''Angie'' is a 1994 American romantic

comedy-drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

directed by

Martha Coolidge Martha Coolidge (born August 17, 1946) is an American film director and former President of the Directors Guild of America. She has directed such films as ''Valley Girl'', ''Real Genius'' and '' Rambling Rose''. Early life Coolidge was born in N ...

and starring

Geena Davis Virginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis (born January 21, 1956) is an American actor

as the title character. It was produced by Caravan Pictures and distributed by

Hollywood Pictures Hollywood Pictures was an American film production label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Established on February 1, 1989, by then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner and then-studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg, Hollywood ...

. It is based on the 1991 novel ''Angie, I Says'' by Avra Wing, which was a

New York Times Notable Book ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

of 1991. The film received mixed to negative reviews and was a

box office bomb A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...

, grossing only $9.4 million against its $26 million budget.

Plot

Angie is an office worker who lives in the

Bensonhurst Bensonhurst is a residential neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bordered on the northwest by 14th Avenue, on the northeast by 60th Street, on the southeast by Avenue P and 22n ...

section of

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and dreams of a better life. After learning that she is pregnant by her boyfriend Vinnie, she decides that she will have the baby, but not Vinnie as a husband. This turns the entire neighborhood upside down and starts her on a journey of self-discovery, including a love affair with a man named Noel who she meets at an art museum. Even her best friend Tina has trouble understanding her.

Cast

Geena Davis Virginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis (born January 21, 1956) is an American actor

as Angie *

James Gandolfini James Joseph Gandolfini Jr. (; September 18, 1961 – June 19, 2013) was an American actor. For his role as Tony Soprano, the Italian-American Mafia crime boss in HBO's television series ''The Sopranos'', he won three Emmy Awards, five Screen ...

as Vinnie * Stephen Rea as Noel *

Aida Turturro Aida Turturro ( ; born September 25, 1962) is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Janice Soprano on the HBO drama series ''The Sopranos''. Early life and education Aida Turturro was born in Buffalo, New York, daughter of ...

as Tina * Leonard Spinelli as Tina's Son #2 *

Philip Bosco Philip Michael Bosco (September 26, 1930 – December 3, 2018) was an American actor. He was known for his Tony Award-winning performance as Saunders in the 1989 Broadway production of '' Lend Me a Tenor'', and for his starring role in the 2007 f ...

as Frank * Adam LeFevre as Museum Guard *

Jenny O'Hara Patricia Joanne "Jenny" O'Hara (born February 24, 1942) is an American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for Dixie in ''My Sister Sam'' (1986–1988), Janet Heffernan in ''The King of Queens'' (2001–2007), and Nita in ''B ...

as Kathy *

Margaret Cho Margaret Moran Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American comedian, actress, LGBT social activist, and musician. She is known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially regarding race and se ...

as Admissions Nurse

Production

20th Century Fox films head

Joe Roth Joseph Emanuel Roth is an American film executive, producer and director. He co-founded Morgan Creek Productions in 1988 and was chairman of 20th Century Fox (1989–1993), Caravan Pictures (1993–1994), and Walt Disney Studios (1994–20 ...

, production president

Roger Birnbaum Roger Birnbaum (born November 14, 1950) is an American film producer who owns the company Spyglass Media Group, and was co-CEO and co-chairman of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. His two greatest box office hits as producer have been ''Rush Hour 2'' and '' T ...

and producer Larry Brezner had "Angie, I Says" under development. Todd Graff had written the screenplay for Madonna. The adaptation was placed into turnaround. Roth and Birnbaum had left for an independent label at Disney, Caravan Pictures, and were able to get the "Angie, I Says" adaptation moved over. Because of scheduling conflicts with her role in

Abel Ferrara Abel Ferrara (born July 19, 1951) is an American filmmaker, known for the provocative and often controversial content in his movies and his use of neo-noir imagery and gritty urban settings. A long-time independent filmmaker, some of his best kn ...

's movie '' Dangerous Game'', which is also produced by her company,

Maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Burea ...

, she dropped out of the then

Jonathan Kaplan Jonathan Kaplan (born November 25, 1947) is an American film producer and director. His film ''The Accused'' (1988) earned actress Jodie Foster an Oscar for Best Actress and was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 39th Berlin International ...

-directed movie. Madonna had wanted them to push back production on the film, but given that it was a winter story, Caravan wanted to film it in winter, then debut it in winter. She bowed out as they also took issue with her lack of acting experience. The lead role was then offered to

Geena Davis Virginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis (born January 21, 1956) is an American actor

Reception

The film opened to mixed reviews and was a

. In addition, Geena Davis, who won an Oscar six years before for ''

The Accidental Tourist ''The Accidental Tourist'' is a 1985 novel by Anne Tyler that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction in 1985 and the Ambassador Book Award for Fiction in 1986. The novel was adapted into ...

'' received mixed to negative reviews. Critics felt she could have been better in this movie or another set in Brooklyn. The film was famous for introducing three actors who would star on the TV show ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster, portraying his difficulties as he tries to balance ...

'':

, and

Michael Rispoli Michael Rispoli is an American character actor. He was a contender for the role of Tony Soprano in the HBO television series ''The Sopranos,'' but was ultimately cast as Jackie Aprile, a recurring character in the show’s first season. Ris ...

. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "B" on scale of A+ to F.

Year-end lists

* Top 10 worst (listed alphabetically, not ranked) – Mike Mayo, ''

The Roanoke Times ''The Roanoke Times'' is the primary newspaper in Southwestern Virginia and is based in Roanoke, Virginia, United States. It is published by Lee Enterprises. In addition to its headquarters in Roanoke, it maintains a bureau in Christiansburg, ...

Awards

*The movie was nominated an Artios for Best Casting for Feature Film, Comedy by the Casting Society of America.

References

External links

* * * 1994 films 1990s pregnancy films Hollywood Pictures films Caravan Pictures films American pregnancy films 1990s romantic comedy-drama films American romantic comedy-drama films 1990s English-language films Films directed by Martha Coolidge Films scored by Jerry Goldsmith Films produced by Roger Birnbaum Films produced by Joe Roth Films set in Brooklyn 1994 comedy films 1994 drama films Films about mother–daughter relationships 1990s American films {{1990s-romantic-comedy-film-stub