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Visitors Review

cofemug 2012-05-25 22:01:24

Below Run-of-the-Mill Indie Comedy

A movie armed with such a strong cast of comedians, you almost expect amovie like this to be open scripted hilarity. Sure there'd be a script,but the comedians are given free reign to riff on the situations to tryto make them comedic, and to make them their own. You'd have somesemblance of a hurried background story in order to get to the dinnersection where all hell breaks loose and biting hilarity ensues.This is not that movie.That movie would have been amazing with this cast.This movie is a strictly scripted dysfunctional family Indie comedythat is more dramatic than comedic. Which could be OK, if thecharacters were well drawn instead of being broad stereotypes put intoclichéd situations. The screw-up, the good kid, the princess, theabsent father, the ignored mother, and the successful kid who puts itall to paper. This is every crappy family movie crossed with WoodyAllen's Deconstructing Harry...minus the snark, bite, or reason. Thefather's speech at the end telling everybody that they are responsiblefor their own misery is the only change from this formula.The movie is hollow. And, maybe that's the point. Maybe the writer isbitter about all the other family dysfunction films that send the blameup the chain. And, so he made a film that was as hollow as he felt theother movies to be, with the father being the writer's voice saying"you guys are your own problems." But, if this IS the case, this sortof po-mo response doesn't make it a good movie...or, for that matter,an entertaining one.That's not to say this movie is completely terrible. It does havefleeting flashes of actual humor, mainly involving Leslie Ann Warren asthe ignored mother and Taraji P. Henson as the screw-up's dotinggirlfriend, both of whom are criminally underused. But, as I said,they're fleeting flashes of humor with the rest of the film's humorbeing empty.Skip it.2/10

MLDinTN 2012-05-25 02:56:57

if you like seeing people hate each other...

this is the movie for you. It's your typical dysfunctional family typeof film. The one thing I would have liked to be included was whatexactly was in Nate's book, Peepworld, that was so horrible. Peepworldis based on his family and a lot of it is true. Only a few details werementioned. So, the audience can't understand why all the kids hate eachother and their father so much. More details should have been added.The most scandalous revelation was Jack's addiction to porn.The movie takes place on the father's 70th birthday. Jack, the mostnormal one, pays for the birthday party at a fancy restaurant, eventhough he doesn't like his dad. Joel, the loser brother, just wantsmoney from Jack. Cheri is the kid that hasn't done much with her life.Nate is the author and most successful. So, a lot of the movie iseveryone snapping and yelling at each other and having an uncomfortabledinner. It's sort of entertaining and funny at times.FINAL VERDICT: It was OK, nothing really new. I wouldn't recommendpaying to see it.

Saad Khan 2012-05-21 01:10:33

Waste of such a talented cast

PEEP WORLD – TRASH IT ( D ) Peep world has some of the most funniestand critically acclaimed actors in it. So, for my or everyone surpriseit was just shocking to see such a boring and inconsistent movie. Whereis story is weak and characters are more weakest than the story itself. This movie stands alone on very thin script. The direction andediting of the movie is awful. All I can sat that it's a Waste of sucha talented cast Michael C. Hall, Rainn Wilson, Ben Schwartz, Kate Mara,Alicia Witt, Octavia Spencer, Taraji P. Henson, Stephen Tobolowsky, andSarah Silverman. It's hard to imagine how someone can come up with sucha terrible screenplay and characterization. It's dreadful and waste ofTime and Mind!

2012-05-20 17:11:14

A dark comedy about a very dysfunctional family. Really good and funny, just missing something to make it better. I say B

"Pardon me if I don't toast the man who ruined my life." After a book exposing all his families secrets is published and becomes a hit Nathan must deal with the fallout. The fact that his brothers and sister now hate him, his dad he is completely self obsessed is the only one who is proud of him. The movie takes place the day of the annual birthday dinner for thier dad's birthday and we watch how each person deals with the stress of that as well as the book release. Judging by the preview I was expecting this to be funnier then it was. I'm not saying this was not a good movie, but I was expecting funnier. I did enjoy it, and the movie was perfectly cast I thought, but I just thought it was missing something to make it better. Watching each person deal with thier own personal problems set against the way they feel about the book is enjoyable to watch, but again something was missing. I'm just not sure what. Overall, I really did enjoy this, but it could have used something else, I just can't figure out what it is. I give it a B.Would I watch again? - I don't think I will.*Also try - Everybody's Fine

Terry Roehrig II 2012-05-19 04:35:11

An average dysfunctional comedy with a great cast, but a lot of missed opportunities

When a comedy comes along with a cast such as this one, I'm guessingthat people are under the impression that it's going to be arip-roaring laugh-fest -- complete with liquids coming out of orificesand hee-hee-ing so hard you can't breathe. This isn't that kind ofmovie. If you go into this movie expecting Dumb and Dumber, you aregoing to be disappointed.Lewis Black is the narrator and he tells the story of Henry Meyerwitz(Rifkin) and his family. They've all gathered together for his 70thbirthday and it doesn't look to be a happy affair. Jack (Hall) is hisoldest son. He's got a wife, Laura (Greer), who's pregnant. He's theeveryman character and would appear to have it all together. Cheri(Silverman) is the artist who hasn't really decided what she wants todo in life, that is, until the book Peep World came out. She seekssolace in her friend, Ephraim (Tobolowsky) who is a Jews for Jesus nutthat hopes to one day get in her pants. Joel (Wilson) is the family'srenegade risk-taker who also takes anything else he wants: drugs,pills, advantage, money from other siblings. He has a girlfriend, Mary(Henson) who works as a bailiff. Then, there's Nathan (Schwartz). He'swritten a very popular book entitled Peep World. It's about adysfunctional family and his brothers and sisters seem to think it's abit too on-the-nose for fiction. He has a legitimate reason for notwanting to go to the party tonight -- he'll have to face them for thefirst time since the book's release. There to help him (in more waysthan one), is Meg (Mara), his PR person. Now that you've met thefamily, we get to see them getting ready for the big dinner party. Eachone has their own little story and they share their memories about theold man, their fears about going, others are going for their ownpersonal gain. It's certainly not your average family.What I liked most about Peep World was that it wasn't some silly, goofycaricature of big families and all their problems. It seemed real and Icould totally believe every single situation that was presented to uson screen. The movie could have gone with zany antics and big circusacts to dazzle us, but it's more subdued and mellow. There are a fewscenes that get close to hilarity (Nathan's book signing), but PeepWorld is more about the characters and dialog than the all too easysight gag. Real characters, real problems, real resolve -- all whilestill giving us clever, witty banter to keep us entertained and stayingput. That's what the movie is about.What didn't work for me in Peep World was the last 20 minutes or so. Weget something that's all built up and then Jack's story with him andhis wife bring it down to a screeching halt. It got too real for me.Leave the melodramatics aside and bring us the humor. It mucked up theflow of the story and spun it into an entirely different direction.Sure, it's touching and sweet and all that -- but if I wanted somethinglike that, I would have watched a Hallmark movie or something. So, itgot a bit too sickly sweet for my taste near the end. Well.... that andI didn't feel they used enough Lesley Ann Warren (she plays Henry's ex)and Alicia Witt (she play's Henry's new girlfriend and she plays themovie version of Cheri based on Nathan's book). They could have easilysqueezed some humor out of it and let these two characters interact --but, alas, they did not. Just another missed opportunity from PeepWorld. More reviews at www.soveryterry.com Final Grade: B-

ripcurl7 2012-05-18 14:00:48

Like watching a train wreck

Clearly the writers/director of this flick were trying to portray theworst in people. All in all they did a fairly good job. Most of thecasting worked, perhaps they should have spent a little more time onMr. Wilson's character, they missed a great opportunity there to shoreup the film.The major flaw of the film is Sarah Silverman....she just can't act.Just like her attempts at comedy, she tries too hard. And just like hercomedy, since she has no natural ability, she is left to over the topfacial expressions and lines meant to shock.Watch this movie if you find it for free, but don't go out of your wayto do so.

2012-05-17 02:05:50

Don't Peep

This review is from: Peep World (DVD) I only bought this because I am a huge fan of Michael C Hall. The story was very disjointed and weird. When it ended, I found myself thinking, "Huh?"

napierslogs 2012-05-16 11:57:12

A true comedy that you don't have to hold up a mirror for

"Peep World" is a peek into a world of a dysfunctional family. It's adysfunctional family comedy and it's funny. Henry had four children,even though he really shouldn't have had any, and they all pretty muchhate each other and him. This movie is set on one particular day:Henry's birthday, and right after the youngest sibling, Nathan (BenSchwartz), wrote a best-selling book revealing the family's secrets.I consider it better than most dysfunctional family dramedies becausethis isn't a drama-comedy, it's pure comedy and it is hilarious. Thereis a moment of self-realization for most of the characters near the endthat comes awfully close to melodrama that probably would have beenbetter left on the cutting-room floor, but it doesn't really affect themany moments of brilliant, cutting humour.Another reviewer had mentioned that the one thing he liked about themovie is that the characters seemed like real people. Oddly enough, oneof the many things that I liked about the movie is that the characterswere nothing like real people. They are all rich, privileged,fundamentally screwed-up fools who are completely clueless and selfish.At no point do I even have to consider comparing myself to them. WhenNathan declares that his book requires America to hold up a mirror —that is a joke for the audience to get.It has an all-star cast who, for the most part, are acting outside oftheir standard roles. Rainn Wilson is not playing the dweeby loser heusually does, but he is trying to get his life together again aftergoing to rehab three times. Don't expect Sarah Silverman to break outinto her stand-up routine, she's busy fretting over her father's new,young girlfriend. Michael C. Hall is basically playing thestraight-man, but every character is messed up in some way. Judy Greerplays the one serious role in the movie and that is a very welcomedchange for her. Kate Mara stood out for me as she held her own againstthe star (Schwartz) and mastered the subtle reactions to his manycomedic and chauvinistic mishaps.Lewis Black narrates all the characters and their ridiculous episodes,and I can't help but laugh at everything he says. Mostly because allthe jokes in "Peep World" are funny; they work on multiple levels, andusually on one of those levels, they're true.