New Waterford Girl

Starring:Liane Balaban, Tara Spencer-Nairn, Mary Walsh, Nicholas Campbell, Cathy Moriarty, Andrew McCarthy, Darren Keay, Kevin Curran, Krista MacDonald, Cassie MacDonald, Adrien Dixon, Patrick Joyce, Lorne Pardy, Mark McKinney, Susan Laney Dalton, Stacy Smith (II), Zach Fraser, Jody Richardson (II), Dave Frances, Patricia Zentilli
Director: Allan Moyle
Studio: Wellspring
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Filmed on location in damp, windswept Nova Scotia and set in the 1970s, New Waterford Girl centers around the attempts of Moonie (newcomer Liane Balaban) to flee the constraints of small-town life. The lanky lass would like to be an artist and is encouraged by her teacher, Sweeney (Andrew McCarthy), to apply for a scholarship that will take her out of Cape Breton. In the meantime, she befriends Lou (Tara Spencer-Nairn), the tough girl next door, who helps her to devise an alternate plan. As in his previous features, Times Square and Pump Up the Volume, director Allen Moyle is interested in pop culture and teens who don't quite fit in. Despite the presence of better-known actors like Cathy Moriarty (Raging Bull) and Mark McKinney (Kids in the Hall), this is Balaban's film and she carries it with an awkward, yet endearing grace. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Customer Reviews:

New Waterford Girl.......2007-02-21

To me, this is what family is all about. Moonie's mother and father struggle to understand her. She's weird. She's creative. She's an artist. Their little town isn't large enough for her. Moonie's family push her to give up her dreams, like each of them did. That probably was alright for them. Moonie persists and finally her mother "gets it," not that she understands Moonie's artistic nature at all, just that she understands that Moonie needs to live in a larger world. After all is said and done, the most important thing is that Moonie's mother loves her.

good movie; significant flaw in presentation.......2006-11-03

Since the mid-'90s, I've been collecting laserdiscs and DVDs. Never before have I had the following problem with a movie: it is cropped on the left, right, TOP AND BOTTOM! As such, "New Waterford Girl" is very strange and distracting to watch. Perhaps one might think that some shots were oddly composed, when this is not true.

It's apparent that the movie's real aspect ratio is 1.85:1.

For this DVD, the 1.85:1 image was first blown up to 1.33:1 (thus cropping the left and right sides). Then, some black bars were slapped on to the top and bottom of the 1.33:1 image to make it *look* 1.85:1 (now the top and bottom of the screen are missing portions of the original, 1:85:1 image).

Proof: The movie often airs on Showtime. I compared this DVD to the version I had taped off of Showtime. In particular, the scene where Mooney's in the bar; just before Lou comes up to her table. On the VHS tape, one can see Mooney's entire right hand. On the DVD, half of it is cut off.

I'm glad that this little-known, 4-Star movie is at least available on DVD (better than nothing). I just wish that it didn't have this significant flaw in presentation.

Fortunately, the rest of the disc is more appealing. The video quality is much better here than on Showtime. [Most obviously when Lou's red coat is on-screen. :)] Also, there's a cool, useful Featurette.

But still, I cannot recommend this DVD. Not until the aspect ratio problem is fixed. Until that point, one's better off seeing "NWG" on Showtime.

Hilarious, Unconventional Look At Growing up In A Small Town.......2006-05-11

Desperate to leave the dreary confines of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, loner Moonie Pottie (Liane Balaban) seeks help from a teacher Mr. Sweeney (brilliantly played by Andrew McCarthy). A supportive (thought slightly lecherous) friend, he helps her win a scholarship to a school in New York City. Unfortunately, Moonie's strict Irish Catholic parents will hear nothing of their 15 year old daughter moving to New York.

When Moonie teams up with another outsider named Lou (Tara Spencer-Nairn), a newcomer to Cape Breton from NYC, they devise an outrageous plan to help Moonie escape. Besides being the champion of Moonie's ambitions, Lou becomes a hilarious force to be reckoned with when less than gentlemanly males betray the girls of the town.

"New Waterford Girl" perfectly captures the nuances of growing up in the 70's with sympathetic, believable characters that might have been clich?d with a less talented writer. Few "coming of age" movies manage to blend laughs with reality this perfectly.

being in west windfield..........2006-01-17

well, there wasn't much to do there, but thank god my grandpa got all channels in the universe, or else I never would've seen this movie. I watched it with my friend, who said it sucked. It didn't. I missed the first 15 minutes however, which probably made the whole movie. Excellent either way.

Repeated Viewings Recommended.......2005-10-27

Film doesn't get much better than Alan Moyle's very original "New Waterford Girl". That said, prospective viewers should understand that "New Waterford Girl" withholds much of its pleasure from the first viewing, be prepared to watch it at least three times which is not difficult because it is one of those films with unexpected depth that gets better with each viewing. Even your reaction to the cinematography will change with each viewing as the unremittingly grim visuals (subjects are often framed against gray skies and windswept beaches) which initially make you shiver become increasing beautiful.

The DVD is broken down into 16 scenes, which are more like film segments because each contains several actual scenes. What separates "New Waterford Girl" from most films is how well each of these 16 segments works in isolation. Watch them individually to fully appreciate the perfect direction, shot selection, score, and production design that underlies this wonderful film.

The main character, 15 year old Moonie (Liane Balaban), is one of those freaks of genetics who occasionally spring up in unexpected places, whose comparative intelligence and ambition set them apart from family and peers. She loves her family but has simply outgrown the small Nova Scotia town of New Waterford and dreams of getting out. Once engaged and observant, she now drifts around town with her face in a book, having written off and distanced herself from everyone around her. Boys are attracted to Mooney (plausible since Balaban looks like a cross between Natalie Portman and Winona Rider) but she is focused on getting out rather than on boys. It is a dream part, as Balaban through behavior and voice-over must somehow balance Moonie's generally unpleasant demeanor and too soon maturity with the fragility and vulnerability of a young girl.

Enter new next door neighbor Lou Benzoa (Tara Spencer-Nairn) who has just moved to New Waterford from the Bronx with her mother (Cathy Moriarty). In homage to Moriarty's "Raging Bull" character, Lou's father is a jailed boxer who has taught Lou how to throw a punch. Lou is as extroverted and impulsive as Mooney is defensive and introspective. It is in the Moonie-Lou friendship that Moyle's film transcends the traditional female bonding story. Rather that fall into the trap of having the two girls immediately hit it off, Moonie is resistent. But Lou keeps trying and eventually Moonie comes around.

Lou immediately embraces the small town experience and her fresh perspective on the things that Mooney has stopped noticing begins to subtly change Mooney's feeling about her hometown. An especially beautiful scene involves Mooney joining in as her two sisters (if they look like sisters it is because they are played by actresses who are sisters-nice casting) sing a traditional song around a campfire. Mooney's internal conflict (and increasingly difficult decision) between staying or going is what the film is about but Moyle artfully soft-pedals this dynamic by packaging it around a humorous parallel story about Mooney's scheme to escape from New Waterford.

In this small Irish Catholic town the very mention of the blessed Virgin is enough to make potential sinners stop dead in their tracks. Much of the humor comes from Lou's ability to knock out boys with a sucker punch. The local girls enlist her as an agent of the blessed Virgin who can punish their two-timing boyfriends. In "Times Square" Moyne used a similar contrivance, having the two girls drop television sets from the Times Square rooftops. While both are mildly ridiculous, beneath the surface of each there is considerable food for thought as metaphors for issues raised by the films; in "New Waterford Girl" these include infidelity, sexual awakening, forbidden love, and small-minded parochialism.

But in the final analysis "New Waterford Girl" is transcendent because of the pairing of Balaban and Spencer-Nairm. The two actresses not only hold their own with each other, they are perfect complements and Moyle skillfully uses reaction shots that allow them to enhance each other's performances.

WARNING: Although most of the technical production elements (cinematography, production design, editing) are excellent, the audio (at least on the DVD) is second rate (more accurately second to all). Many lines are a challenge to make out and several are simply unintelligible. I suspect that it was a film production problem and not a DVD issue. While this does not ruin the film it definitely weakens it. The audio deficiency is compounded by the puzzling failure to provide a captioning option; someone should roast in hell for that omission. If ever a DVD needed subtitles this is the one. At least Showtime has provided subtitles in the version they are currently running.
The DVD lacks any useful special features; it has one trailer and a short (rather lame) featurette. Since there are no commentaries and the VHS version (also in widescreen) is considerably cheaper, VHS might be the way to go.

The music is fantastic and it is too bad a CD was not released.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Average customer rating:

New Waterford Girl
good movie; significant flaw in presentation
Hilarious, Unconventional Look At Growing up In A Small Town
being in west windfield...
Repeated Viewings Recommended

New Waterford Girl
Starring: Liane Balaban , Tara Spencer-Nairn , Mary Walsh , Nicholas Campbell , and Cathy Moriarty
Director: Allan Moyle
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

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