Barnes & Noble

This charming, low-key comedy examines cultural and class differences in a relaxed and endearing way. Not particularly heavy on plot, Junebug contents itself with minor situations and punctilious character sketches to make its points about the chasm between fast-moving urbanites and laid-back rural southerners. Worldly art dealer Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz) and her husband, George (Alessandro Nivola), travel to North Carolina, where she hopes to do business with a brilliant but eccentric folk painter. During the journey, Madeleine finally meets her new in-laws, whom George pointedly excluded from the wedding: his skeptical mother, Peg (Celia Weston); his sullen, taciturn father, Eugene (Scott Wilson); and his surly brother, Johnny (The O.C.'s Benjamin McKenzie). The only family member that exhibits genuine warmth for Madeleine is Johnny’s affectionate, enthusiastic, and extremely pregnant wife, Ashley (Amy Adams). Struggling to balance church socials with delicate business negotiations, Madeleine finds that she must choose what matters to her most. As you might imagine, there’s more to the family dynamic than meets the eye, and director Phil Morrison displays a real talent for telling his story with subtle, shrewdly observed details. He handles his actors well, and relative newcomers Adams and McKenzie really light up the screen. At its core Junebug is a delightful little film about the lengths to which we’re prepared to go while juggling love, family, and career; and it takes viewers by surprise. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

Phil Morrison, who collaborated with screenwriter Angus MacLachlan for his acclaimed 1990 short, Tater Tomater, joins forces with MacLachlan again for his feature-film debut, Junebug. Junebug takes place in rural North Carolina. Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz), a sophisticated Chicagoan who owns a gallery devoted to "outsider art," goes south in an effort to woo an eccentric painter (Frank Hoyt Taylor) to her gallery. She brings along her husband, George (Alessandro Nivola), a native of the area, and the couple stays with his family. Peg (Celia Weston), George's mother, gives Madeleine a rather chilly greeting, and seems to think she's a poor match for her eldest son, while his father, Eugene (Scott Wilson), is a bit more welcoming, in his quiet way. George's younger brother, Johnny (Ben McKenzie), is still living at home with his very pregnant wife, Ashley (Amy Adams), and seems to feel nothing but resentment for George. For her part, Ashley is a gregarious young woman, and she's immediately smitten with her "new sister." Junebug was selected by the Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center for inclusion in the 2005 edition of New Directors/New Films. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

New York Times

Junebug envelops us in texture of a world the movies rarely visit. Stephen Holden

Chicago Sun-Times

Junebug is a great film because it is a true film. It humbles other films that claim to be about family secrets and eccentricities. It understands that families are complicated and their problems are not solved during a short visit, just in time for the film to end. Families and their problems go on and on, and they aren't solved, they're dealt with. Roger Ebert

Slate

It's hugely entertaining, it's spectacularly acted, and it pricks you in all kinds of places. Maybe the best thing is to see it and let it bug you, too. David Edelstein

Product Details

• UPC: 043396119390
• Source: SONY PICTURES
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound
• Language: English
• Time: 1:46:00
• Sales Rank: 26,767

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