''If Lucy Fell'' is a 1996 American

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

film written and directed by Eric Schaeffer, who also co-stars in the film alongside

Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. In a career spanning over five decades, she has performed across several productions of both Sarah Jessica Parker filmography, screen and stage. List o ...

Ben Stiller Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. Known for his blend of slapstick humor and sharp wit, Stiller rose to fame through comedies such as ''There's Something About Mary'' (1998), ' ...

and

Elle Macpherson Eleanor Nancy Macpherson ( ; ; 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 to her ...

. It was released on DVD on January 30, 2001.

Plot

Joe MacGonaughgill and Lucy Ackerman 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, they will 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. At this point, Joe and Lucy realize they are perfect for each other.

Cast

as Lucy Ackerman * Eric Schaeffer 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. Rebhorn appeared in over 100 films, television series, and plays. Rebhorn portrayed George Wilbur in '' My Cousin Vinny'', Dr. McElwaine in '' Basic In ...

as Simon Ackerman * Robert John Burke as Handsome Man * David Thornton as Ted * Bill Sage as Dick * Dominic Chianese as Al *

Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress and singer. The List of highest-paid film actors, world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has been featured multiple times on the Forbes Celebrity 100, ''F ...

as Emily

Production

In January 1995, it was announced Eric Schaeffer would write, direct, and co-star in ''If Lucy Fell'', described as a post- Gen X romance, for the

Motion Picture Corporation of America Motion Picture Corporation of America (MPCA) is an American independent film production company, founded by Brad Krevoy and Steve Stabler in 1986, specializing in the production, acquisition and distribution of low-budget films. History MPCA ...

Reception

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

based on 28 reviews.

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

of the ''

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

'', 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 Irony, in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what, on the surface, appears to be the case with what is actually or expected to be the case. Originally a rhetorical device and literary technique, in modernity, modern times irony has a ...
.

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 English-language romantic comedy films {{1990s-US-comedy-film-stub