Misery (film)

Misery
Theatrical poster for Misery
Directed by	Rob Reiner
Produced by	Rob Reiner & Andrew Scheinman
Written by	William Goldman
Starring	James Caan Kathy Bates Richard Farnsworth Frances Sternhagen
Music by	Marc Shaiman
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (DVD)
Release date(s)	November 30, 1990
Running time	107 min.
Language	English
Budget	$20,000,000
IMDb profile

Misery is a 1990 American horror/thriller film, based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. Directed by Rob Reiner, the film received critical acclaim for Kathy Bates' Academy Award-winning portrayal of psychotic ex-nurse Annie Wilkes. It was ranked #12 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Crew 4 Awards 5 Music 5.1 Soundtrack track listing 6 Trivia 7 In popular culture 8 External links

Plot

Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is the writer of the very successful Misery series of romance novels. When he is injured in a car accident, his legs are broken and he cannot walk. He is taken in by Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), who says she is a nurse. She brings him painkillers, feeds and clothes him and rants on about how she is "his number one fan", even introducing Paul to her pet pig named Misery. Annie reveals to Paul that she was following him the day he got in his car accident, which is how she came to be his caretaker. However he soon becomes very uncomfortable as the line between caretaker and captor becomes blurred. Then, Annie reads Paul's latest novel – in which he kills off the character Misery, whom Annie adores, because he wants to write other things. Annie becomes enraged, forcing Paul to not only burn the latest, non-Misery book he has written, but also write a new book in which he is supposed to bring Misery back to life. Paul continually tries to escape the room to find a phone to get help. At one point when Annie is gone, he is able to escape the room and he finds that Annie has deliberately disconnected the phones, preventing him from contacting the outside world. Paul also discovers an album full of newspaper clippings, telling of how Annie has worked as a nurse and had been accused of killing patients. While out of the bedroom in which he is held captive, Paul accidentally moves a figurine in the living room, giving Annie the knowledge that he was out of his room. In the most horrific and famous moment in the film, Annie cripples Paul, breaking his ankles between a block of wood and then using a sledge hammer, which she informs him is called "hobbling". Soon after this, the Silver Creek Sheriff, Buster (Richard Farnsworth), who had been investigating Paul's disappearance hears Annie cursing during one of her visits to town. Buster finds a quote from Annie when she was previously charged that matches a quote from one of the Misery books. Buster pays her a visit, at first assuming she is simply a lonely fruitcake, but on his departure, hears Paul, who has been locked in the basement, knock over a barbecue stand. He rushes back into the house to find out what happened, only to be killed instantly by Annie with a shotgun. As his last ditch effort to escape, after finishing her book Paul threatens to burn the manuscript the way Annie earlier forced him to burn his book. After Paul sets the book ablaze, Annie is on the floor sobbing and in hysterics; Paul takes this opportunity to smash her over the head with the typewriter with which he had written the book. This is not enough to kill her, though, and Paul stuffs her throat full of the burned pages of the manuscript, Annie manages to get up, runs at Paul, who uses his leg to trip her up, making her fall onto the typewriter, and supposedly breaking her neck. Paul begins to crawl out of the doorway when Annie jumps on top of him. As they struggle, Paul sees a pig-shaped doorstop- as he reaches for it, Annie tries to stop him, and Paul manages to grasp the doorstop and swings it at Annie, hitting her in the arm and breaking it. As she holds her arm in pain, Paul swings the stop a second time, hitting her directly in the face, killing her. Sometime later, Paul (now walking with a cane) is shown having lunch with his literary agent. Paul and his agent discuss his latest book, a high-class novel which finally allows Paul to be taken seriously by critics. However, despite urging from his agent, Paul refuses to write about his horrific experiences while he was in captivity. In a moment of terror, Paul sees Annie approaching him. Paul realizes he is just imagining her, but it is obvious that Paul is haunted by the memories.

Cast

• James Caan - Paul Sheldon
• Kathy Bates - Annie Wilkes
• Richard Farnsworth - Buster
• Frances Sternhagen - Virginia
• Lauren Bacall - Marcia Sindell
• Graham Jarvis - Libby
• Jerry Potter - Pete
• Misery the pig - Herself
• Thomas Brunelle - Anchorman
• June Christopher - Anchorwoman
• Julie Payne - Reporter 1
• Archie Hahn III - Reporter 2
• Greg Snegoff - Reporter 3
• Wendy Bowers - Waitress
• Rob Reiner - Helicopter Pilot (uncredited)
• J. T. Walsh - State Trooper Sherman Douglas (uncredited)
• Jem Sanlisoy - Turk Turkilton III
• Scott Ernst Wilson - Paul Young

Crew

• Directed by: Rob Reiner
• Produced by: Andrew Scheinman and Rob Reiner
• Written by: William Goldman and Stephen King (novel)
• Co-Producers: Jeffrey Stott and Steve Nicolaides
• Associate Producer: Steven R. Molen
• Cinematography by: Barry Sonnenfeld
• Original music composed by: Marc Shaiman
• Production design by: Norman Garwood

Awards

• Oscar (1990): Best Actress in a leading role - Kathy Bates
• Golden Globe (1990): Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama) - Kathy Bates
• CFCA Award (1990): Best Actress - Kathy Bates

Music

The film's score was composed by Marc Shaiman. It was released on CD in January 1991, on the Bay Cities record label, to critical acclaim.

Soundtrack track listing

1. Number One Fan
2. She Can't Be Dead
3. Open House
4. Go To Your Room
5. Buster's Last Stand
6. Misery's Return

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• In William Goldman's book Which Lie Did I Tell?, he states that Stephen King was pleased with the final film. However, in King's On Writing, King states that Sheldon might or might not be an allegory for himself, but he certainly wasn't James Caan.
• Kathy Bates reportedly was disappointed that a scene was cut in which she kills a young police officer by rolling over him repeatedly with a lawnmower. Director Rob Reiner was afraid that the audience would laugh at it.
• Features a cameo by J.T Walsh as a State of Colorado Police Chief.
• In the novel, Annie cuts off Paul's foot to prevent him from escaping. Screenwriter William Goldman has stated that the reason he decided to adapt the book to film was because of this gruesome scene and the effect it would have on the audience. However, Rob Reiner and Andrew Scheinman's script revision changed the method of torture to Paul getting his ankles broken with a sledgehammer. Goldman was opposed to the change until viewing the film.
• The main character Paul Sheldon's novels are published by Viking, the same publishing company that published Stephen King's books at that time.
• According to William Goldman's book Four Screenplays, the main character role, Paul Sheldon, was offered to William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Michael Douglas, Harrison Ford, Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Richard Dreyfuss, Gene Hackman, Robert Redford, and Warren Beatty, all of whom declined.
• The part of Annie Wilkes was offered to Anjelica Huston and Bette Midler, both of whom declined. Huston reportedly wanted the role, but was forced to turn it down because of her commitments to the film The Grifters. Kathy Bates, who was unknown at the time, accepted the role and won an Academy Award for best actress.
• One of Stephen King's first typewriters had a malfunctioning "N" key, just like the one used by James Caan in the movie.
• A video of Reiner's movie When Harry Met Sally... (1989) is visible in the general store.
• When Annie demands that Paul burn his manuscript, she lights the paper and we see a close-up of the words on the paper, an article about Cameron Crowe and how he is an amazing scriptwriter. It talks about his movies, but mostly offers praise for Say Anything (1989).
• Director Rob Reiner can be glimpsed as the helicopter pilot during the search for Paul’s car
• A new DVD Collector's Edition of Misery was released on October 2nd 2007. It features a higher quality picture and sound as well as a number of bonus features and commentaries.

In popular culture

• In the Drawn Together episode "Unrestrainable Trainable", Clara restrains Wooldoor in a similar manner. She also hobbles his ankles in the same way Annie does.
• In an episode of The King of Queens, Arthur is heard calling his daughter, Carrie, "the fat broad from Misery." This is in reference to the Annie Wilkes character portrayed by Kathy Bates.
• In the FUNimation dub of the anime Shin Chan, the character Maso believes Shin's neighbor is a murderer. He passes out and wakes up in her bed. The neighbor walks in and she says "Do you remember that scene in Misery where the lady breaks the guy's legs with a sledgehammer? Not sure why I remembered that just now."
• The British comedy duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders made a parody of the movie on their show, French and Saunders.
• An episode of The Critic has Jay becoming romantically involved with a woman who fanatically idolizes him, and then restrains him to a bed with reels of film in order to "always know what's good and what's bad."
• In the seventh season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy threatens to do to Andrew what Kathy Bates did in Misery. Andrew makes a comparison of the book and the film before he realizes what she is talking about.
• Rapper and Political Activist Immortal Technique in his song "Dominant Species," references the movie with the line: "My enemies are obsessed with me like the bitch in Misery."
• In the Simpsons episode "Dude, Where's My Ranch?", an injured David Byrne lands in Moe's car and asks to be taken to a hospital.

Moe: "Have you seen the movie Misery?"

Mr. Byrne: "Actually, no."

Moe: "Then this'll all be new to you..."

• The Abdoujaparov song "Hit Her With The Pig" depicts a demented fan trapping the singer in his home and forcing him to write an album of "songs of love for my sweet Misery". The lyrics reference her breaking his legs and him killing her in the end.
• The movie was parodied in a skit entitled "Misery II: with Rick James" from the 3rd season of the early 1990's sketch comedy show, In Living Color, in which Keenan Ivory Wayans portrays "superfreak" Rick James as the psychotic Annie Wilkes-esque character.
• In the episode of Friends, "The One After the Super Bowl, Part 1" in season 2, when Chandler tells Rachel and Monica about Joey's date with his crazed stalker, he says, "You remember Kathy Bates in Misery?... Well, she looks the exact opposite of that."
• The episode of Robot Chicken, "Robot Chicken's Half-Assed Christmas Special" in season 3, features the Peanuts characters Linus and Sally in a parody of Misery, where Sally ties Linus to a bed and makes him write her a love letter, mimicking scenes from the film. In the end, Linus distracts her with a decoy letter and strangles her with his blanket; she survives this, however, though he later smashes her head with a lamp.

External links

• Misery at the Internet Movie Database

•  • e Films directed by Rob Reiner
This Is Spınal Tap (1984) · The Sure Thing (1985) · Stand by Me (1986) · The Princess Bride (1987) · When Harry Met Sally... (1989) · Misery (1990) · A Few Good Men (1992) · North (1994) · The American President (1995) · Ghosts of Mississippi (1996) · The Story of Us (1999) · Alex & Emma (2003) · Rumor Has It... (2005) · The Bucket List (2007)