Waking Up in Reno

Amazon.com

Shelved for two years before its limited theatrical release, Waking Up in Reno is the kind of comedy that makes you feel guilty for laughing. The lowbrow fun begins when Arkansas car dealer Lonnie Earl (Billy Bob Thornton, perfectly cast) cheats on his wife Darlene (Natasha Richardson) with Candy (Charlize Theron), the wife of his best friend Roy (Patrick Swayze). When the couples pack up Lonnie Earl's ill-fated SUV to see the monster-truck jam in Reno, Nevada, Roy's meager sperm count and Candy's surprise pregnancy result in a series of marital repercussions. Stuck in a no-man's-land between road-trip farce and redneck parody, this comedic misfire trades in dimwit stereotypes and white-trash condescension, showing its age with a thankless hot-Latina cameo by Penélope Cruz. It's painless enough to be watchable, and Thornton's character is a likeable fool as he surveys the damage he's caused. Watch carefully, and you'll find plenty of mostly unfulfilled promise along with a half-hearted chuckle or two. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Oscar(R)-winner Billy Bob Thornton (SLING BLADE, Best Adapted Screenplay, 1996; MONSTER'S BALL) and Charlize Theron (THE CIDER HOUSE RULES) are matched with Patrick Swayze (DIRTY DANCING, GHOST) and Natasha Richardson (BLOW DRY) in a fun and sassy romantic comedy where two married couples discover there's more to their friendship than meets the eye! Not long after Roy (Swayze) and Candy (Theron) and Lonnie Earl (Thornton) and Darlene (Richardson) arrive in Reno on their dream vacation together at the Monster Truck Show, these Arkansas natives learn they're sharing more than a two-bedroom suite! With side-splitting laughs and a sizzling cast, let yourself go ... because you're sure to enjoy this fun-filled guilty pleasure!

Customer Reviews:

Laugh out loud funny.......2007-06-11

To go from Dirty Dancing to idiot standing, Patrick Swayze is too funny.
Billy Bob is at his best doing his country thang from his home of Arkansas
and is worth watching twice!

Shameless self promotion.......2007-05-30

OK, so it's a chick flick. It has a good story, some surprises, and a good ending. HOWEVER: I am in this movie! I was paid sixty five dollars and had a great time doing it. You can see me walking on the sidewalk next to Fitgeralds twice. I'm the very large man in a green coat.
Buy it, you will enjoy it.

Fairly funny movie with stellar cast.......2006-08-06

***
Waking Up in Reno is a fairly funny comedy about an unfunny subject---infidelity. Billy Bob Thornton is perfect as a southern used car dealer, Natasha Richardson as his overall-wearing passive wife. Charlize Theron plays "the mistress"; in fact she is trying to be a good best friend to the woman she is cheating and a good wife to her husband, whom she loves. Patrick Swayze plays the victim husband, a really nice guy, but way too naïve and totally unable to stand up for himself.

The movie is the story of the two couples' red-neck vacation to Reno. There are many funny moments, and overall it is very enjoyable. As you can imagine, the acting is good. It's far from a terrific movie, and it is a "guilty pleasure" in a way because the subject is so serious and sad that it feels odd to be watching a comedy about it. Still, I gave it three stars because all in all, it's worth the time spent viewing it.
***

This movie's a sleeper!.......2006-02-04

Believe it or not, my husband and I enjoyed this movie. We thought Charlize Theron did a great job with what she had to work with, Billy Bob made us laugh. It might be that part of the pleasure we got from the movie was remembering a trip we made out west. We stopped at the place where Billy Bob ate the 72 pound steak, etc. We're from PA and that trip showed us a world that we had never experienced before. The bottom line is...the movie made us feel good (which is more than I can say for most movies). Yes, it had its flaws but it was fun to watch. That's good enough for me.

Amazing Cast-Average Movie.......2006-01-09

Waking Up in Reno was a bit of a disappointment, considering the makeup of the cast: Patrick Swayze, Billy Bob Thornton, and Charlize Theron among others.
The movie sheds light on two couples from Arkansas who decide to take a road trip together to Reno, Nevada. The ride is actually quite "bumpy," with quite a few unexpected "twists and turns..."
The plot has elements of both comedy and drama making it rather difficult to label it as one or the other; it's actually a bit of both.
The acting is pretty good (but nothing great), while the humor and the plot are just about average.
On the positive side, the movie's southern flavor was quite enjoyable, though enough is enough when it comes to picking on them (the southerners). It gets tiring after the first 20 or so movies!
As for Patrick Swayze's character being naïve and slow, that was just sad/pitiful!
Though the potential for a great movie was definitely there it fails to take off. A shame really...
In a nutshell, it's an ok movie, and that's about it; it lacks that extra something to put it over the top. No masterpiece here.
If a Billy Bob Thornton movie is what you're looking for, check out Monster's Ball.
If Patrick Swayze is what you had in mind, check out the AMAZING series North and South, and the movies Next of Kin and Ghost.

Average customer rating:

Laugh out loud funny
Shameless self promotion
Fairly funny movie with stellar cast
This movie's a sleeper!
Amazing Cast-Average Movie

Waking Up in Reno
Starring: Natasha Richardson , Holmes Osborne , Billy Bob Thornton , Patrick Swayze , and Charlize Theron
Director: Jordan Brady
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00008HE48