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Reviews Counted:43
Fresh:22
Rotten:21
Average Rating:5.6/10
Consensus: Despite some poignant commentary about struggling actors and Naomi Watts' inspired performance, Ellie Parker stutters in making the transition from short to feature length.
Theatrical Release:Nov 11, 2005 Limited
Synopsis: Shot on digital video over a period of five years, ELLIE PARKER takes an unfiltered look at the Hollywood people rarely see. An insider's story in many ways, the film should appeal to actors and... [More]
Starring: Naomi Watts, Chevy Chase, Scott Coffey, Mark Pellegrino
Director: Scott Coffey
The premise -- someone trying to inject meaning into a necessarily vacuous existence -- is depressing, but there are moments of vaguely uncomfortable hilarity. The whole endeavor, however, winds up feeling flat and a bit dull.
This is the movie they should show in college acting classes, instead of tapes of Inside the Actors' Studio.
Top CriticWhile the material wears thin, every minute of this film is a tour-de-force performance.
Ellie Parker has little to recommend it other than Watts' mercurial performance.
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Even if Watts makes it almost watchable, the ugly cinematography is too much of an eye strain to endure for such a thin and uninteresting story.
Some films can make the leap from successful short film to a feature movie, and some just come up short.
[Watts'] performance carries this film.
Top CriticWatts' performance is brave and jazzy, but Coffey's riffing lacks lasting impact.
Watts is alternately annoying, sympathetic and hilarious in the title role. She's always entertaining.
Watts, whose memorable audition scene in Mulholland Drive launched her into stardom, makes a glorious mess of herself playing her karmic opposite.
began as a short at Sundance 2001 and should have remained one
Shot on low-end digital video, the movie looks harsh and the sound is often dodgy, which wouldn't matter if the material were inherently more interesting.
Too often it has the uncomfortable feel of a too-small sweater - - stretched to capacity, still not covering the territory.
Though Ellie Parker isn't an especially deep film, and Watts' character can come off a bit whiny and narcissistic (but hey, come on, she's an actress!), it is engaging and frequently funny.
If the film had any point beyond the pitfalls of starlet-dom, though, it's long been forgotten, as the movie descends into a series of acting-class moments.
Top CriticNaomi Watts is the only explanation for the existence of the student-y digital video feature Ellie Parker
Top CriticAs a spoof, it all feels a bit tedious and thrown-together.
There's the germ of a comic idea here, but most of the movie consists of acting-exercise skits that ramble on until they croak.
Top Critic
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