[This is a re-post of my review from the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.  Hyde Park on Hudson opens today in limited release.]

Hyde Park on Hudson is two stories: one is a bizarre, deeply misguided “love story” about a mistress; the other is a charming fish-out-of-water story set on a historical stage. Blended together, they make a film that’s unintentionally funny in its brazen schizophrenia where the plotlines overlap in terms of setting and nothing else. Director Roger Michell doesn’t seem to notice how different these stories are, and instead of choosing the superior one, his vacillation makes the picture a captivating train wreck where I couldn’t help but wonder if Michell was being subversively hilarious. How else do you explain a scene featuring cinema’s most romantic handjob?

Three new clips have gone online for director Roger Michell’s Hyde Park on Hudson.  Starring Bill Murray as Franklin D. Roosevelt, the film centers on a visit of England’s King George VI (Samuel West) and Queen Elizabeth (Olivia Coleman) to Roosevelt’s upstate New York home, Hyde Park on Hudson.  The monarchs’ concerns over German aggression must compete with Roosevelt’s wife, mother and mistress who are all vying for attention.  The following clips do a nice job at establishing the relationships between the various parties.  You can read Matt’s review of the film here.

Hyde Park on Hudson opens domestically on December 7th.  Hit the jump to view the new clips.

Hyde Park on Hudson is two stories: one is a bizarre, deeply misguided “love story” about a mistress; the other is a charming fish-out-of-water story set on a historical stage.  Blended together, they make a film that’s unintentionally funny in its brazen schizophrenia where the plotlines overlap in terms of setting and nothing else.  Director Roger Michell doesn’t seem to notice how different these stories are, and instead of choosing the superior one, his vacillation makes the picture a captivating train wreck where I couldn’t help but wonder if Michell was being subversively hilarious.  How else do you explain a scene featuring cinema’s most romantic handjob?

The first trailer for the historical drama Hyde Park on the Hudson has gone online.  The film stars Bill Murray as President Franklin D. Roosevelt and centers on a weekend in 1939 which marked the first ever visit to America by a British monarchy when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited FDR’s upstate New York cottage.  Roosevelt also had an affair with his cousin, Daisy, during the same weekend.  The trailer basically plays like a funnier version of Downton Abbey, with a great deal of heart thrown in towards the end.  Lest you think this is another droll, period drama without a sense of humor, Murray is splendidly fun as Roosevelt.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  Directed by Roger Michell (Notting Hill), the film also stars Laura Linney, Olivia Williams, Samuel West, Olivia Colman, Elizabeth Marvel, Elizabeth Wilson, and Eleanor Bron. Focus Features will release Hyde Park on the Hudson on December 7th.

We have two stories that are almost casting news, but nothing has been confirmed for either film.  First up, Angelina Jolie hasn’t settled on her next acting project yet.  Her directorial debut, In the Land of Blood and Honey is set for December 23rd, she’s attached to star in Cleopatra, and Salt 2 recently got the greenlight.  Now Just Jared reports that Jolie is meeting with director David O. Russell to discuss his adaptation of The Silver Linings Playbook.  Mark Wahlberg is already attached to play at Pat Peoples, a former high school history teacher who has just been released from a mental institution and plans on reconciling with his estranged wife.  However, Pat believes he’s only been in the institution for a few months, when actually he’s been inside for several years.  Presumably, Jolie is interested in playing Peoples’ wife.  However, even if she takes the role, it’s unknown where it fall into her schedule.  Cleopatra and Salt 2 are both looking for directors.

Hit the jump for casting news regarding Hyde Park on the Hudson.

Any time it’s announced that Bill Murray will star in a movie, it’s exciting news. Quite apart from the fact that he’s one of the greatest comedic big screen presences of all time, the guy is notoriously hard to sign on to any project. But today after months of circling the role, Murray has officially committed to play Franklin D. Roosevelt in the historical drama Hyde Park On Hudson, a film about King George VI and Queen Elizabeth spending a weekend at FDR’s upstate New York home unsurprisingly called Hyde Park On Hudson. No start date is in place yet as Focus Features plans to seek international buyers for the project at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and given Murray’s official involvement, it shouldn’t be a hard sell. Though this will most likely be a serious role for Murray, the idea of him applying his hangdog deadpan comic charm to the role of the 32nd US president is just too sweet to resist. Hit the jump for further details on this bizarrely awesome casting choice.

Always on the lookout for interesting roles, Bill Murray has now signed on to portray President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the film adaptation of the British radio play Hyde Park on the Hudson. The story focuses on FDR’s love affair with his cousin, Margaret Stuckley, during a June weekend in 1939 when the British King and Queen visited Roosevelt’s upstate New York cottage in what was the first ever visit to America by a member of the British monarchy. A flick based on a radio play about FDR’s incestuous relationship with his cousin in the presence of British royalty with Bill Murray starring? Sign me up!

Vulture reports that the project, helmed by Roger Michell (Morning Glory), is set to film this July. Richard Nelson wrote the script, based on his 2009 radio play. Focus Features and the UK’s Film4 are producing the film.

For your viewing pleasure, we have six clips from the upcoming romantic comedy Morning Glory.  Directed by Roger Michell (Notting Hill), the film stars Rachel McAdams as a struggling morning talk show producer who attempts to deal with her bickering anchors (played by Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton) while also handling a burgeoning romantic relationship with a co-worker (played by Patrick Wilson).

Hit the jump to check out the clips.  Morning Glory opens on Wednesday.

James L. Brooks proved that the newsroom was fertile ground for a romantic comedy with 1987′s fantastic Broadcast News, and Paramount is hoping to tap into some of the same magic more than twenty years later with Morning Glory.  The studio gathered quite the cast for the effort, as Glory is toplined by Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton, Patrick Wilson, and Jeff Goldblum.  The film follows McAdams as the producer of a morning news show who “decides to revitalize the show by bringing on legendary TV anchor Mike Pomeroy (Ford). Unfortunately, Pomeroy refuses to cover morning show staples like celebrity gossip, weather, fashion and crafts.”

Roger Michell (Notting Hill) is directing from a script by Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada); notably, J.J. Abrams (Star Trek) is producing.  Check out the trailer, which is not without its charms, after the break.