1981 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Bogdanovich and starring Ben Gazzara, Audrey Hepburn, John Ritter, Colleen Camp, Patti Hansen, and Dorothy Stratten. The film was based on a screenplay by Bogdanovich and Blaine Novak. It takes its name from the George and Ira Gershwin song of the same name.

<i>Rock Star</i> (2001 film) 2001 film by Stephen Herek

Rock Star is a 2001 American musical comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Herek from a script by John Stockwell, and starring Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston. It tells the story of Chris "Izzy" Cole, a tribute band singer who ascends to the position of lead vocalist in his favorite band.

Paul Leslie Snider was a Canadian nightclub promoter and pimp who murdered his estranged wife, Playboy model and actress Dorothy Stratten. Following her murder, Snider killed himself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathryn Hahn</span> American actress (born 1973)

Kathryn Marie Hahn is an American actress and comedian. She began her career on television, starring as grief counselor Lily Lebowski in the NBC crime drama series Crossing Jordan (2001–2007). Hahn gained prominence appearing as a supporting actress in a number of comedy films, including How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003), Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), Step Brothers (2008), The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (2009), Our Idiot Brother (2011), We're the Millers and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and Glass Onion (2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imogen Poots</span> British actress (born 1989)

Imogen Gay Poots is an English actress. She played Tammy in the post-apocalyptic horror film 28 Weeks Later (2007), Linda Keith in the Jimi Hendrix biopic Jimi: All Is by My Side (2013), Debbie Raymond in the Paul Raymond biopic The Look of Love (2013), and Julia Maddon in the American action film Need for Speed (2014). Also in 2014, she portrayed Jesse Crichton in A Long Way Down, alongside Pierce Brosnan and Aaron Paul and Izzie in Peter Bogdanovich's She's Funny That Way. In 2016, she starred as Kelly Ann in the Showtime series Roadies. In 2019, she played Gemma in the sci-fi film Vivarium. In 2020, she played Laura in The Father (2020). In 2022, she began playing the role of the mysterious Autumn in the Prime Video science fiction neo-Western series Outer Range.

<i>Marley & Me</i> (film) 2008 film by David Frankel

Marley & Me is a 2008 American comedy-drama film directed by David Frankel from a screenplay by Scott Frank and Don Roos, based on the 2005 memoir of the same name by John Grogan. The film stars Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston as the owners of Marley, a Labrador retriever. Marley & Me was released in the United States and Canada on December 25, 2008, and set a record for the largest Christmas Day box office ever with $14.75 million in ticket sales. The film was followed by a 2011 direct-to-video prequel, Marley & Me: The Puppy Years.

<i>Illegally Yours</i> 1988 film by Peter Bogdanovich

Illegally Yours is a 1988 American comedy film set in St. Augustine, Florida where a series of comic mishaps take place involving a blackmailer, a corpse, an incriminating audiotape, an innocent woman who accidentally picks up the tape, and a pair of teenage blackmail victims. The film was directed by Peter Bogdanovich with Rob Lowe starring as Richard Dice, the college dropout who came back home to get his act together. The film's theme song was performed by Johnny Cash.

<i>The Switch</i> (2010 film) 2010 film by Josh Gordon and Will Speck

The Switch is a 2010 American romantic comedy film directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon. Based on a screenplay written by Allan Loeb, the film, formerly titled The Baster, was inspired by the short story "Baster" by Jeffrey Eugenides. This was originally published in The New Yorker in 1996. The film stars Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, and child actor Thomas Robinson. Patrick Wilson, Juliette Lewis, and Jeff Goldblum appear in key supporting roles.

<i>Horrible Bosses</i> 2011 American comedy film

Horrible Bosses is a 2011 American black comedy film directed by Seth Gordon, written by Michael Markowitz, John Francis Daley, and Jonathan Goldstein, from a story by Markowitz. It stars Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, and Jason Sudeikis, alongside Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell, Kevin Spacey, and Jamie Foxx in their supporting roles. The plot follows three friends, played by Bateman, Day, and Sudeikis, who decide to murder their respective overbearing, abusive bosses, portrayed by Spacey, Aniston, and Farrell.

<i>Wanderlust</i> (2012 film) 2012 comedy film directed by David Wain

Wanderlust is a 2012 American comedy film directed by David Wain and written by Wain and Ken Marino, who also produced with Judd Apatow and Paul Rudd. The film stars Jennifer Aniston and Rudd as a married couple who try to escape modern society by finding themselves on a commune in Georgia, after the economy crashes down on their dreams in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Aniston filmography</span>

American actress Jennifer Aniston made her film debut in the 1988 comic science fiction film Mac and Me in an uncredited role of a dancer. Two years later, she made her television debut in the series Molloy (1990) followed that year by a starring role in Ferris Bueller, a television adaptation of the 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off; both series were cancelled in their first seasons. In 1993, she had her first major film role in the horror comedy Leprechaun. She was offered a spot as a featured player on Saturday Night Live but turned this down to accept a starring role on the NBC television sitcom Friends (1994–2004).

<i>Are You Here</i> 2013 American film

Are You Here is a 2013 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Matthew Weiner. The film stars Owen Wilson, Zach Galifianakis and Amy Poehler. The plot follows a bipolar man who inherits his estranged father’s fortune and must then battle his sister in court for it while simultaneously battling his psychological issues. The film premiered on September 7, 2013 at the Toronto International Film Festival under the title You Are Here, and released in the United States on August 22, 2014.

Peter Bogdanovich (1939–2022) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor and film historian whose career spanned over fifty years.

Lionsgate Premiere is the speciality film division of entertainment company Lionsgate Films that specializes in direct-to-video and direct-to-video on demand.

Elijah Allan-Blitz, is an American actor, musician, and Emmy award winning film director. He is known for his direction of the Emmy-nominated virtual reality experience "Take Every Wave: Laird in VR", which won a Lumiere Award.

References

  1. ↑ "Film #62731: She's Funny That Way". Lumiere . Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  2. ↑ "She's Funny That Way (12A)". British Board of Film Classification . Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  3. ↑ "She's Funny That Way (2014)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on September 26, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  4. ↑ "The Wrap | Entertainment news". TheWrap.
  5. ↑ "She's Funny That Way (2015)". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Hemphill, Jim (August 17, 2015). "Playing All the Parts: Peter Bogdanovich on "She's Funny That Way"". RogerEbert.com . Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  7. 1 2 Labrecque, Jeff (July 24, 2015). "Peter Bogdanovich talks his new screwball comedy and his plans to finish Orson Welles' lost, last movie". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  8. ↑ Kit, Borys (June 2, 2015). "Owen Wilson-Jennifer Aniston Comedy 'She's Funny That Way' Nabbed by Lionsgate Premiere (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 "Tatum O'Neal Reteams With 'Paper Moon' Director Peter Bogdanovich for Showbiz Comedy (Exclusive)". TheWrap . July 24, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  10. ↑ Muir, Kate. "She's Funny That Way: Bogdanovich's screwball dud of a comeback". The Times .
  11. ↑ "Interview: 'Afternoon Delight' Star Kathryn Hahn Talks Motherhood, Unhinged Silver Lake Book Clubs & Peter Bogdanovich's 'Squirrel To The Nuts'". IndieWire . August 27, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  12. ↑ Jagernauth, Kevin (October 29, 2010). "Wes Anderson & Noah Baumbach To Produce New Film By Peter Bogdanovich 'Squirrel To The Nuts'". IndieWire. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  13. ↑ Grigg-Spall, Holly (August 20, 2015). "She's Funny That Way: Peter Bogdanovich". Creative Screenwriting. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  14. ↑ Jagernauth, Kevin (May 24, 2012). "Owen Wilson, Olivia Wilde & Brie Larson To Star In Peter Bogdanovich's 'Squirrel To The Nuts' Produced By Wes Anderson & Noah Baumbach". IndieWire. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  15. ↑ Davis, Edward (February 10, 2013). "Jennifer Aniston, Eugene Levy & Kathryn Hahn Join Peter Bogdanovich's 'She's Funny That Way' With Owen Wilson". IndieWire. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  16. ↑ Sneider, Jeff (July 22, 2013). "Imogen Poots Replaces Brie Larson as Star of Wes Anderson-Produced Movie (Exclusive)". TheWrap. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  17. ↑ Ford, Rebecca (July 22, 2013). "Richard Lewis Joins 'Squirrels to the Nuts'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  18. ↑ Kit, Borys (July 24, 2013). "Will Forte Joins Peter Bogdanovich's 'Squirrels to the Nuts' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  19. 1 2 3 4 Kit, Borys (July 25, 2013). "Rhys Ifans, Lucy Punch Board Peter Bogdanovich's 'Squirrels to the Nuts' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  20. ↑ "'Squirrels to the Nuts', starring Jennifer Aniston, begins filming in NYC". On Location Vacations . July 11, 2013. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  21. ↑ "Edward Shearmur to Score Peter Bogdanovich's 'Squirrels to the Nuts'". Film Music Reporter. July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 19, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Stephen Endelman Scoring Peter Bogdanovich's 'Squirrels to the Nuts'". Film Music Reporter. April 30, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  23. ↑ "71st Venice International Film Festival – She's Funny That Way". Venice Biennale. Archived from the original on August 27, 2014.
  24. ↑ Setoodeh, Ramin (September 14, 2014). "Toronto: Jennifer Aniston's 'She's Funny That Way' Nears $4 Million Deal With Clarius Entertainment (Exclusive)". Variety .
  25. ↑ "27th Tokyo International Film Festival – She's Funny That Way". Tokyo International Film Festival.
  26. ↑ "New James Franco, Jennifer Aniston Films to Be Showcased at Palm Springs Film Festival". TheWrap. December 18, 2014.
  27. ↑ "Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson Comedy 'She's Funny That Way' Shifts Release Date". TheWrap. April 21, 2015.
  28. ↑ Kit, Borys (June 2, 2015). "Owen Wilson-Jennifer Aniston Comedy 'She's Funny That Way' Nabbed by Lionsgate Premiere (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  29. ↑ Steinberg, Don (August 12, 2015). "In 'She's Funny That Way,' a Famous Filmmaker Harks Back". The Wall Street Journal . Archived from the original on August 13, 2015. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  30. ↑ Kenney, James (January 20, 2022). ""You Saved One of My Best Pictures": My Adventures with Peter Bogdanovich and his Lost, Last Picture Show" . Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  31. ↑ Kenigsberg, Ben (March 25, 2022). "Peter Bogdanovich Had a Vision for This Film. Now It's Finally Being Seen". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  32. ↑ Kenigsberg, Ben (March 25, 2022). "Peter Bogdanovich Had a Vision for This Film. Now It's Finally Being Seen". The New York Times. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  33. ↑ "She's Funny That Way (2014)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  34. ↑ "She's Funny That Way Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  35. ↑ "Jennifer Aniston Honours Peter Bogdanovich With Tribute" . Retrieved August 26, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.