Trailer Link

Release Date:

December 25, 2013

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “A look at the lives of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose paths have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Midwest house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them.”

Poster: D / B / C

Review: (poster #1) We get it. We’re dumping all of these great and/or well known actors into this house together. That doesn’t make it an effective sales tool.

(posters #2 & #3). The second and third design give us faces to go with the names from the first. While the third poster is more uniform in its depiction of a family gathered around the table, it’s the second poster that really ignites the creative passions of the film and suggests a tumultuous ride for everyone in the film.

Trailer: B-

Review: The play was well received on Broadway. The producers have aligned a compelling list of stars. Word out of screenings is strong. However, none of this really materializes in the trailer to make it look like an exciting film. I’m sure it will be better than it looks, but producers may want to revise this one before it opens.

Oscar Prospects:

This is already one of the key Oscar players this year and it will compete in many top categories, including all but Best Actor and multiple nominations are entirely possible.

(Updated Comments, 12/22/13) The film didn’t emerge from the festival circuit strongly and as it pushed through the precursors, its fortunes faded. The film had such huge potential, you have to wonder if Harvey has lost his marketing prowess. The film will likely earn a nomination for Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts is looking more likely each day, but the film is struggling everywhere else and apart from a screenwriting nomination, I’m not sure it has much of a chance.

Revisions:

(June 2, 2013) Original
(December 22, 2013) New Posters (#2 & #3) / New Release Date (changed from 11/8/13)

Additional Posters