Review: Ellie Parker (B-)

Ellie Parker (2005)
Directed by Scott Coffey
Starring Naomi Watts, Chevy Chase, Rebecca Rigg, Keanu Reeves and Mark Pellegrino
MPAA: R
Grade: B-

Review by Scott Standish

I have to admit it. The first time I watched Ellie Parker, I stopped it 20 minutes through. The director's hand held style camerawork and overbearing editing made it hard to watch. I pulled the DVD and kept my distance.

About a week later, I decided to give Ellie Parker another chance and this time, I made it all the way through. So here's the deal on Ellie Parker, an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival last year. It's silly at times, annoying (especially in the first act) and a little amateurish in terms of the camera style. However, Naomi Watts (King Kong, The Ring, Mulholland Drive) acts her heart out in this one and she obviously took a huge gamble even taking the role of Ellie Parker, a struggling young actress that can't catch a break. Chevy Chase is well cast as her strangely vegged out agent, and he brings a little depth to the film. Keanu Reeves and his band Dogstar make a short appearance, but the Matrix star really doesn't play a major role in the film.

With it's MTV style documentary look and fast paced, screwball comedy style, Ellie Parker is not for everybody. In fact, as I stated earlier, you have to be in the mood for this type of film, or it's not going to work for you. Watts and Chase do the best they can with a mediocre script and poor production, but Ellie Parker never really takes flight.

Buy Ellie Parker On DVD