My One And Only (2009)

Set in 1953, a glamorous New York socialite (Renee Zellweger) catches her husband (Kevin Bacon) in bed with another woman. She then takes her two teenage sons (Logan Lerman, Mark Rendall) on a cross country road trip from new York to California looking for a new husband to support them. Richard Loncraine (THE GATHERING STORM) directs this coming of age story very loosely based on the the teen years of actor George Hamilton (at one point, Zellweger tells her son, "Get a tan, you look pale"). The film itself is sort of the progeny of films like AUNTIE MAME and TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT. She's a lousy and irresponsible mother but she's fun to be around. The reason to see the film is Zellweger who gives a marvelous performance. Essentially miscast (she's described as a great beauty), like other beauty challenged actresses (Davis in MR. SKEFFINGTON, Page in SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH), she manages through the sheer force of her performance to make us believe that she is indeed a beauty. It's a pity the film slipped under the radar as Zellweger's performance is one of her 3 or 4 career best. The supporting cast includes Chris Noth, Eric McCormack, Troy Garity, Steven Weber and Nick Stahl.