The Oranges is a 2011 American romantic comedy-drama directed by Julian Farino and starring Hugh Laurie, Leighton Meester, Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt, Allison Janney, Alia Shawkat, and Adam Brody. The film chronicles how two families deal with a scandal involving a married man and his friends' daughter. Set in The Oranges area of Essex County, New Jersey, The Oranges was primarily filmed in New Rochelle, New York. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2011, and was released in the United States on October 5, 2012, by ATO Pictures. The film received mixed reviews upon its release.
Plot
The story is narrated from the perspective of aspiring furniture designer Vanessa Walling, whose plan to stay at home for a few months after college has turned into years. She witnesses the heartache between her parents as their marriage falls apart. Their best friends, Terry and Cathy Ostroff, live across the street in their suburb of West Orange, New Jersey.
When the Ostroffs' prodigal 24-year-old daughter Nina returns home after a failed engagement, Vanessa is unhappy to see her back. The mothers of both families would like to see Nina form a relationship with the Wallings' jet-setting son Toby, but Nina herself is more interested in Vanessa's father David. Cathy discovers the affair after following Nina to a motel and seeing David there as well. Thus begins the meltdown of both families.
Cast
The Wallings
Hugh Laurie as David (father) Catherine Keener as Paige (mother) Adam Brody as Toby (son) Alia Shawkat as Vanessa (daughter)
The Ostroffs
Oliver Platt as Terry (father) Allison Janney as Cathy (mother) Leighton Meester as Nina (daughter)
The Others
Aya Cash as Maya
Sam Rosen as Ethan
Tim Guinee as Roger
Cassidy Gard as Samantha
Hoon Lee as Henry
Heidi Kristoffer as Meredith
Jennifer Bronstein as Amy
Stephen Badalamenti as Taxi Driver
John Srednicki as Waiter
Betsy Aidem as Anne Allen
Production
Writing and casting
The script, written by Jay Reiss and Ian Helfer, appeared on 2008's Black List of best unproduced work; that list also featured The Beaver and Inglourious Basterds. Reiss and Helfer wrote the spec script, which is inspired by a story they heard from friends, during the Writers Guild of America strike. The film marks Julian Farino's debut as motion picture director; he had previously directed episodes of Entourage.
Richard Gere's agent Ed Limato called Farino to tell him Gere was interested in the script, but Farino wanted only Hugh Laurie to play the role of David because he had "that innate decency that could carry this thing". On February 8, 2010, Laurie was reported to be in talks to play his first feature lead role. Leighton Meester and Mila Kunis were also said to join the cast as his love interest. On February 28, it was confirmed that Meester had won the role over Kunis, while Adam Brody, Alia Shawkat, Catherine Keener and Allison Janney were all in negotiations.
Meester and Laurie had previously worked together when she guest-starred in two episodes of House, which had plot developments somewhat similar to the storyline of The Oranges. In the 2006 House episode "Lines in the Sand", Meester's character is a 17-year-old who relentlessly pursues Laurie's character, flirting with him and insisting that they should have sex. He eventually diagnoses that a fungal spore in her brain has caused her loss of inhibition and judgement. Farino knew Meester from Entourage where he directed her in the show's first season. He approached her while she was in the dressing room, preparing for a Gossip Girl episode shooting, and they made a "rushed audition". About her role, Meester said: "It's a complete 180-degree turn from anything I've ever done. This fulfills something within myself that I could never find in my series [Gossip Girl]." Even though Alia Shawkat's name was the first mentioned by the casting director, Farino met with a lot of actresses for the role of Vanessa. Shawkat met Farino a year before she auditioned where he told her that they were considering Elliot Page for the part. After Page turned it down, Shawkat auditioned twice and was cast. Allison Janney and Oliver Platt had also worked together before in the television series The West Wing, while Catherine Keener and Platt had starred in the movie Please Give.