Beautiful Joe (film)

Beautiful Joe is a 2000 American-British film written and directed by Stephen Metcalfe. It stars Sharon Stone and Billy Connolly, with supporting roles by Ian Holm, Dann Florek, and Gil Bellows.

This article is about the film. For the dog or the novel, see Beautiful Joe. For the video game, see Viewtiful Joe (video game).
Beautiful Joe
Directed byStephen Metcalfe
Produced byFred Fuchs
Steven Haft
Written byStephen Metcalfe
StarringSharon Stone
Billy Connolly
Music byJohn Altman
CinematographyThomas Ackerman
Release date
November 19, 2000
Running time
98 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$15 million

Plot

Joe (Billy Connolly) is a regular guy who runs a flower shop and has never had much in the way of good luck. Things seem to be grim for Joe when he's diagnosed with a brain tumor, but a bit of good fortune appears on the horizon when he wins a jackpot at the race track. However, Hush (Sharon Stone), a stripper who has fallen deeply in debt to a gang of thugs, steals Joe's newly won fortune to pay them off. Joe gets his money back by explaining to the gangsters what happened, but only because they mistake him for a syndicate kingpin they've heard about but never met. When the gangsters discover that Joe is a florist and not a career criminal, they find the situation less than amusing.

Cast

Production

In October 1998, actress Sharon Stone stated that Beautiful Joe would be her next project, saying she had read the script while visiting her father, Joe, in a hospital. Stone said production would take place in San Francisco, where she lived.[2] Filming instead took place in Vancouver, British Columbia, and began in June 1999.[3] Filming in British Columbia was initially scheduled to last from June 28 to August 17.[4] The film's budget was $15 million, and filming took place in British Columbia because of various economic incentives, which saved the production $1.5 million.[5]

Although the film was partially set in Louisville, Kentucky, it would not feature any scenes shot there, with the possible exception of stock footage for outdoor shots.[6] During July 1999, filming took place at Hastings Racecourse, a horse-racing track located at Vancouver's Hastings Park. For the film, the Hastings race track was transformed to portray the Churchill Downs horse track in Louisville. The scene included approximately 800 extras who cheered from the track's grandstand.[7]

In August 1999, Stone's husband, Phil Bronstein, had a heart attack and she returned to San Francisco to be with him.[8][9] Stone's departure caused production to stop for two days, and for the following three days, director Stephen Metcalfe shot scenes that did not involve her character. Stone returned to the film set a week after Bronstein's heart attack and angioplasty. Production was expected to wrap on August 19, 1999, as scheduled, or possibly a day later.[9] Gil Bellows said about the film, "It was one of those experiences that doesn't end the way one intends. I'd rather not talk about it."[10]

The film was produced by Fred Fuchs and Steven Haft, and financed by London-based Capitol Films.[11] During production, Capitol Films entered an agreement with Carl Icahn's Stratosphere Entertainment, which was to distribute the film in the United States.[12]

Release

Beautiful Joe was never released in theaters.[13] In the United States, the film premiered on the Cinemax cable network on November 19, 2000,[14][15] and was released on VHS and DVD on May 22, 2001.[16][17]

Reception

The A.V. Club's Nathan Rabin, who was critical of Stone's previous films, wrote that "nothing she's done has been quite as shameless or appalling as Beautiful Joe, a toxic piece of whimsy that ranks among the worst films of 2000."[18]

References
  1. "Recent releases". Dayton Daily News. May 25, 2001. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  2. Hamill, Denis (October 4, 1998). "A Polished Stone". New York Daily News. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  3. "Billy Connolly's at Starbucks; can Sharon Stone be far behind?". Vancouver Sun. June 25, 1999. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  4. "Shooting Schedule". Vancouver Sun. June 25, 1999. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  5. Stack, Peter (December 12, 1999). "At Home On Location". SFGate. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  6. "Location shooting". The Courier-Journal. June 9, 1999. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  7. "Here 'N' There". Vancouver Sun. July 17, 1999. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  8. "The Sculpting of Sharon Stone". Star Tribune. January 30, 2000. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  9. Fink, Mitchell; Rubin, Lauren (August 13, 1999). "Sharon Stone's Life is Gettin' Back to 'Beautiful'". New York Daily News. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  10. "Lose some, win some". Poughkeepsie Journal. August 16, 2001. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  11. Dawtrey, Adam (May 13, 1999). "Capitol picks up 'Drowning Mona'". Variety. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  12. Dawtrey, Adam (July 8, 1999). "Capitol, Stratosphere ink 4-pic distrib pact". Variety. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  13. "Joe Airs". Vancouver Sun. December 12, 2001. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  14. "Tonight's TV tips". The Bismarck Tribune. November 19, 2000. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  15. "Sunday listings". The Indianapolis Star. November 19, 2000. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  16. "New Releases". Star Tribune. May 25, 2001. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  17. Davis, Cynthia (May 10, 2001). "Here is a schedule of upcoming video..." Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  18. Rabin, Nathan (April 19, 2002). "Beautiful Joe". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
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