Playing Mona Lisa
Playing Mona Lisa is a 2000 comedy film directed by Matthew Huffman and starring Alicia Witt, Harvey Fierstein, Johnny Galecki, Elliott Gould, Marlo Thomas, Molly Hagan and Brooke Langton. It is based on a play by Marni Freedman. Plot. Everything goes wrong all at once in gifted 23-year-old pianist Claire Goldstein's life. San Francisco has an earthquake, she loses her apartment, her boyfriend Jeremy dumps her and she misses out on an important piano competition. Claire is forced to move home with her parents (Marlo Thomas, Elliott Gould), where sister Jenine (Molly Hagan) is  busy planning a wedding. Claire's mom is into the occult, her teacher (Harvey Fierstein) tries to arrange auditions and friends try to hook her up with a new romantic prospect, Eddie, adding to the complications in her life. Production. Development and writing. Based on Marni Freedman's play "Two Goldsteins on Acid". Filming. Shot in San Francisco in the spring of 1999. Musical score. Composed by Carlos Rodriguez the film's score includes a variety of music. From contemporary songs to classical piano, salsa, and polka. Release. Released in San Francisco October 27, 2000. Marketing. Shown at Gen Art  Film Festival in New York City April 26 - May 2, 2000. Shown at Stony Brook Film Festival July 19–29, 2000. Shown at U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado February 9–13, 2000. Reception. Fresh rating of 62% from Rotten Tomatoes. Awards. Won Audience Choice Award for Best Feature in 2000 at the Stony Brook Film Festival. Won Film Discovery Jury Award for Best Actor Alicia Witt in 2000 at U.S. Comedy Arts Festival. Home media. The DVD for the film was released on April 17, 2001.