Sundance hit 'The Surrogate' gets retitled and an October release date

One of the movies that emerged from Sundance with an incredible amount of buzz was The Surrogate, a crowd pleaser dramedy that explored an issue that has rarely been presented on the silver screen. Starring John Hawkes and Helen Hunt, the film follows the true story of poet and humorist, Mark O'Brien, who was rendered completely paralyzed by polio, and spends his days existing in an iron lung. With the help of a surrogate, Mark hopes to finally lose his virginity at the age of 38. I liked the film, and recognized the potential for it to be a The King's Speech-style crowd pleaser, although parts of me felt like that was too much the goal. Fox Searchlight scooped the film up right away, and they clearly see the Oscar potential in it as well, slating it for release on October 26th.

That's good news, because Hawkes is as charismatic and funny as ever in the lead role, and Helen Hunt gives what I think is her bravest performance yet. William H. Macy and an unrecognizable Moon Bloodgood make up a strong supporting cast. However, there is bad news. FSL has decided to change the title to Six Sessions, which sounds more like an episode of In Treatment than a major theatrical project. The "six sessions" refer to the number of meetings the surrogate is allowed to have with her patient before having to walk away.

So I'll be interested in seeing how this one does against relatively soft competition that weekend. If you're interested, my review of the film can be found here. [Boxofficemojo via ThePlaylist]