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The Bret Easton Ellis novel American Psycho, a dark, violent satire of the "me" culture of Ronald Reagan's 1980s, is certainly one of the most controversial books of the '90s, and that notoriety fueled its bestseller status. This smart, savvy adaptation by Mary Harron (I Shot Andy Warhol) may be able to ride the crest of the notoriety; prior to the film's release, Harron fought a ratings battle (ironically, for depictions of sex rather than violence), but at the time the director stated, "We're rescuing [the book] from its own bad reputation." Harron and co-screenwriter Guinevere Turner (Go Fish) overcome many of the objections of Ellis's novel by keeping the most extreme violence offscreen (sometimes just barely), suggesting the reign of terror of yuppie killer Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) with splashes of blood and personal souvenirs. Bale is razor sharp as the blank corporate drone, a preening tiger in designer suits whose speaking voice is part salesman, part self-help guru, and completely artificial. Carrying himself with the poised confidence of a male model, he spends his days in a numbing world of status-symbol one-upmanship and soul-sapping small talk, but breaks out at night with smirking explosions of homicide, accomplished with the fastidious care of a hopeless obsessive. The film's approach to this mayhem is simultaneously shocking and discreet; even Bateman's outrageous naked charge with a chainsaw is most notable for the impossibly polished and gleaming instrument of death. Harron's film is a hilarious, cheerfully insidious hall of mirrors all pointed inward, slowly cracking as the portrait becomes increasingly grotesque and insane. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (373)

A Very Short Review
Now let me start by saying, if I could have given this "film" a zero, I would have. Unfortunatly that is not possible.

This is by far, the worst film I have seen this year. Mary Harron was trying way to hard and it shows. The movie has very little substance to it, and people seem to be fond of attaching vague statements to their reviews like "brillant satire" and "amazing mind games." None of these terms can rescue this movie however, as it is a feeble attempt at art, a meaningless and shallow depiction of rich white business men in the 1980's, and a totally unconvincing portrait of a serial killer.

As far as the acting in this film I was not impressed with Christian Bales protrait of a man with no conscience. The dialogue was to "clever" to be believable, or even stomachable. Bale's voice over's are painful and irritating to listen to.

What upsets me most about this film, is not the film itself but the tendency for people to compare it to either Clockwork Orange or Fight Club. American Pyscho does not begin to compare to either film, although their were some shots(most notably towards the end) that seemed to emulate Kubricks style, but they do no justice to the late genius. As far as comparing it to Fight Club, the narrative style, and structure of the two films are vaguely similar, although Fight Club is on an entirely different level.

All in all, American Pyscho will fade into oblivion within the next few years. There is absolutely no good reason to watch this movie as you will gain nothing from it. I apologize for being a little vague in this review myself, but I was so dissappointed in the film, that a second viewing is simply out of the question.

American Phycho
This film rocks!
There, now thats out of the way I may begin.This is a satirical look at life in the late Eightys in greedy New York, a group of young, rich and bored men and women live there lives on a cocktail of expensive restaurants, clubs and drugs. Howerver all is not well and good within Patrick Bateman(Cristian Bale)he has developed a intense bloodlust through bordem he gets nasty with often shocking but occasionally humourous results.
My advice : BUY IT AND WATCH IT TWICE

A satircal view of the eighties with incidental killing
Despite its title and a considerable amount of bloodshed, “American Psycho” is a superbly witty and satirical film. The film is ostensibly about a serial murderer who happens to be fabulously wealthy, handsome, fit, and successful, but it is really a sarcastic critique of the money culture that defined the nineteen eighties.

Patrick Bateman is a twenty-seven year old CEO who lives in the late 1980s and spends his leisure time in exclusive restaurants and clubs with his peers. He has occasional love affairs so meaningless that he can’t be troubled to remove his trousers during epidermal frictional activity, and of course, he kills people. Bateman is an odd bird who is obsessed with the comparative quality of business cards and who possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of contemporary (i.e. 1980s) music.

Bateman’s homicidal impulses are frequently governed by his intense hatred of the superficial world around him. (spoiler).

The message of this film is that in the yuppie culture of the late eighties, even if you were a self-confessing murderer, people would not be able to see you for who you were. In a sense, Bateman, the murderer, is like other extreme characters in literature such as Werther, Pechorin, and Merseault. Like his literary predecessors, Bateman is alienated by the superficial society around him and is driven to extreme forms of reaction against it. In a notable scene, Bateman brings two call girls to his apartment and commands them to debase themselves in front of him. Later, as he thrusts his tube steak in and out of their love pockets he makes ridiculous posses in front of a mirror, essentially laughing at himself.
To its credit, “American Psycho” is not a clinical or horrorific film. While serial killing is certainly a grizzly subject, it is a more a device and a motif than a theme in this movie. Much of the killing is performed off camera. What homicide we do see is stylized to the point of being ridiculous. In a wonderful way, the film goes out of its way to assure us that its concerned with satire, and a social critique not with simulating brutality.

"Payback" level humor combined with psychotic thoughts
Christian Bale plays a yuppie on wall street with some serious mental issues. The attitude of the movie is sarcastic and mostly humorous. The actors do a good job of following the look and feel of the movie- everything is a little corny.

Patrick Bateman (Bale) has only a few emotions. Two are greed and disgust, and the third is an uncontrollable urge to kill, which is his only escape from a dull and dreary life.

Due to the many complaints about this movie, I will state the obvious: this movie has a lot of killing in it. The presence of the word "psycho" would tip most people off, but just in case it's not for squeemish folks. But even being squeemish won't ruin it, as there is very little visible violence. In most cases, the victims are not shown much during the attack. It's about as tastefull as you can get when it comes to killing people. The most graphic displays are Bateman's pencil sketches.

The movie contains elements of satire, but the personalities of his friends were chosen to provide Bateman's personality a suitable environment, filled with others that don't find his outward displays of greed and concietedness odd. The movie may contain a lot of poking around, but the focus is definitely on the psychological aspect of Bateman- the ridiculous decade takes the back seat.

[...]

That brings us to the intellectual aspect of it. You could watch the movie without really paying attention to what happens, and just laugh at goofy scenes and pathetic yuppies. But one only has to listen to the dialog at the end to get the main idea.

For the benefit of those that don't get it (in order to preserve the surprise, I will leave one part unexplained), in the beginning Bateman kills out of boredom and addictive impulse. Only after his great frustration with the jarring issue at the end does he become frustrated with hopelessness and truly sadistic. He then suggests he will kill for the actual satisfaction of watching others suffer to make up for his own mental pain (a big difference when it comes to the rehabilitation issue, which is not addressed). This is all spelled out in the movie, with the exception of transferring vengeance to murder, but by that time we can hardly reason to doubt his inclusion of murder as an option. Since the mood of most of the movie tends to put you in a watch-only mode, I can see how some people might need to watch the last couple minutes over again, as the resolution is 99% dialog.

A few corrections to common comments. First, there are no real cries for help. Bateman reveals himself to drunk/drugged people for his own amusement (one of which he is already carrying out his plan to kill). His only serious confession is near the end, and becomes necessary for the plot, so there is no reason to believe the movie is about the armchair psychology of "cries for help." Second, the is no men/women sexism, or at least no preference. The men are selfish pigs, the women are too emotional, and both are equally promiscuous. They're all scum. Also, there are almost no similarities to Fight Club. Sure, the main characters are both nuts (though they have completely different disorders), and there is violence in it. Not much of a match. I find two real connections myself. One being that both movies require the viewer to be light hearted and not too emotional about violence (which leads to emotional types to classify them as both too violent, and thus the same). The other is that unobservant critics make the same mistake about both: they fail to comprehend that the main characters are crazy (and therefore the films purpose is not to promote whatever they do) and try to draw cliche statements about society as the theme.

Finally, if you are the type that needs to have a hero in every movie, this is not for you. Much like the Mel Gibson flick "Payback," the movie is full of unscrupulous characters, including the protagonist. To really enjoy the movie, you have to laugh at ridiculous and trite murder.

Grey humor and creepy stuff
I say grey because the movie is too goofy in so many parts to call it dark. If you like to laugh at stuff that the average whiner refers to as horrible, this movie is great. The acting is great on all parts. "Bateman" will really convince you he is nuts, and all of the other characters do a great job of playing [exagerated]corny yuppies that take themselves seriously. It's as if the director knew it was a joke but the actors didn't.

For all of the humor and rediculous eighties characteristics, it gets a little creepy at the end if you pay attention. There are a few different angles to psychotic behavior you could gather, all of them at odds with popular attitudes. If you don't get into all that, it's still a fun movie. ... Read more

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Based on the writings of Australian author Mark "Chopper" Read, a real-life criminal who recounts his misdeeds (including the severing of his own ears to win release) in books with titles like How to Shoot Friends and Influence People, Chopper is a stomach-churning spectacle from which you cannot pull away. In the opening scene of Andrew Dominik's vicious first film, Chopper jabs a man's face full of holes with pliers and proceeds to offer him a cigarette while he lies bleeding to death on a prison floor; contrite but obviously mad, he then asks sincerely, "You don't like me much, do you?" Somehow it's grotesquely funny. Shooting in bleached-out blue prison cells and corrosively lit nightclubs and flats, Dominik sets a spare stage for the film's true revelation, standup comic Eric Bana's explosive debut. Reminiscent in scale of Russell Crowe's first lead outing as a sadistic skinhead in Romper Stomper, Bana's performance is at turns fearsome, hilarious, and mesmerizing. --Fionn Meade ... Read more

Reviews (34)

A Masterpeice
Australian comedian Eric Bana is Mark "Chopper" Read, a legendary criminal who wrote his best-selling autobiography, FROM THE INSIDE, while serving a murder sentence in prison. Beginning in the blue-washed light of a maximum security Melbourne prison, Chopper establishes his dominance with the impulsive knifing of a fellow prisoner.

This is the start of this amazing movie. Eric Bana IS Chopper in this unbeilivable performance. Unlike Oliver Stones Natural Born Killers where Stones makes the killers way over the top and seem like everything is fun, happy, and cool this is not the case with Chopper. Chopper is a human just like you and me, he's just mentally unstable. In the end it's hard to like Chopper because of his violent actions but in the same sense is hard to hate him because of his personility and deep down caring attitude.

Don't miss this great movie and DVD (great features, commentary by the real Chopper Read, and a funny interview with him) anytime soon.

Bana's never been better
This movie is basically about Bana and his character Chopper and he is a criminal who becomes an author. Bana is one of his best(actually its his best so far, I think he's only done this Black Hawk Down and The Hulk, Anyway and he is a chunky guy too compared to his others). this movie hits hard and it hits fast and thats basically the reason I liked it, the performances, the atmosphere and the colors. Bana must of ate and ate and ate and ate for this role and i'm glad he did it. I saw this film on digital cable on the sundance channel. a powerful piece of work

Best Australian movie by far
Ive seen this movie countless times and love it every single time I watch it. So many memorable and entertaining scenes. Hilarious and disturbing all at the same time. The film looks great, stellar perfomances and great pacing. the lose one star just for being bloody Aussies. It doesnt get much better than this film. An absolute Aussie classic. This edition alos comes with some great features inclusing a full commentary with the real Marc Chopper Read, video diaries with the director and Eric Bana meeting the real Chopper before the film went into production.

This movie is great...
Eric Bana gives one of the best performances of all time. Andrew Dominik nailed the tone and made this performance sing. Nice work. A must see.

Bana Shines. Great Indy Film.
Old Chopper is not the kind of guy you would like to meet but he is the kind of guy who you would like to study under more controlled conditions. Here you get to do just that as first time independent director Andrew Dominik takes us into the quite twisted world of a guy who really has fallen on the wrong side of the tracks.

This is a good character study of a man who has deep-seeded psychological problems of the psychopathic paranoid personality disorder kind and who does not shy away from getting hold of a screwdriver to make himself feel better, only to end up feeling worse by end of his latest homicide.

Chopper is set in the more backward areas of Australia and is loosely based on the best-selling autobiography of the same name. This is a mash of fiction and reality and at times it is hard to see which is which as Chopper tells his stories from several different angles and several different versions result. The film starts in a prison and has some very horrific violent scenes. Chopper does some nasty mutilations to himself and gets paroled. When out he just can not control his anger and paranoia and ends up doing nasty things to people who he... well... loves... in a sort of strange way because all of his "friends" are either skanks, hookers, drug dealers or cops.

The film sort of plays itself out "Pulp Fiction" style and for a first timer this Indy film has lots of great camera work and lighting. Chopper looks great and the atmosphere is all there. Chopper does not really have a story per se. It is just about Chopper and Bana is almost in every frame and steals every frame too. By the closing credits you come away quite attached to this character. He is like you gone wrong. You feel sorry for the guy.

This is what got Bana noticed and it is not hard to see why. Chopper is a great piece of character driven Indy cinema and Bana does the psycho in aces. He also goes from thin to fat like De Niro. Not for the squeamish though.

**As a note if you like this one then try and get another Australian film called - "Ghosts of the Civil Dead". The two are similar in their prison themes.** ... Read more

Reviews (43)

Excellent! A Scorsese Gem!
Martin Scorsese was honored with by the Cannes Film Festival as best Director in 1986 for his brilliant dark comedy After Hours. It is an amazing and immensely funny film which features an absolutely amazing performance by Griffin Dunne and great supporting performances by many up-and-comers. What makes this movie so awesome is the fact that you never know what is going to happen next to this poor sap who just wanted a little love. The story is simple and very clever, with Paul Hackett(Griffin Dunne), a boring word processor, who meets an interesting but odd girl(Rosanna Arquette) in a coffee shop. Returning home, he decides to call her, and he is invited over to the apartment. Paul doesn't know it, but he is about embark on an incredible journey through "after hours" New York, where all the weirdos (...) are free to roam. The weirdos (...) include Cheech and Chong, Teri Garr, Linda Fiorentino, Verna Bloom, Catherine O'Hara(In her first film appearance), and John Heard. Bronson Pinchot gives a memorable cameo as an ambitious word processor in the beginning of the film. You will love this film, especially the shocking finale. Scorsese is the best!

Scorsese's Masterpiece.
I remember seeing this movie on cable in 1987, and I remember thinking that it was great. I didn't even realize it was Scorsese at the time. Since then this film has become one of my favorites. A relatively unknown actor, Griffin Dunne, is the lead character of this midnight movie. It's basically the night in the life of your average pencil pusher. What happens to him in one night is hilarious. A dark comedy by Scorsese this is bound to be, and already is a classic. Most people haven't seen this film, but I think it's a must have for any movie collector. Unfortunately, it's still not available at this time on DVD. Soon, I hope. Look for great eccentric appearances by Rosanna Arquette, Teri Garr, John Heard and Cheech and Chong (their last film appearance together).

This review is for Amazon's impeccable memory
When I searched for this film two years ago Amazon.com informed me that it wasn't available on dvd, but if I wanted they'd send me an email when it became available. And now, two years later, they've sent me that email! I've had friends tell me that they'll call me back in five minutes and they forget to do it, but Amazon.com, after two freaking years, remembers to get back to me about this obscure, hard-to-find movie. This blows my mind.

5 stars to Amazon, and maybe I'll get around to watching "After Hours" some day.

In my top 5 favorite films / Totally original script
A funny black comedy set in Manhatten. I remeber as a kid watching this film on movie channel in the 80's and being mesmerized by the quirky characters. The main story is an average guy looking for romance in r Manhatten and for one night can't seem to make it back to his apartment. He goes out for a late night coffee at a diner meets Rosanna Arquette & from there encounters all these wacky characters in west village while trying to get back home. The script is amazing and totally original. This is character driven you don't forget the people in this movie Teri Garr as a crazy lonely monkey obsessed nuerotic waitress. Linda Fiorentino as an underground paper machute artist. John Heard as a paraniod bar owner. Griffin Dunne is a hilarious lead character who gets himself in all these oddball situations from one minute to the next. After refusing Teri Garr's advances he ends up having a mob after him. He ducks into an underground night club puts Peggy Lee's "Is that all there is" in the juke box and dances with a lonely lady who comes to his rescue at the end in a very bizarre way. One of my favorites films of all time. This is a must see original Scorsese movie one can't beat the surreal originality of this script.

Totally original and surreal
I first saw this movie when I was wandering around some party many years ago and came across this room where "After Hours" was showing. I missed the first ten minutes and had no odea what was going on, but I was amazed by this incredibly original and strange movie. Griffin Dunne is excellent as a nervous and nerdy office worker that lands in the bizarre world of SOHO without a dime to his name and no way home. The cast of characters he encounters are all original and bizarre and give the movie a slightly disturbing, yet funny because it isn't you quality. How many other movies are out there where the main character is being hunted by an insane Mr. Softy truck driver and a bunch of gay men? There's also some great music, in particular a "Bad Brains" song I hadn't heard in a decade. Buy the movie and watch it! ... Read more

Description

Peter O'Toole gives a tour-de-force performance as Jack, a man "cured" of believing he's God-only to become Jack the Ripper incarnate. Based on Peter Barnes' irreverent play, this darkly comic indictment of Britain's class system peers behind the closed doors of English aristocracy. Insanity, sadistic sarcasm, and black comedy-with just a touch of the Hollywood musical-are all featured in this beloved cult classic directed by Peter Medak. ... Read more

Reviews (29)

A unique and hilarious black comedy
The Ruling Class remains a unique film in many ways. Totally iconoclastic, brilliantly concieved and executed, original in style and tone from start to finish, it is both hilarious and touching in its story of the 14th Earl of Gurney (played by Peter O'Toole) who believes himself to be Jesus Christ. The picture painted of the British upper classes is mercilessly biased but the comedy that is mined from their shallowness and greed is as funny as when the film was made. O'Toole's performance is delightful. He gets to do a little bit of everything in this film, including sing and dance. The cast of supporting players is brilliant, especially Alister Sim as a tongue tied Bishop trying to perform a wedding between 'Christ' and the bride picked for him by his family so they can control his fortune. Other standouts include such characters as 'The Master in Lunacy', who decides that the Earl is sane because he has the right school pretensions. The pivotal twist of the plot comes in the 'healing' sequence when the Earl is transformed from 'Christ' into 'Jack'. Unfortunately, the Jack in question is Jack the Ripper. This new persona seems so much more sane, but violently less so.

This is a strange concoction but never fails to amuse. Everything about it continues to be fresh because nothing about it has ever been copied. It is a one of a kind film that deserves a place in any serious video collection of great, original movies.

o'tooles tour de force
the main flaw of this film is that it overstays its welcome. that said, o'toole delivers one of his most powerful over the top performances.
this is a true cult classic and, thanks to criterion, it has gotten the remastering it deserves.
not for the closed minded to be certian, but a challenging and rewarding comedy that delivers and jolts.

A Fantastic DVD of a Fantastic Film
I will eschew the plot summary which ye will find in other reviews above . . . as well as a few spoilers!

This is one of my favorite films that examines a number of issues, particularly what is "acceptable" in a religion. It is extremely well-cast, with Peter O'Toole turing in one of his best performances. It is a pleasure to watch Alister Sim--the best Scrooge ever--as a befuddled Anglican bishop. Fans of the Blackadder will enjoy seeing "Nursey" as a village busy-body who wishes to bring back flogging.

The DVD is a wonderful treatment. The US release--and subsequent videos--lacked some scenes lost for length. This is a film that is based on a play, and every character had a soliloquy--until someone cut them! Here, finally is the complete film. Visually, it is beautiful.

A big suprise is the "goodies." The running commentary includes the director, Peter Medak, the playwright/screen writer Peter Barnes, and even Peter O'Toole. It is an excellent addition to the movie rather than voices blathering about themselves.

The insert also has a nice essay from a British film professor.

Fans of the film need this DVD.

A review above complained it was not "funny." How one cannot laugh at Harry Andrews in a tutu, military garb, hanging himself in order to [CENSORED--Ed.] I do not know?! However, it is NOT a comedy. It is a play that has social satire, some comedy, a fair amount of farce and darkness and tragedy.

The only warning that I give is the DVD back-notes reveals some spoilers! If you have NOT seen the film or stumbl'd upon them in some reviews above, make sure you do not read the back!

the brother of Sherlock Holmes!, you illeterate oaf!
wow, this is quite honestly the weirdest(not to be confused with strange, that is reserve for clockwork orange) movie i have ever seen, and ive seen some weird ones, but nevertheless, very very funny but make sure you dont have some apahty for dark british humor, imean honeslty its a fanstatic film and hsa some great songs(everybody do the varsity slag!) its very very pricey though, so keep in mind to have an open mind nad very liking to british humor, i am very proud it is in my collection though, deffinatly worth price

Decent, and very British
I wasn't sure what to expect of this movie. The concept is brilliant: an aristocrat who believes himself to be Jesus, and is "cured" of this mania only to become Jack the Ripper--with musical numbers interspersed throughout. Genius idea. The movie is ripe for a modern re-make.

Unfortunately, a lot of the British-isms and dated style of humor can make the movie seem awfully corny in places. And I agree with the reviewer who mentioned a dragging pace at many points. The musical numbers aren't quite as funny as they could/should be, I thought. The funniest moment for me was when we see Peter O'Toole as Jesus for the first time, absurdly made up, commanding the people on his estate to bow down before him while he delivers a pompous monologue to the Heavens. And there are a few classic, great lines here and there. (Society Lady: "When did you first realize you were God?" Jack/Jesus: "When I realized that every time I was praying I was really talking to myself.")

The movie seems dated, I have to admit. In all, I have mixed feelings about it. I found myself wishing the whole ariistocrat-as-Jesus angle could have been played up more. The movie is definitely worth seeing, but don't let all the ecstatic, glowing reviews by the hardcore cult fans prepare you for some unbelievably, otherworldishly hilarious comedy. It's best to go into it with low expectations and be pleasantly surprised by what does work.

Like I said, a re-make of this in the right directors' hands would be marvelous. The concept is brilliant. The execution could have been better. That said, rent it before you buy it and see if it's for you. ... Read more

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Unquestionably one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Roman Polanski(Chinatown, Rosemary's Baby, The Pianist) turns histalents to the realm of sexual perversity and its emotional toll. While ona Mediterranean cruise, Nigel and Fiona (Hugh Grant and Kristin ScottThomas) find a young French woman named Mimi (Emmanuelle Seigner) cryingin a bathroom. Mimi's paraplegic American husband Oscar (Peter Coyote)forces Nigel to listen to how Oscar and Mimi fell in love--as well as howthey discovered kinky erotic games and finally arrived at a curdled,mutual sadism. Bitter Moon veers erratically from salaciouserotica to black comedy to clumsy psychodrama, but individual scenes havea definite punch. Coyote chews the scenery with glee, Seigner (Polanski'swife, adding a hint of lurid autobiography) flounders moodily, and Grantseems miscast, but Scott Thomas gives the movie some actual dignity.--Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (37)

Fascinating Erotic Story
Roman Polanski has never been accused of being a timid filmmaker. Over the years, his many movies have been distinguished by their potent subject matter and sure-handed direction. They are certainly not for everyone's taste, but those who like Polanski films tend to like them very much indeed. Bitter Moon is no different. It is one of the most frank and deliciously outrageous films I have seen in a long time.

The story begins with a very staid and proper British couple on an ocean voyage. Nigel and Fiona (Hugh Grant and Kristen Scott-Thomas) are hoping to rekindle the faint spark of romance that is left in their marriage. What they get instead is something much more than they bargained for.

Almost immediately, they meet Mimi (Emmanuelle Seigner), a seductive French femme fatale, and her crippled husband Oscar (Peter Coyote), a failed American writer. Oscar knows that Nigel desires Mimi and he is willing to accommodate him, but first Nigel must listen to the sordid story of their life together.

I don't want to give away too many of the details, for the shock of hearing their tale is the best part of the film. It is, at various turns, erotic, outrageous, outlandish, hilarious, titillating and unbelievable. What it is certainly not is boring. As we peek in on their bizarre sex life, first stimulated, then horrified, we are never quite sure what is true and what is fantasy. Against his better judgment, Nigel finds himself drawn into their twisted, little world and the results do not disappoint.

It seems that it always takes a European director to make a film such as this one. Americans are far too timid about sexuality to deal with it in an frank and adult manner. You can count on Polanski or Paul Verhoeven or Bertrand Blier to make a film like "Bitter Moon." But what about Spielberg or Scorsese or Coppola? Never. When it comes to films involving violence, American directors can be as bold and explicit as one could ever desire. In stories involving eroticism and sensuality, however, they are sadly lacking.

Due to some regrettable incidents in Polanski's past, his films seldom get the respect they deserve in this country. That is unfortunate because his work is generally superb. His 1988 thriller "Frantic," starring Harrison Ford, remains one of the best, most unappreciated films of recent years. "Bitter Moon" was first released in Europe in 1992, but it took two years for it to finally be shown in America. Anyone who ignores this one, though, will be missing a damn fine film.

Whoa!!
This is probably one of the most depraved movies I have ever seen. It's a Roman Polanski film. (I usually have high regard for his films, so it's no surprise to me that I "enjoyed" this one.) Nigel (played by Hugh Grant) is on a cruise ship with his wife. He meets a strange couple, the crippled husband and his lovely young French wife, Mimi. The story he tells is one of extreme sexual passion and the consequences of a greedy sex life. (A strange sex life, at that!) There are two extremes to this relationship. This movie had my gut tied up in knots the entire time I was watching it. I was still having flashbacks from the film the next morning! I really can't recall having a movie effect me in such a manner. This movie is NOT recommended for the more "reserved" people.

Accccaaip güzel bi film
Yaw yýllar önce tv de seyretmiþtim, bi daha da yayýnlamadýlar. Çok þaane bi film harbiden. Þimdi de DVD olarak alacam. Ama Türkçe altyazýlý veya dublajlý olarak bulamadým.

Less than 3 stars?!! Madness....
I was compelled to write this review based on the handfull of negative reviews (like the one below).

I think this movie is an absolute gem. First off, taking a step back, this movie isn't about two good people that meet and fall in love. I believe this movie is about what happens when two very base, very bored, and largely devoid of virtue collide. It's about the danger in irrational immoral entanglement (again, this is just my opinion). You see, the sex scenes (some of them anyway) are meant to be laughable. These two hit bottom together and reach (what Peter Coyote, the male partner calls) "sexual bankruptcy"....right in front of your eyes, they get slaughtered by their own insane urges! Brilliant, strange, interesting, depressing, important (especially if you're prone to confuse urges with love).

Peter Coyote gives an amazing performance, Polanski offered up his own wife (Emmanuelle Seigner) as the temptress (c'mon, you've got to give him at least one star for having enough love for this film to direct his own wife through sex scenes).

If you haven't seen Bitter Moon, don't miss this film. I think it raises important questions and warnings about certain popular behavior (or at least tendencies) in relationships. All the while being entertaining, and at times utterly shocking.

Hope this was helpful.

Atrocious
I admire director/actor Roman Polanski very much; not only because he can be a consumate filmaker and has made some of the more interesting films of the late 20th. Century, but also because he has managed to surive the loss of his family to the Nazi gas chambers, the loss of his pregnant wife to the Manson lunatics as well as many other problems.

"Bitter Moon", in my opinion, has no redemming features whatsoever. If I didn't know that Polanski was involved I never would have believed it. The script is trite, corny and shallow. The acting performances, without exception, are utterly pedestrian and completely unbelievable.

In case anyone believes that my distaste for "bitter Moon" stems from its sexual or violent content let me assure you that is certainly not the case. I did, however, find the sexual content to be absolutely laughable. I am a great fan of intricate and thoughtful movies; some of my favourite directors are Atom Egoyan, Krystof Kiewslowski, David Lynch, Martin Scorsese, Stanley Kubrick, David Cronenberg, Akira Kurosawa and, indeed, Roman Polanski.

However intricate, deep, simple or spectacular a film may be, it must be engaging. In my opinion, "Bitter Moon" is a laborious and boring film. I wouldn't be surprised if Polanski wishes he had never made it. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Barry Levinson (Wag the Dog) directed this comedy-drama about an Armed Forces Radio disc jockey (Robin Williams) whose manic, hilarious delivery from a studio in 1965 Saigon gives U.S. troops in the field a morale boost (while upsetting military brass). Based on the real-life experiences of deejay Adrian Cronauer, the film is actually more concept than story: put Williams in front of a microphone and let him go nuts. Still, the surrounding stuff about the influence upon Cronauer of the endless deaths among his listeners--as Cronauer tries to stay funny while feeling the mounting losses--is affecting. Williams got a much-deserved Oscar nomination for his work. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (34)

funny comedy, so-so drama
This flick really put Robin Williams on the map, and deservedly so- he's freakin' hilarious in this movie! Good acting jobs by all major roles; Forest Whitaker also does nicely as the "protege".

However, the fault of this movie is where it tries to be serious. Williams's politics are thinly veiled, as the only people who oppose anything he does (VC's, bully GI's, "the brass") are stereotypes. Nothing Haup or Dickerson say or do is ever pleasant or reflective of any redeeming qualities whatsoever. In addition, after picking oneself up from the floor from laughing at Williams's brilliant jokes, one can step back and understand (empathize?) why people might not have liked such comments as "If it's being done well, here or abroad, it's probably *not* being done by the U.S. Army!" Now, maybe that's true, maybe it's not, but a lot of people work (and worked) very hard to be sure that what the U.S. Army did is/was done well, and these people wouldn't be the jerks that Dickerson and Haup (sp?) are in this film if they took offense to a deejay like Williams's portrayal of Cronauer.

In short, watch this movie and enjoy the humor, but think twice before taking any sort of "deeper meaning" more seriously.

He bucked authority and won the hearts of the soldiers
Starring Robin Williams as Airman 1st Class Adrian Cronauer, this 1987 film is loosely based on a real radio DJ whose outrageous sense of comedy bucked authority and won the hearts of the American soldiers in 1965 Vietnam. The audience never learns much about Cronauer's character as there is virtually no back story. He is just set down in Vietnam at a time in history when the American police action is about to escalate. When he gets to know the Vietnamese villagers, however, his character slowly changes. Of course there is conflict with his very uptight superiors which adds to the comedy. Eventually though, the story becomes more complex than the comedy and, at film's end, Cronauer has become more mature and wiser.

I found myself giggling at the jokes, but eventually the comedy all had a certain sameness. However, I did get into the story. There wasn't much military action, only some strong hints of what was to come. Wisely, the film focused on the characters and portrays the Vietnamese villagers as real people who Cronauer teaches to curse in American slang and with whom he plays baseball, using mangos as the ball. This is a good video, lighthearted and yet with a message. Robin Williams' performance is excellent. And, although some of the action was a little too slow for my taste and the comedy ran thin early, I still do give it a good recommendation.

Gooooood Moooooorning Amazonnnn!!!!
Robin Williams, one of my favorite actors, is great as the crazy DJ who shakes things up for the soldiers of Vietnam. With his ability to do so many voices, love the Cronkite, and also his talent to convey some of the most diverse emotions, Robin Williams leads the movie. William's character is a radio dj, as I mentioned, who seems in his own world, and happy with it. Yet, with the violence of vietnam but also it's appeal, which to him is the Vietnamese people themselves, he is torn. One of the more uplifting stories about Vietnam this movie is very good and very funny, as only William's, even early in his career, can be.

Morality Charged Comedy
When Williams gets to do his stand up bit behind a mike as a Vietnam War disc jockey the results are hysterical. However, when the movie timidly ventures out from the safe confines of the airbooth, the movie seems ungainly. Williams' Adrian Cronauer is actually kind of a jerk. A funny jerk but a jerk. Being uncooperative, giving people a hard time and being a smart alecked rebel-without-a-cause seem to his modus operandi for the 1st 2/3 of the movie. The movie seems to be trying to tell us the Vietnam War was bad and sad, censorship is bad, mean people suck, many people in influential positions are self-interested jerks and the Vietnamese citizens were just people like you and me. I couldn't escape the impression that the scritwriter was much more interested in making a Robin Williams Movie than in showing any real interest in the Vietnam War.

Wakeup Call, Williams Style.
1965 was the year when, as a result of the Congressional Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, American military buildup in Vietnam began in earnest, and troop strength grew by a factor of no less than eight; from 23,000 at the beginning of the year to roughly 184,000 at the end. 1965 was also the year when a new AFN DJ arrived in Saigon, which over the course of that same year would transform itself from a sleepy French-Vietnamese colonial town into the nightmare it has since come to be in the memory of countless vets.

The new DJ in question was Adrian Cronauer; fresh from an assignment in Greece.

While the idea for a fictionalized account of his Vietnam experience was Cronauer's own, fueled by the popularity of "M*A*S*H," the script for Barry Levinson's "Good Morning Vietnam" was ultimately penned by screenwriter Mitch Markowitz with only some input from Cronauer himself, who has since gone out of his way to underline the fictional nature of the account and stress that his true stance was not so much anti-military as "anti-stupidity." Thus, the film has to be taken with a considerable grain of salt; both as far as the portrayal of 1960s' armed forces radio and as far as the movie's plot is concerned. But that doesn't make it any less poignant; nor does it take away one iota of Robin Williams's performance as Cronauer: Indeed, the role of an irreverent, unstoppable DJ seemed tailor-made for Williams, who had burst onto the scene with his inimitable brand of lightning-quick ad-libbing ten years earlier in "Mork & Mindy" - and of course, all of Cronauer's hilarious broadcasts in this movie are ad-libbed, too.

The film follows Adrian Cronauer from his arrival in Saigon in the spring of 1965 to his forced departure about a half year later (although the real Cronauer in fact stayed for a year and was not forced out but left when his regular tour of duty was over). While a comedy, and although not trying to be anywhere near the "definitive" take on Vietnam, it does take a close look at the year when the conflict escalated and, in particular, at the resulting toll on human relations. Robin Williams earned his first of to date four well-deserved Academy Award nominations for this role (the others were for "Dead Poets Society" [1989], "The Fisher King" [1991] and "Good Will Hunting" [1997], the movie for which he finally scored on Oscar night). And in his inimitable way he provides pointed comic relief not only over the microphone but also, and always with a unique ear for the situation's mood, whenever the script would otherwise threaten to veer off into melodrama; such as after his discovery that his Vietnamese friend Tuan is actually a Viet Cong fighter named Phan Duc To ("It's unbelievable. Five months in Saigon, and my best friend turns out to be a V.C. This will not look good on a resume!!"); and in scenes that would otherwise be burdened with a bit too much cliche and/or deliberately funny writing, such as the conference after Cronauer's first broadcast, where Bruno Kirby (Lieutenant Hauk) gets to deliver such gems as "Don't say that the weather is the same all the time here, because it's not; in fact, it's two degrees cooler today than yesterday" and "I hate the fact that you people never salute me - I'm a lieutenant, and I would like salutes occasionally. That's what being a higher rank is all about." Even if Kirby himself gets to make up for these a little later in the same scene with the comment "We are not going to escalate [Vietnam into] a whole war so we can get a big name comedian" (Bob Hope who, as the men have informed him, does not "play police actions"), it takes Williams's/Cronauer's final weaving of the lieutenant's preferred abbreviations into a single sentence to truly put the finishing touch on the scene.

Although "Good Morning Vietnam" is clearly first and foremost a star vehicle for Robin Williams, he is joined by an outstanding supporting cast, including inter alia, besides Bruno Kirby, Forest Whitaker as Cronauer's good-natured sidekick PFC Montesque Garlick, the ever-reliable J.T. Walsh as his second great nemesis, Sergeant Major Dickerson (whose stock character of a straight-laced white middle class guy would probably not have come off convincingly as a villain vis-a-vis anybody *but* Robin Williams) and, in particular, Tung Thanh Tran as Tuan and Chintara Sukapatana as his sister Trinh: Her plea with Cronauer not (even) to seek her friendship, let alone more, because for her such an association with a man (particularly a foreigner) is culturally unacceptable, is one of the movie's most quietly powerful scenes. Exceptional is further Peter Sova's cinematography, which convincingly captures the daily realities of a city and a country on the brink of an all-out war, and is brilliantly complimented by the editing, which in turn also uses the soundtrack - more or less a mid-1960s "greatest hits" compilation - to maximum effect; be it in framing daily military routine, the soldiers' enjoyment of Cronauer's style of broadcasting or combat action: Indeed, hardly any image could make a more powerful statement on the cruel absurdity of war than seeing a village blown up to the tune of Louis Armstrong's "It's a Wonderful World."

Thus, "Good Morning Vietnam" is in its own way as poignant a wakeup call as any other movie about Vietnam - or about World War II, or any other war for that matter. It deservedly netted the Political Film Society's 1989 Peace Award, in addition to Robin Williams's Oscar nomination and his Golden Globe and American Comedy awards, as well as the movie's ASCAP soundtrack award. And it certainly bears revisiting - for its overall quality, for Robin Williams's performance, and also for lessons learned and deserving never to be forgotten. ... Read more

Description

In this pitch-black comedy from legendary writer-director Preston Sturges, Rex Harrison stars as Sir Alfred De Carter, a world-famous symphony conductor consumed with the suspicion that his wife is having an affair. During a concert, the jealous De Carter entertains elaborate visions of vengeance, set to three separate orchestral works. But when he attempts to put his murderous fantasies into action, nothing works out quite as planned. A brilliantly performed mixture of razor-sharp dialogue and uproarious slapstick, Unfaithfully Yours is a true classic from a grand master of screen comedy. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Classic Struges comedy finally comes to DVD
In "Unfaithfully Yours" Rex Harrison plays a conductor who imagines what he would do to his wife (who he believes to be cheating on him)during a performance. Unfortunately, he discovers that real life never works as smoothly as one's fantasies. A classic Preston Sturges comedy, "Unfaithfully Yours" captures the brilliant comedy director in top form. Although there was an anemic remake with Dudley Moore in 1984 (with a screenplay co-written by Valerie Curtain the cousin of Jane Curtain of "Saturday Night Live" fame and one of the original cast members of "Three's Company"), all it does is prove not to mess with a classic film.

Obviously I haven't seen the Criterion edition of this film (it doesn't come out until July and I imagine there aren't even any preview copies yet) but I can comment on the brilliance of the original film. Hopefully Criterion will do as great a job here as they did with "Sullivan's Travels" (another favorite of mine). Sturges career went into a tailspin shortly after this classic hit theaters. He went out on a highnoe (with the exception of "The Sin of Harold Diddlebock" which I never cared for despite liking many of Harold Lloyd's comedies).

Now all Ihave to do is wait for my other favorite Sturges films-"Hail the Conquering Hero" and "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" on DVD (Oh, and "Christmas in July" would also be much appreciated as well). Criterion doesn't include any info on extras for this film (it's possible it may have none)at their website.

Nobody handles Handel the way you handle Handel!
Praise from a flatfoot detective towards conductor Rex Harrison. Nope I won't tell you which scene, they're ALL great. From Harrison's blowup at his brother in law Rudy Vallee to his growing jelousy towards his wife, which culminate in a series of hysterically funny revenge fantaies. This film is laugh out loud all the way. It's Preston Sturges at his best. The comic genius that brought us Mad Wednesday, Hail The Conquering Hero , Sullivan's Travels, etc.

No director has ever surpassed him. Lubitsch and Wilder matched him. As did Chaplin andWoody Allen, who also starred in their own films. But for sheer wit and nuttyness of plot combined with spectaular dialogue Preston is it. Try topping the last line of the film which a repentant Harrison delivers to his wife ashe takes her in his arms: 'A thousand poets dreamt for a thousand years--and you were born. . . my love'

Enjoy.

My Biggest Surprise!
So there I lay, wide awake, listening to the sound of my wife breathing, unable to sleep, flipping through the channels when I finally land on a movie.It's black and white, but it's better than watchinginfomercials.

And in five minutes I am laughing as hard as I have ever laughed in my life at a movie!The scene where Harrison attempts to record a message (I won't tell you about what) on an old-fashioned vinyl record...this scene alone deserves to be up with some of the best classics of comedy like the Who's On First routine!

Harrison, a highly lauded composer and conductor, discovers that his wife, the equally lauded singer, is cheating on him.He visualizes the perfect crime of passion, but his bungling attempts to execute it are what set your sides to aching as you laugh yourself to death!

As it turns out I was watching a film classics channel on which the host informs me that this film didn't do well at the box office because Harrison had left his first wife for a girlfriend just prior to it's release and the puritan values of the time left many fans cold.More's the pity, because this is a comedy classic gem that might be enjoying the status of pure clasic today that it deserves!

Buy it and watch it over and over!You won't regret it!

One of Sturges' very best
Only The Lady Eve forces me to edge this movie out of number-one spot among Preston Sturges' comedies.The dialogue is snappy as ever (Doltish husband: "Too much temperament! Give me the simple viewpoint!"His wisecracking wife: "You've got it, kid. You don't have to yearn for it.") but the slapstick of the finale is cleverer by far than any in his other movies.The use of music is inspired, both in Harrison's concert revenge-fantasies and in his later attempts to put them into action, when the music is spiked with comic effects.A little slow to get started, this movie soon enough develops a quirky, unpredictable, and completely fascinating story line. Don't deprive yourself of seeing this!

my favorite comedy
This is the 5th (and last) of Sturges' truly inspired comedies (the others being "Hail the Conquering Hero", "Miracle of Morgan's Creek", "The Lady Eve", and "The Palm Beach Story") and its failure at the box office is probably why it was the last. I find it incomprehensible that it failed -- it starts a little slowly, perhaps (although I actually quite like the beginning), but the last 30-45 minutes (after the concert) is just heaven. Basically the movie is a slapstick comedy, but surely the most sophisticated slapstick comedy ever, and what I find astonishing is how perfectly cast Rex Harrison turned out to be in a pratfalling role (?!?!?!?). My kids and I laugh out loud just thinking about the scenes in this movie, must less watching it. If you haven't seen this movie and ever liked ANY movie made before 1950, you should watch it. It really is fun for the entire family, and belongs in any video collection. ... Read more

Reviews (94)

A Classic Cult Film!!!
Repo Man is THE classic cult movie. It's a real original! A wacky and complex masterpiece that defies description. Emilio Estevez, in his one and only good role, is the title character, a teenage punk who lives with his hippie parents in L.A. The always brilliant Harry Dean Stanton is the veteran repo man who takes Estevez under his wing and shows him the ropes of the trade. To reveal more would be wrong, one of the many pleasures of this movie is the wild surprises and twists that the film springs on us. Let's just say the film mixes a punk attitude with bizarro science fiction, hysterical comedy, satire, a GREAT soundtrack and much more. With this film and the brilliant Sid & Nancy (another film you should see if you have'nt)Alex Cox announced himself as a great director. Unfortunately, he seemed to want to self destruct a promising career with the release of two deeply flawed but nonetheless interesting films Walker and Straight to Hell. This is a man who needs to direct again? Where is he now??

Cult classic
Of all the low-budget films to come out of the Eighties, Repo Man, Alex Cox's dark cult comedy about Eighties urban sprawl and alien paranoia, is one of the better ones. Emilio Estevez stars in one of his earliest roles as Otto Parts, your modern apocalyptic teen up to his armpits in drugs, sex, and parental neglect. He soon finds a way out through Bud (Stanton), an ace repo man, who gives him a job and teaches him the ways of the car repossessing trade. The two wander through the guts of L.A. in search of a '64 Chevy Malibu, priced at 50 thousand dollars, and run into a cast of bizarre street characters: feds, girls in distress, a lobotomized nuclear physicist, and really, really dumb criminals. Estevez gives one of the best performances of his career, honing his acting skills as a punk white boy just in time for his role in Coppola's The Outsiders, released later that year. Cox, who wrote and directed the film, creates a strange but hilarious view of our culture, a brilliant satire on modern society.

What the f*ck do I know?
One thing I do know is this film is a modern day masterpiece.Unlike anything made before it.A true work of art and absolutely essential to any great DVD collection.Better than Gone With The Wind.It will make you wanna go to L.A. but stay home and watch Repo Man instead.I really wish they'd release the made for TV version of it as well.Along with the high art of Richard Elfman's brilliant Forbidden Zone, Repo Man is in a class all by itself.SUPERB!

not what i had expected
I was thouroughly pleased upon seeing repo man. Though i Admit it was defintitletely not what I had expected. A friend recomended the movie to me saying it was apunk rock thing, and it was actually an acurate portrayal of the punk rock lifestyle of the 80's. WHOA no way, thats the last time i trust that guy. What I did discover was a magical glowing, flying spacecar, which everyone and their mother wanted. It's brilliant, just half way through the movie it takes a twist for the strange. I'd recomend this movie to anyone. This is probably Emelio's only good performance ever so that makes the movie that much more special.

"The more you drive, the less intelligent you are."--Miller
Wow, ummm....interesting. Finally something different. No, I mean this is REALLY different. About time to, cuz lately I've seen a string of bvad movies, so it's nice to see something cool and original every now and then. Otto (Emilio Estevez) is a Los Angeles punk, a loser with no direction and no role models. But he discovers a code of honor and higher purpose when he joins a select group of latter-day knights: the repo men. As a fledging apprentice, Otto slowly learns the ways of these high-caliber, overmedicated auto repossessors. And when a $20,000 bounty is placed on a mysterious missing car, Otto eludes the police, feds, religious cultists, and other repo men in a frantic search for this holy grail. Could one man's destiny lie in the back of a 1964 Chevy Malibu? For some, actually for many, this film will come of as stupid and random, but for those of us who "get" it, this is a breathe of fresh air. Using clever, if somewhat odd, story telling, this film should keep you entertained and amused throughout the entire duration of the film. I say rent first, then but. ... Read more

Description

Warren Schmidt (Nicholson) is about to taste a not so sweet slice of life. When he retired, he and his wife Helen had big plans, but an unexpected twist changed everything. Now, all of Schmidt's attention is focused his daughter's upcoming wedding to a loser waterbed salesman. From meeting hippie parents to sponsoring a Tanzanian foster child, Schmidt embarks on a search for answers...and discovers that life is full of trick questions. ... Read more

Reviews (289)

One of the best movies of all time
"About Schmidt" is, simply put, a milestone in American cinema. Coming off "Election," which was quite possibly the funniest movie of all time, director Alexander Payne delivered another classic here, but one of a different stripe. With Jack Nicholson delivering a performance that's somehow both low-key and passionate, this character study relentlessly examines the darker side of human existence, plumbing the depths of despair and hopelessness. However, the central character isn't a serial killer, a sex offender, or some similar paragon of depravity. Instead, he's a quiet, 66-year-old newly retired actuary from Nebraska named Warren Schmidt. That's what really makes this movie so depressing: someday, maybe not too far off, any of us could wind up like this movie's antihero, retired, widowed, and feeling useless.

Alexander Payne's portrait of Midwestern suburban life is almost unrelentingly bleak, following its main character around and focusing on all the tiny indignities that steadily pile up on him. The relentlessly self-analytical Warren has examined his life in search of some higher purpose, and he's come up lacking. Looking back he can see only missed opportunities and pointless toil, and looking ahead he only glimpses loneliness and impending death. He has only two things left that give his life any semblance of meaning: his attempts to prevent his beloved daughter from marrying a mulleted, fu-manchued waterbed salesman named Randall; and Ndugu, the Tanzanian orphan whom he starts supporting financially early in the movie. Warren's letters to Ndugu serve as a perfect framing device, providing a window to the internal conflicts that roil beneath his quiet exterior.

Since the monstrous shadow of "Election" looms over this movie for its entire two hours, comparisons are all but inevitable, and I might as well make mine now. Both movies are allegorical tales set in white-bread Nebraska locales, but "Election" is a screwball comedy anchored by a serious plot, while "About Schmidt" is a dark tale of quiet desparation and self-reflection with some offbeat humor mixed in. It's a good thing there are some laughs here too, or I might have wound up trying to hang myself with my belt after I first saw the movie. Most of the humor to be found come from Dermot Mulroney's clueless Randall and, of course, Kathy Bates as Randall's mildly deranged motormouth of a mother. Bates practically steals the show during her limited screen time, as her character's sincerity, her brutal honesty, and above all her tendency to reveal excessive details provides a much-needed counterpoint to Nicholson's reserve and bitterness.

While I'll be the first to admit that "About Schmidt" isn't an easy movie to watch, it's not supposed to be. What makes this such a rewarding movie is the challenge of watching such a thoroughly unremarkable man for two hours, following along with his path through despair, self-discovery, and ultimately a measure of redemption. Sure, Warren Schmidt's just a retired geezer from Nebraska, but his sufferings are more universal than they may appear at first. Warren's experiences make for such fascinating viewing precisely because there are so many people like him out there.

Facing the "golden" years with sorrow.
"About Schmidt" is a wonderful movie starring the great Jack Nicholson, who plays the hapless retiree, Warren Schmidt. Warren lives in Omaha, Nebraska, and he is put out to pasture after a long career with an insurance company. Warren hates retirement, for which he is ill-prepared. In addition, Helen, Warren's wife of forty-two years, irritates him with her annoying habits and idiosyncrasies. Worst of all, Jeannie, Warren's beloved only child, is engaged to a man whom Warren cannot stand.

When Warren suddenly becomes a widower, he takes stock of his life, and he is appalled at how empty it is. In desperation, Warren starts to write rambling letters to his Tanzanian foster child, Ndugu. (Warren sends the child twenty-two dollars a month in response to a television appeal). Even though Ndugu is six years old and cannot read, Warren pours his heart into these letters as a means of venting his anger and frustration.

Alexander Payne, who directed "About Schmidt" and shares credit for writing the fine screenplay, has done a commendable job of eliciting strong performances from an excellent cast. Kathy Bates is a hoot as Jeannie's future mother-in-law, and both Len Cariou and Howard Hesseman shine in small roles. The film, however, belongs to Jack Nicholson, who appears in practically every frame.

Nicholson acts with his entire body. He does wonders with a raised eyebrow, a half-smile, a gesture or a glance. In one hilarious scene, Nicholson does battle with a waterbed and loses. Nicholson captures the very essence of Warren Schmidt, a man who will never be ready for the first day of the rest of his life. Don't miss "About Schmidt" if you want to see one of the best performances of this or any year.

Devastatingly Sad and Darkly Humorous
Many critics unfairly compare "About Schmidt" to Alexander Payne's previous film "Election." Both movies are completely different and appeal to different people and tastes. "Schmidt" is more grown-up, more human, and less accessible and commercial. It is Payne's masterpiece.

Jack Nicholson, in one of his all-time best performances, plays a recent retiree who goes through an end-of-life crisis. His wife dies and his daughter is marrying an idiot, played with comedic brilliance by Dermot Mulroney. He hops in his Winnebago and drives across the United States to have his say. Nicholson is a tired old man who doesn't want to give up on life quite yet, and in a last show of defiance and nonconformity, he tries to stop the wedding.

"Schmidt," to some, is an unrelenting Prozac festival. But if you have a taste for black comedy, and enjoy watching ordinary people fail miserably and make jackasses out of themselves, as well as appreciate good drama, "Schmidt" is your type of movie. It's true, most of the film is sad. But there are moments -- especially when Nicholson shows up at Kathy Bates's house and has to endure her completely dysfunctional brood -- of comedic genius.

If that's not enough to convince you, watch it for Nicholson's performance alone. Oftentimes in his long spanning career, Nicholson has resorted to playing mockeries of his public persona -- flashing those eyebrows and exploding that smile of his. But in "Schmidt" he appropriately plays the role of an old defeated man. You won't even know it's him. He seems to have aged an additional 67 years just to play this role, and it's inspiring. It's also a lesson that, no matter how old you are, there's no reason to give up on your hopes and dreams -- just make sure you're not trying to topple the Berlin Wall alone.

Sad and funny. Bitter and cynical. "About Schmidt" has it all, including some of the most unforgettable elderly characters ever portrayed on screen.

what?!
what is wrong with these reviewers? one person says that it's funny, the next person says that it's depressing. one of the top reviewers said that it's a film meant only for jack nicholson fans, yet i couldn't disagree any more.

my guess is this. the family goes to blockbuster to rent a movie, and they see "about schmidt." though the movie is found in the drama section, the view of the majority is that it's another one of the infamous "crazy person" nicholson roles, making for a "blisteringly funny" comedy .. or at least a good show. then, what do you know? the movie turns out to be a bummer. however, it's only because the expectation was not met.

this is not a film for jack nicholson fans. one reviewer made this comment: "By far the tiredest, lamest movie I have ever seen. I've never been Jack's biggest fan, but this is sooooooo bad. I can't believe he did this. Go get Anger Management instead." see what i am saying?! this reviewer wanted the crazy, psycho, FUNNY jack nicholson. when he or she met a retired, secluded, and very off base man trying to find meaning in life, they gave up on the film. it's obvious that they wanted something more along the lines of adam sandler's work (with the exception of punch-drunk love) than a serious film.

now, on to other things. one reviewer stated that jack nicholson ends up playing the same role over and over again, the (and i quote) "crusty curmudgeon with a heart of gold." how off target could one be? one gets the feeling in this movie that jack is heartless - he has little passion for his marriage, he wants to keep his own daughter from marrying, and the only thing he seems to do right in the entire movie is send money to a starving kid in a third world country. sounds like a pure heart of gold to me... not.really.

so, if you've made it this far in my review, you may be asking yourself what one is to make of this movie, and i will gladly tell you.

depressing, yes. long-winded, most definitely. however, that's not why i'm giving this movie 5 stars. if one can look past their short attention span and stick with the movie, one will find that this movie is extremely rewarding. the message of the film was one of... don't let the smallest things go unnoticed in your life, for even they hold rewards. at the very end of the movie, nicholson finds himself face to face with the "painting" of two people holding hands. my interpretation of this is that nicholson is a rich man if only for the fact that he touched someone who was in need. walking away from this movie, i am keeping with me the thought that every little detail of our sometimes miserable life is extremely important.

this movie almost got a 4 star rating for its drawn-out length and for the fact that it's very depressing if not viewed with an attentive spirit. however, i gave this movie 5 stars because it has left me with a desire to make more of myself as a human being. through the almost destructible solemnity of this film, i came out with a greater appreciation and understanding for every single thing that i do. and that is what filmmaking is truly about.

God, what a depressing movie
What a depressing and movie. I kept watching it hoping that at some pivotal point in the movie Schmidt would have some revelation and find some purpose. Well it kind of comes at the very end but is still real lame with the reading of a letter from a Sister at his sponsored childs home. The movie drags on for over 2 hours showing a depressing man leading a boring, depressing life. There is no character development, and at the end of the movie you wondered what the purpose of the whole film was. I can never decide if it was supposed to be a comedy or a drama. The few funny moments are overshadowed by the dark and depressing tone of the whole movie. ... Read more

Amazon.com

"You slipped into my life as easily as vermouth into a glass of gin," purrs reclusive singing star Angela Arden, as played by camp icon CharlesBusch (Psycho Beach Party). Arden is not only haunted by a secret,she's treated like dirt by her louse of a husband (Phillip Baker Hall,Boogie Nights), her snoopy maid (Frances Conroy, Six FeetUnder), and her petulant daughter (Natasha Lyonne, Slums of BeverlyHills). Only her mentally defective son (Stark Sands) and awell-endowed gigolo (Jason Priestley, Beverly Hills 90210) treather with love and affection. Is it any wonder she takes drastic action toimprove her life? Replete with lurid sex, incestuous overtones, a poisonedsuppository, musical numbers, an acid freakout, and black-and-whiteflashbacks, Die Mommie Die! lovingly sends up movie soap operas.The tone is uneven, but Busch skillfully walks a razor-sharp linethroughout. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Busch is Absolutely Fabulous!!!!
The film Die Mommie Die has been on my list to own since seeing it twice in the theatres. Charles Busch leads a star studded cast to perfection in this hilarious parody and a loving remake of the1940's to 1960's women's pictures.
Angela Arden (Busch) an ex pop diva from the fifties, has lost her ability to sing as she once did and her abusive husband Sol Sussman (Phillip Baker Hall) tries to tame this temptress after finding out about her affair with the notorious gigolo Tony Parker (Jason Priestley). After his death, due to a poisoned suppository; His daughter Edith (Natasha Lyonne), son Lance (Stark Sands), and loyal maid Bootsie Carp (Frances Conroy) all begin to suspect Angela.
Everyone's presence on screen is a delight, from Charles Busch whom lights up the screen from the opening act to Frances Conroy's meddling as the maid.
Jason Priestley proves once again that he has a presence on the screen and in Hollywood as he takes on the whole family to try and find out what is Angela's dirty little secret.
As always Natasha Lyonne performs in top form as daddy's little girl and Stark Sands proves he has the talent to make it in this dirty town.
I highly recommend and plea that anyone who might be interested in this to purchase it as you will not regret owning this great and truly hilarious film.

How Awful About Angela
When I saw this as a play at the Coast theater in West Hollywood, I thought I would split my sides. Charles Busch could make walking across the room a laugh riot. I was a little leery of seeing the movie, fearing that in opening the play out with real locations, some of the fun would be gone.

I had nothing to fear. This movie is hilarious, thanks in great part to Charles Busch's matchless portrayal of has-been "America's Nightengale" Angela Arden. Combining every Diva ever to grace the screen, and frosting her with his own devilish gleam, Busch is a hoot in this from beginning to end. An able supporting cast includes Phillip Baker Hall as the nasty husband who won't give Angela up, Stark Sands her belle-of-the-math-department son, Natasha Lyonne as her "heart belongs to daddy" daughter, Frances Conroy as the booze-swilling maid and, hilariously, Jason Priestly as the gigolo with a secret, who's willing to bed everybody in Beverly Hills to find out what he wants to know. I'm not going to give anymore away (although you have seen it all before); this movie is in limited release under the Sundance Film series. Not nearly as arch or arcane as some reviewers would have you believe, it's worth a trip out of your way to see it.

Too Funny
This one is a real hoot. Bush is so funny here as the femme fatale done wrong by the world on one hand and doing it wrong on the other. The dialogue has so many sharp, funny lines that you may have to pause and skip back from time to time. Priestly, Lyonne, et. al. are great in this loving and hillarious look at the oldies melodramas. Highly recommended.

Lavish, lascivious & loony!
This is the biggest camp laff riot that I've seen in years. Susan Hayward, Joan, Bette, Lana & Ida must be spinning in their graves! If you dig those over-costumed, over the top Ross Hunter weepers, or the old-bag, ex-star shockers, Mr. Busch and company have whipped up the ultimate parody. Don't fail to miss it!

Glamour returns to Hollywood!
What a sheer delight to see this clever and witty homage to Douglas Sirk/Ross Hunter films of the 50's& 60's. The entire cast are playing those roles with relish and are so completely spot on. Production values are very high with sets, locations and costumes that totally evoke that era. My only axe to grind - Charles Busch needs much more artificial make-up to convince us he is that manufactured screen godess of yesteryear.Too often you are hurled back into reality simply because he looks like a truck driver in drag. The make up just reveals too much of the old 5 o'clock shadow.

After Psyco Beach Party and this I cant wait for Charles Busch's next Hollywood asassination. ... Read more

Amazon.com

"Being married is the normal way to live... isn't it?" The note of doubt at the end of that statement is fully exploited in How to Murder Your Wife (1965), a barbed piece of war-between-the-sexes comedy. Cartoonist Jack Lemmon, an exponent of the Playboy philosophy, lives in the ultimate swinging bachelor townhouse ("Everything masculine and perfect," manservant Terry-Thomas says approvingly) until a drunken evening leads to marriage with an Italian bombshell (Virna Lisi). What to do? The whole movie seems to exist in order to arrive at Lemmon's clever courtroom oration in the final half-hour, which is tartly funny if datedly misogynistic: he unleashes a male fantasy of trashing the gray-flannel suit and late-model station wagon for Hefneresque freedom. The wheel-spinning of the early reels is curious coming from screenwriter George Axelrod, usually a reliable satirist. He had better hours than this, notably in Breakfast at Tiffany's and Lord Love a Duck. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (16)

A fun movie; nothing too serious; 3 1/2 stars
If you like Jack Lemmon, this is a fun movie. If you do not, then it's an average film.

The sexy italian blonde looks much better on the screen than on this cover. In fact, there are a lot of good looking women in this movie so that's a plus for men so inclined.

Story follows a cartoonist who ends up marrying an Italian immigrant girl who seduced him during a bachelor party after she jumped out of a cake. Her eyes are played out as being magical.

Sort of funny . . . cute plot . . . a few good twists. Interesting court scene.

I won't spoil the ending.

Not what you'd expect
This is one of those films that start out seeming to be about one thing, but turn out at the end to be about something else entirely. Jack Lemmon is a confirmed (?) bachelor, living in a town house with his valet, Terry-Thomas, when one morning, after a liquor-soaked bachelor party for a friend the night before, he wakes to find himself married (gulp) to the dazzlingly beautiful Virna Lisi. Trapped in a no-win situation, he cooks up a plot for her murder (only on paper, of course); but, when she disappears, he finds himself on trial for her actual murder. One of the great comedic courtroom scenes follows. When the [spoiler] at the end of the film, you realized that you've been duped -- the film, which seemed to be about the joys of woman-hating, turns out to be about one of the great themes of cinema - "love conquers all". Eddie Mayehoff and Claire Trevor are marvelous in supporing roles.

A guy thing...and loads of fun...
In our PC society, I can still look back and grin affecionately, considering that this film was made at a time when "battle-of-the-sexes" humor was at a peak (Doris Day, anyone?) Lemmon's a natural, and Terry-Thomas actually steals the film for that reason. Fairly formulaic, the men are made to look more idiotic than the women, though if anyone wants to take issue, check out Claire Trevor's manipulative harpee witch. Virna Lisi is, indeed, stunningly gorgeous, and very endearing. This is a "nice" movie; not a great one, nor one that lives on in history. It has Lemmon, Terry-Thomas, Lisi, Trevor, Eddie Mayehoff (a riot), and should be taken for exactly what it is: a fun, mindless romp that entertains. Lighten up. I still think this should've been nominated for Sound Effects...I never forgot the "Gloppita-gloppita" machine. Don't judge; enjoy!

The Good-natured Sanity of Satire
There is absolutely nothing like good-natured satire for escape from the pressures of the workaday world, which insists on everyone being reasonable and restrained in their ire toward others. In the genre of high satire, "How to Murder Your Wife" takes one poke after another at the guys AND their ladies, both of whose unrealistic expectations toward one another periodically drive each other to the brink of ... could it be MURDER? This is STRICTLY for laughs -- and of course, paradoxically the best laughs come when a good moral results from the logical playing out of the perfectly orchestrated tomfoolery in this classic film.

We need satire -- much more than we think -- to remain good-natured, even sane. It alone gives us the perspective to let down our self-righteous hair and laugh at ourselves. One is only certain that he has a friend when his friend isn't afraid to insult him once in awhile! Remember the profound psychological function of the Medieval court jester, alone of the King's subjects who could ridicule the King mercilessly ... and so keep him human in aspect. The Marx Brothers knew themselves to be Society's collective court jesters with a holy mission to insult the upper classes, who were taking themselves so perilously seriously in the '20s and '30s.

So, may our insecurities of male and female social prerogatives vanish in a cloud of wholesome laughter in this ingenious stroke of good will -- and may we benefit from more and more good satire in future productions. For it is the perfect irony of this film that its theme is actually the passionate pursuit of harmony between the sexes, and not their mutual demise. Ah, give us a second helping of wit, Sir Terry Thomas!

It's a men's joke!
Stanley Ford (Jack Lemmon) is a popular cartoonist. 463 newspapers buy "The adventures of Bash Brannigan" because they know their author draws on real-life experience. His lawyer Harold (Eddie Mayehoff) gives free vent to his moral indignation: "pornography! violence! sadism!" but Stanley remains complacent: " I never asked Bash to do anything I haven't done myself". He is immune to Harold's sermon who can't wait to see him henpecked. But Stanley has perfected the skill of lying in a woman's arms without falling in her hands. He owns a luxurious townhouse in New York and Charles (Terry-Thomas), his distinguished and stuck-up butler (He calls himself "Mr. Ford's man") runs the household, awakes him, escorts him to the shower, weighs him out (160 pounds) and prepares healthy meals. In short: Stanley leads the life that readers of the "Playboy magazine" dream of.

One day he goes to a friend's wedding (The bride forgot her shoes in Stanley's bedroom), but the wedding he celebrates instead is his own: He wakes up with a hangover and discovers that he married the girl who jumped out of the wedding cake (Virna Lisi). Since the new Mrs. Ford has assets (she took part in a beauty contest) he tries to break the news gently to her: he wants a divorce...Mrs. Ford is amused to see his pantomime: She does not understand one word because she comes from Italy...Harold is delighted and lists Stanley's obligations:"You got to make a new will...health check...insurance". Harold's wife Edna (Claire Trevor) informs Mrs. Ford that she is entitled to a mink-coat, a pet-dog and her husband's credit card. Charles has dark forebodings. The foundations of h