Sundance Day 8: Big Names, Big Flops

Fri., Jan. 25, 2008 8:36 AM PST by Caroline Kepnes

Groundswell Productions

It's sad. And it could be premature. But it seems there are a few Sundance films that don't have a very good shot at distribution. Get out the Kleenex, and let's see which one we should try and save.

E! Networks/Comcast Entertainment Group

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
Why are people so hard on this adaptation of Michael Chabon's book? Reviews are nasty. Hell, protests are happening. Director Rawson Marshall Thurber's adaptation of this coming-of-age story hasn't been well received. And that's too bad, especially for the cast, which includes Sienna Miller and Peter Sarsgaard. I actually saw this movie a while ago, and while it's not perfect, it is damn good twentysomething entertainment. Plus it has Nick Nolte and beautiful, adoring shots of Pittsburgh. Honestly, if this movie did get released, I bet it would do a hell of a lot more box office than...

Linson Films, Tribeca Films

What Just Happened?
How original! An insidery wink-wink Hollywood satire made by people who know what it's really like in Hollywood. Oh, guys, come on—who needs a poor man's The Player? Hold that thought. Playaz in this A-list film include Robert De Niro, Bruce Willis, John Turturro, Stanley Tucci and Sean Penn. The buzz is, eh. The reviews are, eh. Insiders say it's too dated and too soft compared with Entourage. Moviegoers who don't work in the Biz are like, it's all right but not fabulous. Naturally, De Niro is supposed to be fantastic, in total Meet the Parents funnyman mode. Oh, well. He'll do something else, I'm sure.

Big Beach Productions, Back Lot Pictures

Sunshine Cleaning
A moment of silence, preemptive as it may be, for this gem, about cleaning ladies who mop up bloody crime scenes. Amy Adams, who is darling, and Emily Blunt, who was just as good if not better than Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada, costar in this saga, which is lighter than it sounds. Yet buyers feel it's too not-totally-funny and noncommercial for audiences. Silly buyers, don't you remember all the people who went to see Waitress? That had sad stuff. What doesn't, right?

More Sundance 2008: Full coverage from E! Online