Today we have a new trailer and poster for Accidental Love, directed by “Stephen Greene,” which used to be called Nailed, directed by David O. Russell. Starring Jessica Biel and Jake Gyllenhaal, it was shot in 2008, when production kept shutting down because financing wasn’t coming through. Of course, these days, David O. Russell is the critically-acclaimed, red-hot director of The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook, and American Hustle, but back in 2008, he was a mostly obscure, famously difficult niche director of I Heart Huckabees trying to get a quirky film finished in the middle of a financial crisis.
Production on Nailed shut down four times, a key scene never got shot, and Russell eventually took his name off the project. Producers recut it into first Politics In Love and then Accidental Love, with Stephen Greene now credited as the director. Co-written by Al Gore’s daughter, Kristin Gore, the film is about a small town waitress played by Jessica Biel who accidentally gets shot in the head with a nail gun, leading to strange sexual urges. Uninsured, she goes on a crusade to Washington where she meets a clueless freshman congressman played by Jake Gyllenhaal, who takes advantage of her sex drive and tries to use her crusade to advance his political career.
The hacked together result opens February 10th on VOD and in theaters February 20th, the trailer is below:
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I can’t think of too many things that would require a more deft touch than trying to piece together someone else’s screwball comedy, to say nothing of trying to make 2008 jokes work in 2015 without adding anything. And you can’t blame David O. Russell for not wanting his name attached to work edited by people who thought “Accidental Love” was a good title. Even in the trailer you can see it’s kind of a tonal disaster.
Which is kind of a bummer, because it looks like it has Jessica Biel at peak hotness and Tracy Morgan at peak comedy. Not that Jessica Biel can’t also be funny, but she’d have to fly by at Mach 3 for me not to notice how hot she is. (*hangs head*) (*wears dress that says “objectifier*) (*changes byline to “Stephen Greene”*)
Formerly known as Nailed (David O. Russell), Accidental Love tells the story of a small town waitress (Biel), who accidentally gets a nail lodged in her head as her boyfriend (Marsden) attempts his marriage proposal. Her predicament leads her on a journey to Washington DC, where she meets a dashing but clueless congressman (Gyllenhaal), who might be able to help her unusual case. Will their blossoming romance survive the cut-throat politics of the Capital? With an all-star cast that also includes Catherine Keener, Tracy Morgan, James Brolin and Paul Reubens, Accidental Love is the funny story of what happens when sparks fly and love interferes with what you stand for.
At first I was wondering why they put that random lady’s reaction shot in the poster, and then I realized it was Catherine Keener.
Trailer via The Film Stage