Themes: Eccentric Families, Looking For Love, Love Triangles
Main Cast: Julia Stiles
Release Year: 2004
Country: US/DE
Run Time: 98 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Dutch filmmaker Marleen Gorris directs the romantic comedy Carolina, written by Los Angeles-based screenwriter Katherine Fugate. Julia Stiles stars as Carolina Mirabeau, a young woman who grows up in an eccentric southern family. She and her two sisters -- Georgia (Azura Skye) and Maine (Mika Boorem) -- have been raised by their well-meaning if meddling grandmother (Shirley MacLaine). Carolina's family seems to think that she should marry the novelist Albert (Alessandro Nivola), whom she has known since childhood. However, when she starts dating the well-to-do Heath (Edward Atterton), Albert becomes very jealous. Carolina has to choose which man she wants without letting her grandmother take over. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
Miramax Films was the domestic distributor, but failed to release it in theaters. When Harvey Weinstein screened the film he told the producers, "You have a hit movie on your hands. We're going to blast this on MTV all over Super Bowl Weekend."[citation needed] This was in December 2001. The producers never heard about it again until 2005 when it was suddenly released Direct-to-DVD.
The film began principal photography in July 2001. Kathy Bates was originally slated to play the role of "Grandma Millicent Mirabeau", but dropped out after make-up/hair tests due to the shut down of the original production shoot date. Shirley MacLaine eventually stepped in to play the role of "Grandma Millicent Mirabeau".
