Committed (2000 film)
| Committed | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Lisa Krueger |
| Written by | Lisa Krueger |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Tom Krueger |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | |
Production company | Buena Vista Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3 million[1] |
| Box office | $40,361[1] |
This page is about the 2000 film. For other films with the same title, see Committed (disambiguation)
Committed is a 2000 comedy film directed and written by Lisa Krueger and stars Heather Graham, Casey Affleck, and Luke Wilson.
Plot
Optimistic Joline marries photographer Carl and they live together in a NYC loft. She operates a nightclub and is generally content whereas he's unhappy that he is assigned to photograph food rather than news for his newspaper.
Arriving home to hear Carl's depressed answering message, Jolene calls her brother Jay, who lets her stay over. In the morning she talks about her strong belief in marriage, a perspective not shared with his lesbian roommates.
Upon returning to their loft, Jolene discovers Carl has moved out, roughly after 1.5 years of marriage. His note, which mentions he needs space, comes with a bouquet of her favorites, daisies.
After liquefying the daisies in the blender, Joline spends the next few days in a daze. Having her cheery outlook darkened, she goes ahead with a surprise birthday party for Carl. Joline gets a random postcard from him on the day. After presenting the cake to the partygoers, she sneaks out of the bathroom window into the alley. There, upon finding a car-jacker, after Joline hear his story she gives him money to go to his mother's and in so doing restores her faith.
Judging by the picture and smudged postmark, Joline heads to Texas and finally tracks Carl down. She sees one of his food photos in an El Paso newspaper, so stakes it out. Before long, Joline is able to tail him to his mobile home, where she observes him without his knowledge.
Joline acquaints herself with Carl's schedule and life, and his neighbor Neil. The quirky sculptor immediately notices her, who incessantly flirts with Joline.
Going into the El Paso Times offices, Joline seeks out the photo editor. When he points out that Carl is out on a food-related shoot, she gently suggests he rethink his assignments, as his skills are superior to just shooting food. Judging by his reaction, Joline asks him to forget what she said as she fears she may have put his job at risk.
After following Carl, Joline sees him kissing Carmen before going into her house. Falling asleep in her car, Joline wakes to Carmen knocking on her window. Inviting her into the house, the Mexican-American hears that she's dating yet another adulterer. Then her ex T-Bo barges in, unwelcomed.
Carmen introduces Joline to her Mexican-American, mystic grandfather so he can give her some help and advice about Carl. Jay comes to take her home, but she wants to stay to try to help Carl. So, Joline asks him to leave her to her devices.
That evening, as they have gotten to know each other, Jay and Carmen return to watch Joline's stakeout outside of Carl's. Neil shamelessly sexually teases Joline by caressing a blowup doll doll which looks like her in his window. Turned on, Jay and Carmen make out.
T-Bo shows up at Carl's, but Joline stands guard, so the trucker leaves. The next day, the mystic embebs her and a sand with a protection remedy. She then has to sprinkle it throughout his house. Carl finds Joline spreading it.
Carl blames Joline, saying she's been absorbing all of his good luck. He mentions his editor's giving him more newsworthy photo assignments as evidence that he's luckier without her, not knowing it was thanks to her. Carl then shows her the door.
Cast
- Heather Graham as Joline
- Casey Affleck as Jay
- Luke Wilson as Carl
- Goran Višnjić as Neil
- Patricia Velásquez as Carmen
- Alfonso Arau as Grampy
- Mark Ruffalo as T-Bo
- Clea DuVall as Mimi
- Kim Dickens as Jenny
- Summer Phoenix as Meg
- Art Alexakis as NY Car Thief
- Mary Kay Place as Psychiatrist
- Dylan Baker as Terry
- Wood Harris as Chicky
- Jon Stewart as birthday party guest (uncredited)[2]
Reception
Release
Committed premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize and won the award for Best Cinematography.[3] The film had a limited theatrical release on April 28, 2000.[2]
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, 43% of 46 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 5.40/10. The site's consensus reads: "Critics say Committed is one of those films that shows promise – some sort of vision – of what the movie could have been. The key word is 'could'. As it is, the script is predictable, the story becomes tedious, and it's simply not funny. Heather Graham shows she can play a central character, but she's not enough to make Committed successful."[4] On Metacritic it has a score of 44% based on reviews from 22 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[5] Metro Silicon Valley's reviewer, Richard von Busack, criticized the film's "tiresome daffiness" and said it "indulges in the worst intellectual habit of the '60s counterculture—it supports putting a principle ahead of common sense".[6] In his review, A. O. Scott of The New York Times said the film has interesting ideas but fails to explore them. He also criticized the film's uncertain tone.[7]
Committed was nominated for the
References
- ^ a b "Committed". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
- ^ a b "Committed". AllMovie. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
- ^ "2000 Sundance Film Festival". sundance.org. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
- ^ "Committed (2000)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
- ^ "Committed". Metacritic. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
- ^ von Busack, Richard (June 15, 2000). "Trying Morals". Metro Silicon Valley. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
- ^ Scott, A.O. (April 28, 2000). "`Committed': An Inconvenient Marriage: Married Almost 600 Days, He Runs and She Follows". The New York Times. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
