Mixed Nuts

Mixed Nuts is a 1994 Christmas dark comedy film directed by Nora Ephron,[3] based on the 1982 French comedy film Le Père Noël est une ordure.[4] Co-written by Ephron and her sister Delia, the film features an ensemble cast which includes Steve Martin, Madeline Kahn, Rita Wilson, Anthony LaPaglia, Garry Shandling, Rob Reiner, Juliette Lewis, Adam Sandler,[3] and Liev Schreiber in his film debut.

For the mixture of nuts, see mixed nuts. For the 1922 short comedy film, starring Stan Laurel, see Mixed Nuts (1922 film).

Mixed Nuts
Theatrical release poster
Directed byNora Ephron
Written by
Based onLe Père Noël est une ordure
by Jean-Marie Poiré
Produced by
Starring
CinematographySven Nykvist
Edited byRobert M. Reitano
Music byGeorge Fenton
Production
company
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing
Release date
  • December 21, 1994 (1994-12-21)
Running time
97 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20 million[1]
Box office$6.8 million[2]

The film was released theatrically on December 21, 1994, and was both a critical and commercial failure.

Plot

In a coastal California town on Christmas Eve, ex-con Felix is being chased down the road by his angry, pregnant wife, Gracie, dressed as Santa Claus. He accidentally runs into and damages a Christmas tree carried by two rollerbladers. When an argument breaks out among them, a stranger, Philip, unsuccessfully attempts to calm them down. They soon disperse, Philip picks up the tree and rides off on his bike.

Philip, head of the suicide-prevention hotline "Lifesavers", receives an eviction notice from his landlord, Stanley, after being unable to pay their rent for several months. The hotline is also staffed by the neurotic and fearful office manager, Mrs. Munchnik and the overly emotional, empathetic supervisor Catherine. Philip, not telling his coworkers of the eviction, tries to get his loan officer girlfriend, Susan, to grant him a small loan to save Lifesavers. Not only does she not grant the loan, but she breaks up with him for a psychiatrist.

Despite expecting Christmastime to bring multiple crises to solve, they have received few calls. One call is from a woman who fears the LA serial killer "the Seaside Strangler", and another from Chris, a trans woman feigning depression to get the Lifesavers' office address. Meanwhile, an elevator malfunction leaves Mrs. Munchnik trapped on her way to Christmas Eve dinner. Philip eventually manages to pull her to the top of the elevator when Gracie arrives and attempts to operate it. They fear they will be crushed by the ceiling of the elevator shaft, but eventually they all manage to return to the office.

Felix arrives, begging Gracie to listen to him, and she hits him in the head with a fruitcake, concussing him and cutting his forehead badly. Philip and Catherine take him to a veterinarian to be treated for the wound. As the doctor is distracted talking with Philip, Felix takes and overdoses on dog tranquilizers so is taken to a hospital.

Meanwhile, at the office, the doorbell rings. Gracie quickly throws the door open, accidentally striking Mrs. Munchnik and revealing Chris in the doorway. Gracie leaves Chris to care for the unconscious Mrs. Munchnik. When Philip returns, Chris convinces him to dance. Mrs. Munchnik awakens, witnesses their dancing and threatens to sue Philip for withholding information of the eviction and for inappropriate office behavior before leaving.

Soon, Gracie, Catherine, and downstairs neighbor Louie Capshaw, all return to the office with Chinese food. Meanwhile, Philip throws the fruitcake out of the office window and smashes the windshield of Mrs. Munchnik's car, recently fixed at the car club. Distraught, fellow neighbor Mr. Lobel approaches her with his three dogs. Comforting her, Munchnik realizes she has loved him for a long time. Together, they flee to the beach and have sex in the lifeguard's office.

An hour later, Felix arrives at the office brandishing a gun, having escaped from the hospital. Chris gets shot in the foot after attempting to disarm him. Gracie takes it, shooting wildly around the office to empty it of ammunition. Two shots go through the front door, killing Stanley (having been called by Catherine to fix the elevator earlier), who was standing behind it with a bag of his possessions. The sight of the dead Stanley puts Catherine in shock. Philip prepares a bath to calm her down, confesses his love to her, who reciprocates. They have sex in the bathroom.

Meanwhile, Chris becomes interested in Louie and they begin flirting. Louie reprises his earlier appearance and sings impromptu songs on his prized ukulele. Gracie and Felix disguise Stanley's body as a Christmas tree with burlap and super glue, and the group plans to leave it on the boardwalk.

As they all carry Stanley's body down the street, they encounter the vengeful rollerbladers carrying another Christmas tree. The group are charged in revenge, to destroy their "tree".

Felix tosses the tree and it crashes to the ground, revealing Stanley's body. When the police arrive, Philip indicates it's Felix's gun, who prepares to be arrested. Gracie pulls it out to prove her guilt. Felix grabs it, running to the roof of a building, and threatens to commit suicide.

Philip's emotional speech about Christmas convinces Felix to climb down and a crowd of bystanders applauds. Catherine hands Stanley's bag to the detectives, who search it. They find fishing line and kelp, the Seaside Strangler's weapons of choice, revealing Stanley to be the serial killer.

For killing the criminal, Gracie receives a $250,000 reward. She gives the Lifesavers' some of the money to pay their debts, preventing their eviction, then promptly goes into labor. Giving birth at midnight on Christmas Day, the scene parodies the Nativity of Jesus. Philip then proposes to Catherine, and she accepts.

In the end credits, Felix is finally commissioned to paint murals and his career takes off from there. His first commission is of everything that has happened to them all.

Cast

Production

The film was initially titled The Night Before Christmas when it was in development at Walt Disney Pictures, but the film went into turnaround and ended up at TriStar Pictures.[5] While the film is set in Los Angeles, due to an impending International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees strike the filmmakers setup interior filming locations in New York City.[5] A snowstorm impacted the travel of the cast and crew who became reliant on the New York City Subway to get to the set.[5]

Soundtrack
Mixed Nuts
Soundtrack album by
various artists
ReleasedNovember 22, 1994
GenreChristmas
Length37:56
LabelSony Music
ProducerGeorge Fenton
  1. "Mixed Nuts" by Dr. John – 2:29
  2. "I'll Be Home for Christmas" by Fats Domino – 4:08
  3. "Santa Baby" by Eartha Kitt – 3:26
  4. "Jingle Bells" by Eastern Bloc – 2:25
  5. "Blue Christmas" by Leon Redbone – 2:24
  6. "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" by The O'Jays – 5:14
  7. "Mixed Notes" by George Fenton – 3:48
  8. "Grape Jelly" by Adam Sandler – 1:25
  9. "Christmas Melody" by George Fenton – 2:54
  10. "The Night Before Christmas" by Carly Simon – 3:39
  11. "Silent Night" by Baby Washington – 3:23
  12. "White Christmas" by The Drifters – 2:41[6]

Release

The film opened on December 21, 1994, and made $2,307,850 in its first weekend, ranking number 12 in the domestic box office. By the end of its run, it had grossed a mere $6,821,850.[2]

Critical reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 13% based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 3.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Mixed Nuts may provoke strong allergic reactions in all but the most undemanding filmgoers - and the most forgiving Steve Martin fans".[7] On Metacritic, the film had a weighted average score of 14 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike".[8] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "C+" on scale of A to F.[9]

Janet Maslin's review in The New York Times mentioned a corpse depicted in the story and wrote that the film "is about as funny as that corpse and about as natural"[10] Variety staff wrote that "director/co-scripter Nora Ephron pitches the humor at a cacophonous level and displays the comedic equivalent of two left feet in evolving an absurdist, slapstick yarn. Truly alarming is watching some fine performers, including Kahn and LaPaglia, at their very worst".[11] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote: "The movie has a first-rate cast and crew; it's Nora Ephron's first directing job since the wonderful Sleepless in Seattle [...] Maybe there's too much talent. Every character shines with such dazzling intensity and such inexhaustible comic invention that the movie becomes tiresome, like too many clowns".[12] Michael Dwyer in the Irish Times, reviewing it upon its European release, called Ephron's film "a truly pathetic effort", and "one of the worst films I have ever seen".[13]

Year-end lists

See also

References
  1. "Mixed Nuts (1994)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  2. "Mixed Nuts (1994)". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  3. "Mixed Nuts". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  4. "Le Père Noël est une ordure". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
  5. Archerd, Army (February 13, 1994). "Is a remake just what the 'Doctor' ordered?". Variety. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  6. "Mixed Nuts (1994)". SoundTrackCollector.com.
  7. "Mixed Nuts". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  8. "Mixed Nuts". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  9. "Cinemascore". Archived from the original on December 20, 2018.
  10. Maslin, Janet (December 21, 1994). "Film Review; Hysterics All Dressed Up for the Holidays". The New York Times. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  11. "Mixed Nuts". Variety. December 31, 1993.
  12. Ebert, Roger (December 21, 1994). "Mixed Nuts". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2011.
  13. Dwyer, Michael (December 22, 1995). "Some Turkeys, Some Golden". The Irish Times. p. 11.
  14. Howe, Desson (December 30, 1994). "The Envelope Please: Reel Winners and Losers of 1994". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  15. Denerstein, Robert (January 1, 1995). "Perhaps It Was Best to Simply Fade to Black". Rocky Mountain News (Final ed.). p. 61A.
  16. Arnold, William (December 30, 1994). "'94 Movies: Best and Worst". Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Final ed.). p. 20.
  17. Craft, Dan (December 30, 1994). "Success, Failure and a Lot of In-between; Movies '94". The Pantagraph. p. B1.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.