Little Black Book (film)

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Little Black Book
Little Black Book film poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byNick Hurran
Screenplay byMelissa Carter
Elisa Bell
Story byMelissa Carter
Produced byElaine Goldsmith-Thomas
Deborah Schindler
William Sherak
Jason Shuman
Starring
CinematographyTheo van de Sande
Edited byJohn Richards
Music byChristophe Beck
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing
Release date
  • August 6, 2004 (2004-08-06)
Running time
111 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$35 million[1]
Box office$22 million[1]

Little Black Book is a 2004 American satirical comedy-drama film directed by Nick Hurran and starring Brittany Murphy and Ron Livingston in main roles. Holly Hunter, Julianne Nicholson, Josie Maran, Rashida Jones, and Kathy Bates serve in supporting roles; Carly Simon makes a cameo appearance at the end of the film.

Plot[]

Stacy Holt (Brittany Murphy) is an associate producer on a talk show hosted by the domineering Kippie Kann (Kathy Bates). Stacy believes that "luck is when preparation meets opportunity". Boyfriend, Derek (Ron Livingston) appears to be the fulfillment of all of her wishes, despite his reluctance to commit or discuss his past relationships.

When Stacy brings home tapes of the show to study, Derek recognizes a guest, his ex, a French model Lulu (Josie Maran). He won't answer her questions about their relationship, and then Stacy confides in her co-workers Barb (Holly Hunter) and Ira (Kevin Sussman) about her worries. Inspired by Ira's pitch about using PalmPilots— the modern day "little black book"—to investigate a lover's secrets, Barb and Ira encourage Stacy to use Derek's to learn more about him.

Under the guise of possibly inviting Lulu back to the Kippie Kann Show, Stacy, Barb, and Ira question her about Derek. Lulu stole Derek away from his then-serious girlfriend Joyce (Julianne Nicholson) and that their relationship was purely sexual. Back at her apartment, Stacy becomes increasingly insecure, listening to answering machine messages for Derek, looking through his box of mementos from former girlfriends and finally his Palm Pilot. She finds pictures of two of his exes on it, Joyce and Rachel (Rashida Jones). Stacy makes a doctor's appointment to meet Rachel, whom she believes is a podiatrist.

Stacy discovers that Rachel is actually a gynecologist, and notices that Rachel has pictures of Derek's dog, Bob, in her office. Pretending it's research for the show, Stacy interviews Rachel, who reveals that she and Derek share custody of Bob and still see each other once in a while.

Next, Stacy meets Joyce, and the two strike up a friendship, although Stacy feels guilty for befriending Joyce under false pretenses. When Joyce gets a call from Derek, she asks Joyce about them. Joyce admits to Stacy that she still hopes that she and Derek will reunite.

Stacy panics and shows Joyce the interview with Lulu where she brags how Derek only went back to Joyce because Lulu became bored with him. Devastated, Joyce ends her friendship with Derek. Stacy feels guilty for making Joyce so unhappy and questions whether her investigation did anything to improve her own relationship with Derek. 

At the Kippie Kann Show, production prepares for the live show and Stacy is given lead responsibilities. She is thrust on stage, discovering that her investigations into Derek's past are the subject matter. Barb orchestrated the episode and invited Lulu, Rachel, Joyce, and Derek to the show. All are confused and hurt by the lies, especially Joyce and Derek. Stacy apologizes to the women and to him, tearfully breaking up with Derek and admitting that she is not right for him. She encourages him to get back with Joyce before quitting on air. Stacy goes backstage to confront Barb, who tries to defend her actions and congratulate Stacy on the episode's success. Stacy rebuffs her (to the live audience's applause) and leaves.

Interviewing for a job under Diane Sawyer she reflects on her experiences with the interviewer, getting the job. On her way out, she meets her idol, Carly Simon.

Cast[]

Reception[]

Box office[]

The film opened at #5 at the North American box office, making $7,075,217 in its opening weekend behind Collateral, The Village, The Bourne Supremacy, and The Manchurian Candidate.[2] The film ended its run with a domestic total of $20,698,668 and an international addition of $1,336,164, totaling $22,034,832 worldwide.[1]

Critical response[]

The film received negative reviews. It has a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 22% based on reviews from 111 critics.[3] Metacritic gives it a weighted average score of 36% based on reviews from 33 critics.[4]

Entertainment Weekly's Scott Brown awarded Little Black Book a D, stating "The big climax isn't climactic, just hysterical and incoherent. Murphy, with her bug-eyed, love-me mugging, is simply too slight and gawky to play the Everygirl."[5] Similarly, the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film a poor write up, criticising the poor script and acting.[6]

The film received some positive reviews; Andrea Gronvall of the Chicago Reader praised the film's humour, awarding the film three and a half stars.[7] Roger Ebert awarded the film three stars out of four, and praised Murphy's performance.[8]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Little Black Book (2004)". Box Office Mojo.
  2. ^ "Domestic 2004 Weekend 32".
  3. ^ "Little Black Book". Rotten Tomatoes.
  4. ^ "Little Black Book reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  5. ^ Brown, Scott (2004-08-04). "Little Black Book Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  6. ^ Meyer, Carla (2004-08-06). "Some Black Books better left unopened". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  7. ^ Gronvall, Andrea (6 August 2004). "Little Black Book". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  8. ^ Ebert, Roger (2004-07-19). "Little Black Book". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 16 May 2010.

External links[]

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