''Angie'' is a 1994 American romantic comedy-drama film 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 ...

, written by Todd Graff, and starring Geena Davis as the title character. It was produced by

Caravan Pictures Caravan Pictures, Inc. was an American film production company at Walt Disney Studios, formed by Roger Birnbaum and Joe Roth. Caravan Pictures' films were distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution (now known as Walt Disney Studios Mot ...

and distributed by Hollywood Pictures. It is based on the 1991 novel ''Angie, I Says'' by Avra Wing, which was a New York Times Notable Book of 1991. The film received mixed reviews and was a

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

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

Plot

Angie Scacciapensieri is an office worker who lives in the Bensonhurst section of

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

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 as Angie Scacciapensieri *

James Gandolfini James John Gandolfini (; September 18, 1961June 19, 2013) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Tony Soprano, the Italian-American American Mafia, Mafia crime boss in HBO's television series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007 ...

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 After graduating from high school, Turturro earned a Bachelo ...

as Tina * Philip Bosco as Frank Scacciapensieri *

Jenny O'Hara 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 ''Big Love'' (2006– ...

as Kathy Scacciapensieri *

Michael Rispoli Michael Rispoli (born November 27, 1960) 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 Sr., Jackie Aprile, a recurring ch ...

as Jerry * Betty Miller as Joanne Scacciapensieri * Susan Jaffe as Ballerina * Ray Xifo as Dr. Gould * Rosemary De Angelis as Aunt Vicky * Leonard Spinelli as Tina's Son #2 * Adam LeFevre as Museum Guard *

Margaret Cho Margaret Moran Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian, actress and musician. In her Stand-up comedy, stand-up routines she critiques social and political problems, especially about race and sexuality. She starred in the Ame ...

as Admissions Nurse

Production

20th Century Fox films head

Joe Roth Joseph Emanuel Roth (born June 13, 1948) is an American film executive, producer and director. He co-founded Morgan Creek Entertainment in 1988 and was chairman of 20th Century Fox (1989–1993), Caravan Pictures (1993–1994), and Walt Dis ...

, production president Roger Birnbaum and producer Larry Brezner had ''Angie, I Says'' under development. Todd Graff had written the screenplay for

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

. The adaptation was placed into turnaround. Roth and Birnbaum had left for an independent label at Disney,

, and were able to get the adaptation moved there from Fox. Because of scheduling conflicts with her role in Abel Ferrara's movie '' Dangerous Game'', which is also produced by her company, Maverick, she dropped out of the then

Jonathan Kaplan Jonathan Kaplan (born November 25, 1947) is an American film producer and film director, director. His film ''The Accused (1988 film), The Accused'' (1988) earned actress Jodie Foster the Academy Awards, Oscar for Academy Award for Best Actress ...

-directed film. 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.

Reception

The film opened to mixed reviews and was a

. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, 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 ...

, the film holds a rating of 53% from 19 critics. Audiences surveyed by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

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 1994 romantic comedy-drama films 1990s American films 1990s English-language films 1990s pregnancy films American pregnancy films American romantic comedy-drama films Caravan Pictures films English-language romantic comedy-drama films Films about mother–daughter relationships Films based on American novels Films directed by Martha Coolidge Films scored by Jerry Goldsmith Films set in Brooklyn Films with screenplays by Todd Graff Hollywood Pictures films {{1990s-US-comedy-drama-film-stub