Waking Up in Reno

Infobox Film
name = Waking Up in Reno


image_size =
caption = The DVD Cover for "Waking Up in Reno"
director = Jordan Brady
producer = Ben Myron
Robert Salerno
Dwight Yoakam
writer = Brent Briscoe
Mark Fauser
narrator =
starring = Natasha Richardson
Billy Bob Thornton
music =
cinematography =
editing = Lisa Zeno Churgin
distributor = Miramax Films
released = flagicon|USA October 25, 2002
runtime = 91 min.
country = USA
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id = 1:250585
imdb_id = 0219400

"Waking Up in Reno" is a 2002 comedy film directed by Jordan Brady, starring Natasha Richardson, Billy Bob Thornton, Patrick Swayze, and Charlize Theron. The screenplay was written by Brent Briscoe and Mark Fauser. The story is about two couples traveling from Little Rock to Reno to see a monster truck rally.

"Waking Up in Reno" was shot from January 25, 2000 to early April, 2000, in Texas, Los Angeles, California, and Reno, Nevada. The film had a limited release in the United States on October 25, 2002.

Plot

Auto dealer Lonnie Earl (Billy Bob Thornton) and his wife, Darlene (Natasha Richardson), are best friends with Roy (Patrick Swayze) and his wife, Candy (Charlize Theron), who's ovulating and trying to become pregnant. When the four friends from Arkansas decide to take an SUV cross-country to a monster truck show in Reno, NV, it turns out that Lonnie Earl and Candy have been having an affair. The revelation comes as a shock to Roy and Darlene, who absconds with her husband's credit cards for a spending spree that includes designer boutiques and a Tony Orlando concert. Meanwhile, Candy's quest to have a baby takes on a new dimension in light of her extracurricular activities with Lonnie Earl.

Production

Billy Bob Thornton came up with the idea of making a sexy farce of the Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice classic couple-swapping comedy at a lunch with producer Ben Myron. [cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/waking_up_in_reno/about.php |title=Info & Tidbits on Waking Up in Reno |accessdate=2007-04-02 |work=Rotten Tomatoes ] Myron urged Thornton to write the screenplay. Meanwhile, Thornton turned the project over to two writing newcomers Brett Briscoe and Mark Fauser, who were fascinated by Thornton and Myron's concept. It was shot from January 25, 2000 to early April, 2000, in Texas, Los Angeles, California, and Reno, Nevada. "Waking Up in Reno" had a limited release in the United States on October 25, 2002. [cite web |url=http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/preview/1808406463 |title=Waking Up in Reno (2002) |accessdate=2007-03-09 |author=Greg Dean Schmitz |work=Yahoo Movies ]

Cast

* Natasha Richardson as Darlene Dodd
* Billy Bob Thornton as Lonnie Earl Dodd
* Patrick Swayze as Roy Kirkendall
* Charlize Theron as Candy Kirkendall
* Holmes Osborne as Doc Tuley
* Billy O'Sullivan as Lonnie Earl III

Reception

Roger Ebert from Chicago Sun-Times said, "The filmmakers create satirical characters and then play them straight. We're actually expected to sympathize with these caricatures." [cite web |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20021025/REVIEWS/210250312/1023 |title=Waking Up in Reno (2002) |accessdate=2007-04-02 |author=Roger Ebert |work=Chicago Sun-Times]

Citations

External links

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