# The Oranges (film)
**The Oranges** is a 2011 American comedy-drama directed by Julian Farino, in which an affair between a middle-aged man and the much-younger daughter of his neighboring family friends upends two households in suburban New Jersey. It stars [Hugh Laurie](https://www.edgepedia.org/hugh-laurie), Leighton Meester, Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt, Allison Janney, Alia Shawkat, and [Adam Brody](https://www.edgepedia.org/adam-brody), and was written by Ian Helfer and Jay Reiss.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/69000-THE-ORANGES)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writers | Julian Farino; screenplay by Ian Helfer and Jay Reiss[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/69000-THE-ORANGES) |
| Principal cast | Hugh Laurie (David), Catherine Keener (Paige), Oliver Platt (Terry), Allison Janney (Cathy), Leighton Meester (Nina), Alia Shawkat (Vanessa), Adam Brody (Toby)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/69000-THE-ORANGES) |
| Festival and release | Premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2011; US limited release October 5, 2012 through ATO Pictures[2](https://www.stolensky.com/films/released/the-oranges/) • [3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1313139/) |
| Format | R-rated comedy-drama, 90 minutes[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1313139/) |
| Box office | $2,316,971 worldwide, of which $366,377 was domestic; domestic opening $198,461[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1313139/) |
| Budget | $7,000,000[4](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/89008-the-oranges) |
| Reception | 30% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (76 reviews); Metascore 46 on Metacritic from 23 critic reviews[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_oranges_2011) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-oranges/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
The film follows two neighboring couples on Orange Drive in [West Orange, New Jersey](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-orange-new-jersey): David and Paige Walling (Laurie and Keener) and Terry and Cathy Ostroff (Platt and Janney), longtime friends whose families share holiday traditions.[7](https://www.shockya.com/news/2012/10/01/interview-the-cast-and-crew-talk-about-the-oranges/) The story runs from [Thanksgiving](https://www.edgepedia.org/thanksgiving) through Christmas and is narrated by Vanessa Walling (Shawkat), David and Paige's 24-year-old daughter, who has moved back home after college.[8](https://time.com/archive/7121093/the-oranges-a-sunshiny-take-on-infidelity/)
The disruption arrives with Nina Ostroff (Meester), who returns home for Thanksgiving after a five-year absence and a broken engagement to her fiancé Ethan (Sam Rosen).[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1313139/) • [7](https://www.shockya.com/news/2012/10/01/interview-the-cast-and-crew-talk-about-the-oranges/) Both mothers hope Nina will pair off with the Wallings' son Toby (Brody), but she instead begins a relationship with David, her father's best friend.[7](https://www.shockya.com/news/2012/10/01/interview-the-cast-and-crew-talk-about-the-oranges/) The affair breaks apart both families and forces each character to reconsider what happiness means to them.[7](https://www.shockya.com/news/2012/10/01/interview-the-cast-and-crew-talk-about-the-oranges/)
## Development and production
**The script.** Ian Helfer and Jay Reiss wrote the screenplay as a spec script during the [Writers Guild of America](https://www.edgepedia.org/writers-guild-of-america) strike, drawing on a story they had heard from friends; it appeared on the 2008 Black List of best unproduced screenplays, alongside *[The Beaver](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-beaver-film)* and *Inglourious Basterds*.[9](https://www.netflixmovies.com/the-oranges-2011)
**Casting.** Director Julian Farino, a British television director whose credits include *Entourage* and *Big Love*, wanted only Laurie for the role of David; [Richard Gere](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-gere)'s agent had called to express Gere's interest, but Farino held out, and Laurie was reported to be in talks for his first feature lead role.[9](https://www.netflixmovies.com/the-oranges-2011) • [10](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2012-oct-04-la-et-mn-the-oranges-20121005-story.html) Farino had directed Meester on *Entourage* and approached her in her dressing room while she was preparing for a *Gossip Girl* episode, in what he described as a rushed audition.[9](https://www.netflixmovies.com/the-oranges-2011) [Elliot Page](https://www.edgepedia.org/elliot-page) was considered for Vanessa but declined; [Alia Shawkat](https://www.edgepedia.org/alia-shawkat), whose name the casting director mentioned first, auditioned twice and was cast.[9](https://www.netflixmovies.com/the-oranges-2011)
**Shoot.** The ending was rewritten before shooting began, and during production Laurie, Meester, Janney, Platt, and Brody shared a house.[9](https://www.netflixmovies.com/the-oranges-2011) The film was produced by Anthony Bregman, Leslie Urdang, and Dean Vanech for Likely Story, Olympus Pictures, and [FilmNation Entertainment](https://www.edgepedia.org/filmnation-entertainment), with cinematography by Steven Fierberg and music by [Klaus Badelt](https://www.edgepedia.org/klaus-badelt) and Andrew Raiher.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/69000-THE-ORANGES)
## Release and box office
*The Oranges* premiered at the [Toronto International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-international-film-festival) in 2011.[2](https://www.stolensky.com/films/released/the-oranges/) ATO Pictures gave it a limited domestic release on October 5, 2012, with Los Angeles and New York openings that day.[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1313139/) • [1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/69000-THE-ORANGES) The domestic opening weekend brought in $198,461 on the way to a domestic total of $366,377, about 15.8 percent of the worldwide gross of $2,316,971.[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1313139/) International earnings were led by Italy, which contributed $722,194 from a December 6, 2012 release, followed by Spain ($283,472), Russia/CIS ($322,438), and Mexico ($353,026).[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1313139/) Against a reported budget of $7,000,000, the film did not recoup its cost theatrically.[4](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/89008-the-oranges)
## Critical reception
The film drew a mixed-to-negative critical response. On Rotten Tomatoes it holds a 30% Tomatometer from 76 reviews and a 32% audience score, with the site's critics consensus stating that despite its accomplished cast, the film "suffers from a mediocre script that fails to deliver well-rounded characters, dramatic tension, or sufficient laughs."[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_oranges_2011) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 46, categorized as mixed or average, based on 23 critic reviews.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-oranges/)
**Common criticisms.** Reviewers repeatedly faulted the film's handling of its own premise. Peter Bradshaw, writing in *The Guardian*, found the central affair "weirdly innocuous and bland" and judged that the film ducks the transgressive potential of its subject, though he noted that [Allison Janney](https://www.edgepedia.org/allison-janney) "steals the movie" in the scene where her character discovers the truth.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/dec/06/the-oranges-review) *Time* similarly called it a "sexless movie" and observed that Farino, making his feature debut after years in television, kept the story too tidy.[8](https://time.com/archive/7121093/the-oranges-a-sunshiny-take-on-infidelity/) The *Los Angeles Times* credited the ensemble cast with the film's flickers of heart but found the dialogue on-the-nose and the comedy stuck "in first gear," singling out Shawkat's Vanessa as the most interesting character.[10](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2012-oct-04-la-et-mn-the-oranges-20121005-story.html) The *New York Times* review asked how a film with Laurie, Platt, Janney, and Keener could go so wrong, describing a comedy that "backs away in terror from its potentially explosive subject."[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-oranges/)
Not all responses were negative: NPR's review scored 80 on Metacritic, praising the film for taking seriously everyone's unhappiness, including the affair partner's, without letting anyone off the hook of responsibility.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-oranges/)
## References
1. [The Oranges (2012), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/69000-THE-ORANGES)
2. [The Oranges, Stolen Sky Productions](https://www.stolensky.com/films/released/the-oranges/)
3. [The Oranges (2011), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1313139/)
4. [The Oranges (2011), The Movie Database](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/89008-the-oranges)
5. [The Oranges (2011), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_oranges_2011)
6. [The Oranges Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-oranges/)
7. [Interview: The Cast and Crew Talk About The Oranges, ShockYa (October 1, 2012)](https://www.shockya.com/news/2012/10/01/interview-the-cast-and-crew-talk-about-the-oranges/)
8. [The Oranges: A Sunshiny Take on Infidelity, Time (October 4, 2012)](https://time.com/archive/7121093/the-oranges-a-sunshiny-take-on-infidelity/)
9. [The Oranges (2011) on Netflix, NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/the-oranges-2011)
10. [Review: Midlife crises get the squeeze in 'The Oranges', Los Angeles Times (October 4, 2012)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2012-oct-04-la-et-mn-the-oranges-20121005-story.html)
11. [The Oranges – review, The Guardian (December 6, 2012)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/dec/06/the-oranges-review)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2011 to 2012 › Released in 2011*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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