angie

Angie, aka Angie, I Says

1994

Caravan Pictures
Distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment

As Noel Riordan


Released internationally in 1994 Released on DVD 10/10/03

Genna Davis, Stephen Rea, James Gandolfini and Aida Turturro

The story follows the trials, tribulations and loves of Brooklyn-born Angie, (played by Geena Davis); an ordinary girl who looks for an extraordinary life. When Angie becomes pregnant by her longtime boyfriend, Vinnie (James Gandolfini), she finds their stormy relationship and her life needs a change. She decides to keep the baby, but ends up dumping Vinnie and his marriage proposal. Soon after, she meets up with a sophisticated Irish lawyer (Stephen Rea) and falls into a new relationship. Is the relationship strong enough to survive Angie's new life after the baby is born? This is Stephen Rea's first major Hollywood film after The Crying Game. The film plays like an early blueprint for the the hit HBO series, The Sopranos (James Gandolfini and Aida Turturro); and yet, HBO's Italian mafia hit series never saw an Irishman quite like this... Stephen Rea plays Irish international lawyer, Noel Riordan, a Manhattan transplant with a brash attitude...yet, his role is like an art exhibit...there's more to the painting's sparkling colors and juxtaposition than what's brushed on the canvas... Angie meets Noel as they both pose over a Degas painting in New York. Sparks fly when the best of Brooklyn and Ireland clash in a hilarious sequence where they both get thrown out of Manhattan's finest art museum. Look for Stephen Rea as the sophisticated, yet quintessential, "Irishman in New York" in this film. As Noel, he's a sharp, yet smooth talker, whose subtle style marks itself in everything from casual jeans to chic suits. Whether he's reciting precise french ballet positions or he's a bit nervous cooking breakfast following the night after, Stephen Rea plays the role of the Manhattan skyline playboy with a glint in his eye; and yet, he maintains a kind of honest dishonesty. In the end, his character is not what he seems to be, but Angie has her own secrets as well. It's a fine portrait of reality in a world full of people who don't really know what they want... In 1994, the film is all about a mixture between Hollywood and the hottest cultures on the scene. Is it an affair to remember?

Martha Coolidge

Written by Todd Graff, based on the book by Avra Wing.

ANGIE Pink hearts, yellow stars, orange moons, green clovers. Magically delicious. NOEL What have the Irish ever done to you to hate us so much? - Geena Davis and Stephen Rea

"Angie was, I imagine, a Hollywood experience. I don't know if it's typical or not. Certainly there was a big budget and there was a big star, and there was also a sense that we were involved in producing a success even though we hadn't shot a single inch of film. It was being made by a big studio, and if this wasn't a success, the studio would certainly produce two or three successes in the year. So it was quite different from doing a low-budget film like The Crying Game, where your back is to the wall all the time, you're doing a six-day week, extended days, and it's a kind of nightmare the whole time, except that there's this huge sense of energy that comes out of everyone trying to make the thing work on very little money. It's very different from the Hollywood experience." - Stephen Rea, from the book, Hollywood Irish, In Their Own Words, 1997.

Geena Davis won an Academy Award for her supporting role in The Accidental Tourist. She can also be seen in Thelma & Louise, The Geena Davis Show and most recently in Stuart Little 2. In case you have been out of Hollywood news or on another planet lately, James Gandolfini can currently be seen in the Emmy Award leading role in HBO's The Sopranos and Aida Turrturro plays his sister, Janice. Veteran actor, Philip Bosco, who plays Angie's father, Frank Scacciapensieri, can be also seen in Kate & Leopold, Deconstructing Harry and My Best Friend's Wedding.