Hanging Up (2000)

Director:

Diane Keaton

Writers (WGA):

Delia Ephron (book)
Delia Ephron (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

18 February 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Every family has a few hang-ups.

Plot:

A trio of sisters bond over their ambivalence toward the approaching death of their curmudgeonly father, to whom none of them was particularly close. |

Plot Keywords:

Hospital | Nixon | Car Accident | Food Fight | Publisher

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Meg Ryan	...	Eve Mozell Marks
Diane Keaton	...	Georgia Mozell
Lisa Kudrow	...	Maddy Mozell
Walter Matthau	...	Lou Mozell
Adam Arkin	...	Joe Marks
Shaun Duke	...	Dr. Omar Kunundar (as Duke Moosekian)
Ann Bortolotti	...	Ogmed Kunundar
Cloris Leachman	...	Pat Mozell
Maree Cheatham	...	Angie
Myndy Crist	...	Dr. Kelly
Libby Hudson	...	Libby
Jesse James	...	Jesse Marks
Edie McClurg	...	Esther
Tracee Ellis Ross	...	Kim
Celia Weston	...	Madge Turner
Bob Kirsh	...	Nixon Library Representative
Stephanie Ittleson	...	Victoria
Venessia Valentino	...	Nurse at Mesh Window
R.A. Buck	...	Gay Man
Phil Levesque	...	Gay Man
Paige Wolfe	...	Six Year Old Eve
Charles Matthau	...	Young Lou
Ethan Dampf	...	Four Year Old Jesse
Mary Beth Pape	...	Mother at Party
Catherine Paolone	...	Doctor
Carol Mansell	...	Woman Who Recognizes Maddy
Katie Stratton	...	Twelve Year Old Georgia
Talia-Lynn Prairie	...	Four Year Old Maddy
Kristina Dorn	...	Young Pat
Lucky Vanous	...	Montana Dude
Bill Robinson	...	Doctor on Soap
Jaffe Cohen	...	Sub-Editor
Johnathan Cale	...	Hairdresser
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ben Murphy	...	Richard (scenes deleted)
Sebastian Feldman	...	Pedestrian (uncredited)
Warren Sweeney	...	Paramedic (uncredited)

Directed by
Diane Keaton

Writing credits (WGA)
Delia Ephron		(book)
Delia Ephron		(screenplay) &
Nora Ephron		(screenplay)

Produced by
Delia Ephron	....	executive producer
Nora Ephron	....	producer
Laurence Mark	....	producer
Diana Pokorny	....	co-producer
Bill Robinson	....	executive producer

Original Music by
David Hirschfelder

Cinematography by
Howard Atherton		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Julie Monroe

Casting by
Lisa Beach

Production Design by
Waldemar Kalinowski

Art Direction by
Troy Sizemore

Set Decoration by
Florence Fellman

Costume Design by
Bobbie Read

Makeup Department
Janice Alexander	....	hair supervisor (as Jan Alexander)
Fríða Aradóttir	....	hair stylist: Ms. Ryan
Steve Artmont	....	makeup supervisor
Kelcey Fry	....	makeup artist: Ms. Keaton
Angela Levin	....	makeup artist: Ms. Kudrow
Edward St. George	....	hair stylist: Ms. Kudrow
Toni-Ann Walker	....	hair stylist: Ms. Keaton

Production Management
Michelle Morrissey	....	production supervisor
Diana Pokorny	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Paula Case	....	second second assistant director (as Paula Harris)
K.C. Colwell	....	first assistant director
Darin Rivetti	....	second assistant director
Laurie Webb	....	dga trainee

Art Department
Deana Albers	....	assistant property master
Mick Cukurs	....	set designer
Maureen Farley	....	property master
Barry Kingston	....	construction coordinator
Brent Rice	....	lead man
Lee Runnels	....	greensman
Michael Stone	....	assistant art director
François Audouy	....	illustrator (uncredited)
Tony Castagnola	....	greens foreman (uncredited)
Judson Crowder	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Paul Dowler	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Patricio M. Farrell	....	assistant art director: reshoots (uncredited)
Monica Frommholz	....	art department coordinator (uncredited)
Gregor Habsburg	....	assistant to production designer: Fine Art reproduction (uncredited)
Joshua Hunt	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Helen Kozora	....	set decoration buyer (uncredited)
Scott Lafferty	....	carpenter (uncredited)
Steven Light-Orr	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Mark A. Mancinelli	....	plaster supervisor (uncredited)
Merdyce McClaran	....	on-set dresser (uncredited)
Fred O'Connor	....	propmaker (uncredited)
Eric Sundahl	....	set designer (uncredited)
Jason Sweers	....	graphic designer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Stu Bernstein	....	sound effects editor
Bob Bowman	....	assistant sound editor
Michael J. Broomberg	....	foley artist (as Michael Bloomberg)
Joe Dorn	....	adr editor
Richard Duarte	....	foley mixer
Mark Gordon	....	foley editor
Gary A. Hecker	....	foley artist (as Gary Hecker)
Greg Hedgepath	....	sound effects editor
Philip A. Hess	....	sound effects editor (as Philip Hess)
Andrea Horta	....	adr editor
Drake Jenevein	....	assistant sound editor
Kimaree Long	....	dialogue editor
Gary Mundheim	....	foley editor
Kevin O'Connell	....	sound re-recording mixer
Greg P. Russell	....	sound re-recording mixer
Todd Russell	....	boom operator
Roy Seeger	....	assistant sound editor
Frederick H. Stahly	....	dialogue editor
Lauren Stephens	....	dialogue editor
Charles M. Wilborn	....	production sound mixer
Michael D. Wilhoit	....	supervising sound editor
Scott Wolf	....	sound effects editor
Christopher S. Aud	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Paul Drenning	....	adr mixer (uncredited)
Hanson Hsu	....	sound engineer (uncredited)
Hanson Hsu	....	stage engineer (uncredited)
James J. Mase	....	sound (uncredited)
Fred Peck III	....	sound re-recordist (uncredited)
Greg Steele	....	adr mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Tom Seymour	....	special effects
J.D. Streett	....	special effects supervisor
Charles Cooley	....	special effects technician (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Christopher Grandel	....	visual effects coordinator (uncredited)
Ralph Maiers	....	in house supervisor: CRC Digital (uncredited)

Stunts
Charlie Brewer	....	stunts
Jack Gill	....	stunt coordinator
Al Goto	....	stunts
Jimmy Graham	....	stunts
Tabby Hanson	....	stunts
Craig Hosking	....	stunts
Jeff Imada	....	stunts
Kevin Scott	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Stuart Abramson	....	key grip
Vincent Contarino	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Melinda Sue Gordon	....	still photographer
Gregory Lundsgaard	....	Steadicam operator
Richard B. McCormick	....	dolly grip (as Rich McCormick)
Darin Necessary	....	second assistant camera
Douglas F. O'Neons	....	camera operator
Michael Orefice	....	chief lighting technician (as Michael Paul Orefice)
Scott Rathner	....	first assistant camera
Ron Tondreau	....	second grip
Ben Betts	....	video engineer (uncredited)
Josh Denering	....	grip (uncredited)
Kenneth Estes	....	computer and video playback operator (uncredited)
Mary Funsten	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Ron Goodman	....	camera operator: SpaceCam (uncredited)
Jeb Johenning	....	digital video assist operator (uncredited)
Paul La Fontaine	....	special still photographer (uncredited)
Patriq Luo	....	electrician (uncredited)
Daniel Mellitz	....	video assist operator: re-shoot (uncredited)
Arnaud Peiny	....	rigging key grip (uncredited)
Gary Stark	....	set electric lighting technician (uncredited)

Casting Department
Sarah Katzman	....	casting associate
Kelly Mittelman	....	casting assistant
Steve Spiker	....	extras casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Terry Anderson	....	key costumer
Elinor Bardach	....	costume supervisor
Alison Gail Bixby	....	set costumer
Romeo Pompa	....	costumer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Charles Bunn	....	first assistant film editor
Gary Burritt	....	negative cutter
Jordan Dawes	....	assistant film editor
Matvey Shatz	....	color timer
Dale Jones	....	avid technician (uncredited)
Eric Rigney	....	avid technician (uncredited)

Music Department
Bonnie Greenberg	....	music consultant
Thomas Pasatieri	....	orchestrator
Dennis S. Sands	....	music scoring mixer (as Dennis Sands)
Richard Whitfield	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Cesar Angebaldo	....	transportation co-captain (as Cesar Angobaldo)
Randy White	....	transportation captain
J. Armin Garza II	....	driver: camera car (uncredited)
Kenneth Newland	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Deanna Adney	....	assistant location manager
Chad Ahrendt	....	assistant: Mr. Mark
Petra Alexandria	....	executive: LMP
Matthew Cope	....	production assistant
Robert Earl Craft	....	location manager
Victoria Gregory	....	first assistant accountant
Anna E. Hayward	....	production assistant (as Anna Hayward)
Laura Hogan	....	production assistant
Brigette Lester	....	production coordinator
Eric Mansur	....	assistant: Mr. Mark
Amanda McHugh	....	executive: Blue Relief
Jonathan Pecarsky	....	assistant: Mr. Robinson
Michele Posch	....	production assistant
Tiffany Powell	....	production secretary
Elena Ritchie	....	assistant: Ms. Keaton
J.J. Sacha	....	assistant: Ms. Nora Ephron
Spooky Stevens	....	unit publicist
Elizabeth Tompkins	....	production accountant (as Elizabeth K. Tompkins)
Marion Tumen	....	script supervisor
Derek Jan Vermaas	....	assistant production coordinator
Kristin Webb	....	production assistant
Jesse Yoshimura	....	production assistant
Jennifer Burkley	....	production assistant: pre-production (uncredited)
Gary Michael Clark	....	lead payroll accountant (uncredited)
Dawn Clounch	....	assistant: Diana Pokorny (uncredited)
Danita Cole	....	second assistant accountant (uncredited)
Lannie Franklin	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Peter Hansen	....	caterer: pastry chef (uncredited)
Jack E. Herman	....	extras set coordinator (uncredited)
Lucy Herrera	....	second assistant accountant (uncredited)
Jean Hodges	....	food stylist (uncredited)
Paul Kruhm	....	location services: EastWest Locations (uncredited)
Anne Lockhart	....	adr voice (uncredited)
Diane Modafferi	....	accounting clerk (uncredited)
Danny Mormino	....	set production assistant: second unit (uncredited)
Carrie Shaw	....	blocking actor (uncredited)
John Trujillo	....	layout board (uncredited)
Greg Yaitanes	....	visual consultant (uncredited)
Garson Yu	....	title designer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation
• Global Entertainment Productions GmbH & Company Medien KG
• Laurence Mark Productions
• Nora Ephron Productions

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures
• Columbia TriStar Film (Germany)
• Columbia TriStar Films (France)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (Argentina)
• Columbia TriStar (Brazil) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (Brazil) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (2000) (Argentina) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (2000) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Prooptiki (Greece)
• Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE)
• Sony Pictures Entertainment

Other Companies

• Central Casting  extras casting
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  dollies
• FedEx  trademark used by permission
• Movie Movers  star trailers
• Varèse Sarabande  soundtrack
• yU+Co.  main title design

Also Known As:

Aufgelegt! (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language and some sex-related material.

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | USA:PG-13 (certificate #36460) | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:IIA | Hungary:14 | New Zealand:M | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:Btl | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Walter Matthau's final film.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the three sisters are en route from the Nixon Library to the hospital, they drive across a bridge on the wrong side of the road (apparently a reversal of the negative).

Quotes:

Maddy Mozell: You always ignore me! ever since i was 7 years old for Halloween and i dressed up as a carrot and you two snuck off without me. I'm just as much a part of this family as either of you... AND I WANNA FIGHT!
Eve Mozell Marks, Georgia Mozell: FINE!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Holiday (2006)

Soundtrack:

Junk

wildly uneven comedy/drama

The late Walter Matthau ended his long and illustrious career as a film actor in `Hanging Up,' playing, appropriately, the dying father of three adult daughters. I wish I could say that the vehicle he chose as his eventual swan song were one truly worthy of his enormous skill and talent. Unfortunately – or rather fortunately – however, this will not be the film for which he is most remembered.

Like so many films, `Hanging Up' starts off with the most noble of intentions. Writer Delia Ephron and director Diane Keaton have attempted to come to terms with the most complex issue facing the aging baby boomer generation: how does one cope with ailing, aging and dying parents while trying to keep a grip on one's own hectic life and personal commitments? And, to make matters more complicated, how does one expend the physical and emotional energy needed for such a task when the parent himself is often irascible, crusty and even downright unlikable in his behavior and nature? And, finally, how does a wounded child ultimately find it in his or her heart to forgive the parent and arrive at that moment of reconciliation so crucial when death finally comes?

When `Hanging Up' focuses on this theme, it achieves moments of point and relevance. All of us can identify with the main character, Eve (Meg Ryan), a sweet, warmhearted young woman who, alone of the three daughters, has unflaggingly dedicated herself to the care of a father who, more often than not, strikes out at her in unappreciative scorn and anger. Wearied and harassed by the enormous burdens of her hectic life and her own inability to say `no' to the people who demand so much from her, Eve emerges as a truly winning and believable character. Unfortunately, her two sisters, Georgia (Diane Keaton), a magazine magnate, and Maddy (Lisa Kudrow), a soap opera actress, come across as shallow, two-dimensional characters whose self-absorption and seeming indifference are (ho hum) really masks for the insecurity and hurt hidden deep beneath their composed surfaces.

Somehow, however, for all its attempts to deal with a truly universal theme, `Hanging Up' never seems quite real in its look and demeanor – it always feels like a movie. Maybe it is the overall slickness of the approach that undermines the seriousness of the drama. The actresses, good though they are, seem somehow too glamorous, their careers too unrepresentative of most of the people in the audience. Another problem is that the film can never seem to settle on an appropriate tone. One moment we find ourselves steeped in searing drama followed the next by a scene of trivial slapstick. Time and again, Ryan is forced to trip over a discarded toy, tangle with an overgrown mutt or bang away at an uncooperative coffee dispenser. Such incidents end up reducing the level of the drama to little more than sitcom status.

`Hanging Up' has, however, been blessed with a wonderful cast. Ryan, Keaton, Kudrow and Matthau pore on the charm and play off each other nicely. (And the film has some devilish fun playing up the physical similarities between Matthau and Richard Nixon). These fine performers obviously had a terrific time making the film together. That is why one regrets the fact, that for all their hard work, the film they left behind is so lacking in credibility and grit. At the end of his career and life, Matthau deserved better.