By: debbie lynn elias
With Valentine’s Day almost upon it is, we expect to see a flurry of romantic comedies at the box office. This year the well looks a bit dry with little romance or comedy being offered and packaged together, but for one little charmer thus far, THE HOTTIE & AND THE NOTTIE. Starring Paris Hilton, Christine Lakin and Joel David Moore, THE HOTTIE & THE NOTTIE is the most heartwarming Valentine one could ever hope to receive. Now I know what you’re all thinking, a Paris Hilton movie? Heartwarming? Trust me. Not only does Hilton star in the film, she serves as executive producer with a hands on maturity that belies the tabloid fodder.
It’s been 20 years since Nate Cooper, Cristabel Abbott and June Phigg first met. Granted, they were only six at the time and in the first grade, but for Nate it was a meeting that he would impact his life forever. After all, how many of us aren’t still pining away for that first love, the one that got away, the one that set the standards for every relationship we would have thereafter, the one that stays in your heart forever. And with Nate, his love is evident as we see flashbacks of a shy little boy walking proudly and tentatively up the classroom aisle to present this oversized construction paper laced with candy hearts valentine to one of the two little girls sitting together at the back. Cristabel, of course, has a desk covered with wishes from her many admirers while June, sits quietly by with nary a single card.
Cristabel Abbott is everything every little girl wants to be and who every little boy wants to love. Blonde, beautiful and with a heart of gold. June Phigg is everything that every little girl doesn’t want to be and every little boy wants nothing to do with. Short, dowdy, messy, ugly, covered in body hair and with little boogers stuck to her perpetually runny nose (i.e., absolutely butt ugly to the point of scary). But look beyond that exterior and as with Cristabel, one also sees a friend with a heart of gold. So it comes as no surprise that Cristabel and June have been best friends forever. Now in 2008, roommates in a beautiful beach home overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Cristabel is still the hottie and June is definitely still the nottie. And just to show you the depth of their friendship, Cristabel has vowed to stay single and not date until June finds a guy of her own. Nate Cooper, geek personified but also a man with a heart of gold, is still in love with Cristabel and determines to find her and profess his unrequited love that has remained sealed behind his lips since the first grade.
Calling on his old elementary school buddy Arno Blount, who coincidentally has maintained confidential files on all his old classmates, including Cristabel, and who ironically still lives in the same Santa Monica with his mother in the family house wrapped in 70’s and 80’s decor (and unchanged since the boys were in first grade) and replete with familial embarrassment, Nate treks from Maine to California to woo the woman he has loved for 20 years.
Thanks to Arno’s superb reconnaissance, Nate has exacted plans to “bump into” Cristabel on her morning run and then infiltrate her life making himself irresistibly indispensable to her. However, while Cristabel does have a certain fondness for Nate, her bigger concern is for June. Realizing that he has to devise a plan to help June get a date so Nate can get Cristabel, Nate embarks on an even greater mission, playing Henry Higgins to June without her realizing what he is doing and ultimately transform the ugly duckling into a beautiful swan and thus, able to find true love.
But wouldn’t you know it. The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry and it doesn’t take long for a beautiful friendship to blossom between Nate and June while Nate patiently awaits his ultimate destiny with Cristabel and while June finds the most gorgeous hunk of a guy who takes more than passing fancy to her. So, why is Nate so unhappy. Ah, that my friends is the reason to see this film.
Christine Lakin stars as June Phigg and casting her in this role couldn’t be more appropriate or deserving. I have long admired Christine’s work both on stage and screen from her first starring role as Al Lambert on the Suzanne Somers-Patrick Duffy sitcom “Step By Step” (still one of my guilty viewing pleasures) to her performances with The Troubadours playing theater at Garry Marshall’s Falcon Theater and was anxious to see her in this role. A definite hottie on the outside, it is Christine’s effervescence, intelligence, wit, charm, graciousness and laughter that makes her a hottie on the inside as well. It is her own persona that makes June shine in this film; a persona I had a chance to meet and speak with at length and I have to say, a more fun and heartfelt interview I have never had than with Christine. I look forward to meeting up with Christine again in the future which is the same feeling that she brings to June. Despite her outward appearance, you want this woman for your friend. She is “the real deal” so I found it very surprising that she had to fight for the part. And kudos to Paris Hilton for seeing the wisdom in casting Christine. According to Christine, despite the fun of this roll and the film, it was also difficult in terms of make-up. “It took 3 hours to get into make-up each day and 1 hour to get it off.” Another challenge, “I wanted to make June’s transformation real. Not just her outward transformation but the arc of the character. That was important to me.” She succeeds beyond expectations.
And Paris Hilton, I cannot throw enough plaudits her way with this film. Her acting – yes, folks she ACTS in this film. Not a statue or pretty face, just take a look at Paris’ earlier film appearances and then “THE HOTTIE & THE NOTTIE” and you will what I mean. As Cristabel, she radiates a sincere innocence and warmth, exhibits some physical comedy skills and definitely nails her timing of delivery. As Christine Lakin told me, “Paris wanted so much to make this good. She took acting classes. I went with her and we would work on scenes. We developed signals between us that even Tom [Putnam] didn’t know about that would cue her on certain emotions.” According to Paris, “I was never took anything serious before. This I took seriously. It’s time for me to be serious and I wanted to do a good job.”
As for the last part of our main triangle, Joel David Moore steps in as Nate and brings us an entirely new spin on a leading man. Witty, charming and disarming, Moore is a natural in a best friend sidekick role, but here is actually a very adorable new kind of leading man.
Heidi Ferrer makes her screenwriting debut and Tom Putnam brings his relatively new talents as a director into play. From the finished product I can see that their talents mesh well. There is a sweetness and warmth to the script that is so lacking in many films and here the dynamics of the characters is so touching, you want these people for your own friends. And they distribute the wealth and richness of the self-reflection evenly, bringing everything to fruition with a final sweet twist that will just melt your heart. According to Paris Hilton, who serves as executive producer and was actively involved in every aspect of the production from audition tapes and casting to costuming, make-up, set design and working with Ferrer and Putnam, “ “I got the script a couple years ago and I was shooting “Simple Life” at the time and I couldn’t really fit this in schedule and from there, when I finally it into the schedule I found the lovely Christine (Lakin) and Joel David Moore, and just the perfect people for the movie. Just reading it I was laughing out loud. And I loved the ending. I just thought it was a sweet story and has a great message.” It is for those very reasons that Ferrer’s script succeeds, despite it’s minor flaws.
I am most impressed with the work of cinematographer Alex Vendler who previously worked with Putnam on several projects. Crisp, clear, definitive diverse lighting and some night photography that is exquisite, his work is reason enough to see the film. Make sure you look for what Lakin and I both call “the money shot.” Nightlife on the Santa Monica Pier with the ferris wheel lights twinkling in the night sky and a couple embracing on a bench. Priceless.
Predictable yet undeniably romantic and refreshingly delightful, THE HOTTIE AND THE NOTTIE, is the feel good flick of the season. With more to it than meets the eye, this is the most heartwarming Valentine you can ever get, give or share with your loved one.
Cristabel Abbott – Paris Hilton June Phigg – Christine Lakin Nate Cooper – Joel David Moore
Directed by Tom Putnam. Written by Heidi Ferrer. Rated PG-13. (90 min)
