Nice Guy Johnny
| Nice Guy Johnny | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Edward Burns |
| Written by | Edward Burns |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | William Rexer II |
| Edited by | Janet Gaynor |
| Music by | P.T. Walkley |
| Distributed by | Marlboro Road Gang Productions |
Release dates |
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Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $25,000[1] |
Nice Guy Johnny is a 2010 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Edward Burns, and starring Matt Bush, Kerry Bishé and Burns.
Plot
[edit]Johnny Rizzo, a young man who dreams of working in radio, is engaged to Claire. When Claire demands that he pursue a more realistic goal than following his dreams, Johnny's uncle Terry attempts to tempt him away from the relationship with a decadent party. Johnny resists his uncle's hedonistic lifestyle, but meets a free-spirited woman named Brooke, whom he quickly befriends. Alarmed by the direction Johnny's life is taking, Brooke encourages him to pursue his dreams and avoid selling out. When a misunderstanding causes Claire to incorrectly believe that Johnny has been cheating on her with Brooke, Johnny and Claire break up. Now free to pursue a romance, Johnny and Brooke begin dating.
Cast
[edit]- Matt Bush as Johnny Rizzo
- Kerry Bishé as Brooke
- Edward Burns as Uncle Terry
- Max Baker as Max
- Anna Wood as Claire
- Brian Delate as Frank
- Marsha Dietlein as Nicole
- Jay Patterson as Dr. Meadows
- Michele Harris as Amy
Production
[edit]Burns based the film on his own experiences as an independent filmmaker when offered a choice between following his dreams and working for a major studio.[2] After his previous film, Purple Violets, did not perform as hoped, Burns took the opportunity to re-educate himself on screenwriting. He recalled, "I recognized after my film Purple Violets that I had gotten away from respecting traditional storytelling structure. I thought I knew it, but I stopped outlining and stopped thinking about audiences’ expectations. After that film I thought that I needed to go back and re-educate myself. So I went back and read a ton of books on Hollywood screenwriting and story structure. A lot of it I found very helpful and a lot of it I didn’t, but I know going back and having respect for structure helped me enormously as a screenwriter."[3] Knowing that Nice Guy Johnny would be a micro-budget film (as were his following films, Newlyweds and The Fitzgerald Family Christmas), while writing the script Burns concentrated on how he could keep the cost of the film down. " With all three of those movies I would write down the list of locations that I knew I could get for free. I knew I would be writing more daytime exterior scenes than nighttime scenes just because of the cost of lighting and how time consuming and difficult shooting at night is with a micro-budget. I also knew I would be writing away from any scenes that would require a lot of extras. With those parameters I wrote the scripts. It was a different discipline."[3]
Soundtrack
[edit]The soundtrack is composed by PT Walkley. His song "Save The World" is featured in the film's theatrical trailer.
Release
[edit]Nice Guy Johnny was released on DVD in the United States on April 23, 2010.[4]
Reception
[edit]Dan Heaton of PopMatters rated it 5/10 stars, and wrote: "This good-natured story needs more fiery drama and conflict to make its resolution inspiring."[5] Jason Bailey of DVD Talk rated it 2/5 stars and praised Bishé's performance, but called the film "not terribly funny and not really dramatic".[4] Patrick Bromley of DVD Verdict also wrote a mixed review while praising Bishé. Bromley concluded: "I wish I could speak more highly of Nice Guy Johnny, but the audience for Burns' films seems to be shrinking thanks to outings like this one. It inspires mostly indifference."[6]
References
[edit]- ^ Scott Macauley, 'Breaking Down Ed Burns' $9000 Budget', Filmmaker Magazine, 18 March 2011 accessed 23 July 2012
- ^ Webb, Charles (2011-06-15). "Interview: Writer/Director/Actor Edward Burns Talks NICE GUY JOHNNY". Twitch Film. Retrieved 2015-01-28.
- ^ a b McKittrick, Christopher (August 25, 2015). "Ed Burns: An Independent Force". Creative Screenwriting. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
- ^ a b Bailey, Jason (2010-04-25). "Nice Guy Johnny". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2015-01-28.
- ^ Heaton, Dan (2010-11-29). "'Nice Guy Johnny' Is a Little Too Nice". PopMatters. Retrieved 2015-01-28.
- ^ Bromley, Patrick (2010-11-04). "Nice Guy Johnny". DVD Verdict. Retrieved 2014-01-28.