“Maybe I Do,” a star-studded comedy that was filmed in and around Montclair last year, is on the big screen in town.
The film — with Diane Keaton, Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, William H. Macy, Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey and directed by New Jersey native Michael Jacobs — also stars homes, hotels and other sites in the community.
It follows three couples who are intertwined in a funny but provocative way. The opening scene introduces a pair of goody-two-shoes, Sam and Grace, played by Macy and Keaton, who want to embark on something spontaneous for the night.
The audience then meets a young couple, Michelle and Allan, played by Roberts and Bracey, who battle with the idea of commitment while Monica and Howard, played by Sarandon and Gere, deal with a one-night stand that snowballed into something more.
Audience members at a Sunday evening viewing at The Clairidge seemed enthralled to see familiar places on the screen throughout the movie.
The George and The MC Hotel made appearances in a wedding scene that is a defining moment for Roberts’ and Bracey’s characters. (The entire cast and crew stayed at The George while production was underway, according to the hotel’s Instagram.)
Houses on South Mountain Avenue and Edgemont Road were scene-stealers. When a white colonial with a vibrant blue door on Edgemont and a grand white home on South Mountain appeared on the screen, hushed chattering spread throughout the theater.
“That’s Montclair,” someone whispered.
After the movie, newly engaged couple and township residents Jaclyn Bingold and Chris Connolly said they knew the movie was filmed in Montclair and even saw Keaton at a local restaurant.
“We would see the filming every once in a while, so we wanted to come see it,” Bingold said. The complicated relationships in the rom-com had the young couple on their toes, as Bingold jokingly said, “We’re still getting married, right?”
They were disappointed that the movie did not keep the original names of the places where it was filmed. In one scene, the neighborhood in which the Edgemont home is located is renamed “Larchmont.”
Resident Roni Axelrod agreed that it was interesting that the movie was shot in Montclair and was grateful that her hometown did have the spotlight for an hour and a half, but she didn’t care for the film.
Tahesha Way, New Jersey secretary of state, said in a release, “We’re excited to see so many New Jersey communities and businesses featured on the big screen in “Maybe I Do.” This project demonstrates, yet again, that New Jersey is a great place to make movies.”