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Movies / Upcoming / Nola
Nola

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Nola (2004)

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Reviews Counted:13

Fresh:0

Rotten:13

Average Rating:3.1/10

Rated: PG-13

Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Aug 29, 2003 Limited

Synopsis: Nola (EMMY ROSSUM) leaves her abusive stepfather and tornados out of Kansas for New York to follow the faint trail of her biological dad, whom she's never known. With nothing more to go on... Nola (EMMY ROSSUM) leaves her abusive stepfather and tornados out of Kansas for New York to follow the faint trail of her biological dad, whom she's never known. With nothing more to go on than a nickname, Nola has readied herself for the impossible search with the dream of also making it as a singer/songwriter. After a cold night spent in Central Park, Nola lands a job at an East Village diner owned by an eccentric and mysterious woman named Margaret (MARY MCDONNELL), who runs an escort service. Margaret recognizes in Nola a fellow outsider and offers her a place in her extended family that includes Ben (JAMES BADGE DALE), the diner's cook and part-time law student, tabloid columnist Leo (STEVEN BAUER), and a transvestite named Wendy (MICHAEL CAVADIAS) who is one of Margaret's “girls.” Nola comes to see that, while the City may be daunting in many respects, it is also, quickly, disarmingly welcoming and takes her up as one of its own. Nola flourishes in her strange new life and surroundings, and begins to question whether she knows as much as she thinks and if she's falling for the cook. After the transgendered Wendy defends herself against a client, Niles Sternlicht (THOM CHRISTOPHER), he threatens to destroy Margaret's life and career. Nola helps Wendy skip town, further enraging Sternlicht and inciting him to begin legal action against Margaret and bring down her escort service. Like a romantic comedy with a cynical twist, NOLA makes the impossible seem even probable as Nola and Ben come to Margaret's rescue in a courtroom scene worthy of a three-card Monte dealer. And in the end, Nola finds friendship, love and the past she never knew. -- © Samuel Goldwyn Films [More]

Starring: Emmy Rossum, Steven Bauer, Mary McDonnell, James Badge Dale

Starring: Emmy Rossum, Steven Bauer, Mary McDonnell, James Badge Dale, Michael Cavadias, Thom Christopher

Director: Alan Hruska

Director: Alan Hruska
Screenwriter: Alan Hruska
Producer: Jill Footlick, Rachel Peters
Composer: Edmund Choi
Studio: Samuel Goldwyn Films

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Reviews for Nola

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1 - 15 (sorted by date)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
11/26/08
Ronnie Scheib
Ronnie Scheib
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There's not a frame of truth in it.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
08/08/04
Doris Toumarkine
Doris Toumarkine
Film Journal International

Needs to be put out of its misery -- and yours.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
07/28/04
Stephen Whitty
Stephen Whitty
Newark Star-Ledger
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Hruska's bloodless little fairy tale is utterly innocuous and instantly forgettable.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
07/23/04
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

So laughably preposterous that it's thoroughly entertaining.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
07/23/04
Elizabeth Weitzman
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A dubious script that detonates into a full-blown disaster midway through.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
07/23/04
Megan Lehmann
Megan Lehmann
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Has everything you want from a good bad movie: overheated drama, overripe performances, arch characters and fruity dialogue.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
07/23/04
Jan Stuart
Jan Stuart
Newsday
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Pits a substantial actor like Mary McDonnell, playing a New York madam, against a bogus story that crossbreeds noirish affectations and romantic comedy into an unpalatable mush that suggests strawberry ice cream slathered with beer.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
07/23/04
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Constantly at odds with itself -- torn between urban realism and musical fantasy, suggestive glances and frank sexuality, fashionable cynicism and old-fashioned happy endings.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
07/20/04
Ben Kenigsberg
Ben Kenigsberg
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Despite Emmy Rossum's vivaciousness and raw ability, not much good comes from watching 'Nola.'

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
09/02/03
Frank Wilkins
Frank Wilkins
ReelTalk Movie Reviews
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
08/30/03
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

This film was written and directed by a lawyer/turned filmmaker. I like the main couple Ben and Nola, but as for the story that he puts them in - I object.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
08/29/03
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

Combines a worn-out premise -- young woman leaves unhappy home for big city -- with some of the silliest characters ever to reach the screen.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
08/28/03
Bill Muller
Bill Muller
Arizona Republic
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A tone-deaf indie that slides by on spunk until the script simply implodes.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
08/28/03
Chris Vognar
Chris Vognar
Dallas Morning News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An anemic little paean to a type of Hollywood storytelling that would have been better left undisturbed.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
08/27/03
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion
 
 
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