''If Lucy Fell'' is a 1996 American

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film written and directed by

Eric Schaeffer Eric Schaeffer (born January 22, 1962) is an Americans, American actor, writer, and director. Early life and education Schaeffer was born in New York City, New York (state), New York, and later graduated with a degree in drama and dance from ...

, who also co-stars in the film alongside Sarah Jessica Parker,

Ben Stiller Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known ...

and

Elle Macpherson Eleanor Nancy Macpherson (; née Gow; born ) is an Australian model, businesswoman, television host, and actress. She is known for her record five cover appearances for the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' beginning in the 1980s, leading ...

. It was released on DVD January 30, 2001.

Plot

Joe MacGonaughgill (

) and Lucy Ackerman ( Sarah Jessica Parker) are roommates and best friends living in a small Manhattan apartment. Lucy is turning thirty and her love life is embarrassingly dull. Joe on the other hand is infatuated with his attractive neighbor Jane (

). Lucy then decides to form a death pact with Joe like they'd had back in college. If they do not both find true love by the time Lucy turns thirty, then they will both jump off the Brooklyn Bridge. Jane comes to an artwork show of Joe's where Joe finally gathers up the courage to ask her out, while Lucy begins dating Bwick Elias (

), a weirdo artist who paints with his own body parts. Joe soon realizes that Jane isn't who he thought she ought to be. Bwick also turns out to be "no Joe" for Lucy. It is at this point that Joe and Lucy realize that they are perfect for each other.

Cast

* Sarah Jessica Parker as Lucy Ackerman *

as Joe MacGonauhgill *

as Jane Lindquist *

as Bwick Elias *

James Rebhorn James Robert Rebhorn (September 1, 1948 – March 21, 2014) was an American character actor who appeared in over 100 films, television series, and plays. At the time of his death, he had recurring roles in the series '' White Collar'' and ''Hom ...

as Simon Ackerman *

Robert John Burke Robert John Burke (born September 12, 1960) is an American actor known for his roles in '' RoboCop 3'' (1993), '' Tombstone'' (1993), and '' Thinner'' (1996). During the 2000s Burke became well known for his portrayal of Mickey Gavin on '' Rescue ...

as Handsome Man * David Thornton as Ted * Bill Sage as Dick *

Dominic Chianese Dominic Chianese (; born February 24, 1931) is an American actor, singer, and musician. He is best known for his roles as Corrado "Junior" Soprano on the HBO series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), Johnny Ola in '' The Godfather Part II'' (1 ...

as Al *

Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has featured multiple times on the ''Forbes'' Celebrity 100 list. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 ...

as Emily

Reception

''If Lucy Fell'' earned mostly negative reviews from critics, holding an 18% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

based on 28 reviews. Roger Ebert of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...

'', gave the film one out of four stars, writing:

ric Schaefferis obviously a smart guy. Why does he play dumb? What's with the goofy blue hats he wears throughout the film? And the doofus haircut? And the self-referential dialogue? And why does he betray himself at the end with lines like "You figured out the girl in your heart isn't the girl in your dreams"? ... I'd like to see a Schaeffer movie in which he plays a guy as smart as he is; in which he takes the risk of wanting to make a good film, instead of hiding behind irony.

References

External links

* * * 1996 romantic comedy films 1996 directorial debut films 1996 films American romantic comedy films Films set in New York City TriStar Pictures films 1990s English-language films Films directed by Eric Schaeffer 1990s American films {{1990s-romantic-comedy-film-stub