Rating: R
Genre:
Comedy Drama
Release Date: 04/11/2006
Dubbed: English
Sound: DD2
Run Time: 96 Minutes
Distributor/Studio: Strand Home Video
Naomi Watts produces and stars in
Ellie Parker, a semi-autobiographical story of an Australian actress struggling to make it in Hollywood.
Ellie is young enough to still schlep to auditions back and forth across L.A., changing wardrobes and slapping on makeup en route, but just old enough that the future feels "more like a threat than a promise." She lives with her vacant musician boyfriend (
Mark Pellegrino), who leaves her just about as dissatisfied as any other part of her life, and has a loose definition of the word "fidelity." Helping make sense of their surreal and humiliating Hollywood existence is her best friend
Sam (
Rebecca Rigg), another out-of-work actress trying her hand at design, who attends acting classes with
Ellie to stay sharp. When
Ellie gets into a fender bender with a guy who claims he's a cinematographer (
Scott Coffey), her perspective on her work and the dating world starts to change.
Chevy Chase also makes an appearance in this series of Hollywood vignettes, playing
Ellie's agent.
Watts,
Coffey, and
Pellegrino all worked together on
David Lynch's
Mulholland Drive, where
Watts had her breakout performance, and
Ellie Parker grew out of the friendship forged between
Watts and director/screenwriter
Coffey. It was shot on digital video over the course of five years, having begun its life as a series of shorts featuring
Watts' character.
~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
