I'm an especially tough sell when it comes to movies about the Midwest.  Hailing from that region myself, I get pretty ticked off when people from California write buffoonish "Midwestern" characters, or (worse yet) when Hollywood actors try to play them as jokes. Occasionally a movie like "Drop Dead Gorgeous" or "Fargo" will manage to do Midwestern comedy well, but usually I'm more offended than entertained.

Luckily, "New In Town" did its job well—so well, in fact, that I just had to see if anyone involved was actually Midwestern. Lo and behold, imdb.com reveals that one of writers, Ken Rance, was born in Minneapolis.  That explains it.

So. Hard-hearted Miami executive Lucy Hill (Renee Zellweger) is sent to Minnesota to supervise the modernization and downsizing of a dairy plant her company has just purchased.  At first, she clashes with the locals, but as the movie progresses she finds out that Minnesota is not so horrible after all.

Zellweger is billed as the lead in this movie, and she's not bad. Nor is she great, but her budding romance with widower Ted Mitchell (a heavily-bearded Harry Connick Jr.) is believable. And of course Ted's wife has been dead long enough to make him appropriately lonely and poignant, and he has cute relationship with his tomboy daughter Bobbie (Ferron Guerreiro). Lucy and Ted hate each other at first and…well, you know the drill.

But the real comic heroine of this movie is Siobhan Fallon, whom you'll definitely recognize from somewhere. Fallon plays Lucy's secretary Blanche Gunderson with superb comic timing and subtlety.  Blanche tries to integrate Lucy into local culture by means of Jesus, tapioca, and scrapbooks. Fallon's performance is not overly broad, and her knack for nuance makes sure her Minnesotan character isn't too cartoonish.  J.K. Simmons (another actual Midwesterner) surpasses even his fine comic performance from "Juno," this time playing a gruff factory foreman. These roles, along with the smaller supporting cast, made the movie. 

In fact, I'd have to say that the romance is hardly the movie's strong point at all. Every rom-com is escapist, but the ending of this one delved deep into fantasy.  Sure, the two leads get together, but while doing so they create an imaginary land in which corporate America and small, hardworking plant-owners can co-exist in harmonious profitability.  Unlikely, but a nice message nonetheless. It leaves you with a warm, fuzzy feeling, which is exactly what a rom-com is supposed to do.

My only real objection is the lack of exposition and character development at the beginning of the movie. Lucy comes off as downright idiotic when she arrives at the Minnesota airport wearing linen—in winter—then insists on pushing her own overburdened luggage cart in four-inch heels. Maybe a better actress could have pulled this off but Zellweger wasn't quite up to the job. On the other hand, Lucy's outfits are fantastic, whether they are linen, cashmere, flannel, or Fair Isle. So even if you're not buying the romance, you can think about where to buy the outfits. 

Finally, where else are you going to see a tapioca fight? Yes, that's right, there's a tapioca fight. If you want to see it, you'll have to see the movie. And it's worth seeing. Seriously. Don't even go for the romance. Go for the laughs, and give these worthy supporting actors a bigger paycheck.