I was just checking the Internet Movie Data Base to look up something for another thread here, and noticed this on the main page today:
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IMDb Movie of the Day
Stacy Cochran's debut feature My New Gun was a wonderful slice of independent-film life, back in the days of the early '90s when independent movies were about quirky characters and amiably meandering plots, not about sexy, slicked-up "will-it-sell-at-Sundance?" panache. Diane Lane stars as New Jersey housewife Debbie, whose suburban life is pastel-smooth until her bland doctor-husband (Stephen Collins) brings home a handgun--for her own protection, of course--and then things get very chaotic very quickly. Her sexy goofball neighbor Skippy (James LeGros) "borrows" the gun, and suddenly Debbie finds her life turned upside down by Skippy's mysterious motivations, which turn decidedly romantic. Cochran's deadpan writing and directing style is reminiscent of cult fave Hal Hartley, but without the willful and calculated weirdness. My New Gun is more organic, the plot slowly growing out of the wry situations and idiosyncratic characters, from proto-slacker Skippy, who LeGros invests with boy-next-door sweetness and slightly dangerous sexiness, to Debbie's lone female friend Myra (Maddie Corman), a blushing bride-to-be who's not even old enough to drink at her own wedding reception. And Lane, who later scored an Oscar nomination for Unfaithful and positively glowed in Under the Tuscan Sun, gives a standout performance of one woman's awakening to her less-than-perfect life. An underrated actress who now consistently delivers spellbinding performances, this film marked a new beginning for her as a phenomenal talent to watch. And look for Philip Seymour Hoffman in a small part as Skippy's fast-food co-worker. - Mark Englehart (more) (Movie of the Day Archive)
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IMDb Movie of the Day
Stacy Cochran's debut feature My New Gun was a wonderful slice of independent-film life, back in the days of the early '90s when independent movies were about quirky characters and amiably meandering plots, not about sexy, slicked-up "will-it-sell-at-Sundance?" panache. Diane Lane stars as New Jersey housewife Debbie, whose suburban life is pastel-smooth until her bland doctor-husband (Stephen Collins) brings home a handgun--for her own protection, of course--and then things get very chaotic very quickly. Her sexy goofball neighbor Skippy (James LeGros) "borrows" the gun, and suddenly Debbie finds her life turned upside down by Skippy's mysterious motivations, which turn decidedly romantic. Cochran's deadpan writing and directing style is reminiscent of cult fave Hal Hartley, but without the willful and calculated weirdness. My New Gun is more organic, the plot slowly growing out of the wry situations and idiosyncratic characters, from proto-slacker Skippy, who LeGros invests with boy-next-door sweetness and slightly dangerous sexiness, to Debbie's lone female friend Myra (Maddie Corman), a blushing bride-to-be who's not even old enough to drink at her own wedding reception. And Lane, who later scored an Oscar nomination for Unfaithful and positively glowed in Under the Tuscan Sun, gives a standout performance of one woman's awakening to her less-than-perfect life. An underrated actress who now consistently delivers spellbinding performances, this film marked a new beginning for her as a phenomenal talent to watch. And look for Philip Seymour Hoffman in a small part as Skippy's fast-food co-worker. - Mark Englehart (more) (Movie of the Day Archive)
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