A 1988 American comedy directed by George Roy Hill that has a New York City sportswriter and his wife (Chevy Chase and Madolyn Smith) moving to a small town in Vermont and finding it to be more than it appears to be.
The movie also stars Joseph Maher, Jack Gilpin, Brad Sullivan, Kevin O Morrison, Mike Starr, Glenn Plummer, and Alice Drummond.
It was released on June 3, 1988.
Tropes for the film:
- Deconstructive Parody: Of the hoary old "City Mouse moves to the country and goes through some culture clash, but ultimately learns to appreciate it." In this one, most of the locals really are actively malicious toward their new neighbors, and the city slickers are fully justified in hating the place.
- Foreign Queasine: Andy enjoys a local delicacy called "lamb fries", which (he subsequently learns) are actually sheep testicles.
- I Ate WHAT?!: Andy's reaction on learning that the "lamb fries" he is eating are actually sheep testicles. He spits the one in his mouth out so hard it bounces off the wall and lands in someone's beer.
- Suckiness Is Painful: Subverted. Liz indeed starts crying when she reads Andy's manuscript and sees how bad it is, but it's not so much because his book sucks as it is her realizing that it will never sell, so all the crap they've put up with since moving to Redbud has been for nothing.
- Tap on the Head: Subverted. When one of the locals gets a fishing hook stuck on his face, Andy wants to knock him out so he can easily take out the hook. After several blows, the man is not knocked out, just pissed off, and one of his friends wonders if Andy is just beating him up.
- Writer's Block: Andy and his wife move to a small rural town to write a book. Then he just stares at his typewriter until he falls asleep.
- You Can't Miss It: The movers get lost trying to find the couple's new house. A local gives them directions that only a local would understand, including instructions to turn where landmarks used to be. They arrive a day late and pissed off.
