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Meet Joe Black

EMAILPRINTMCA / Universal Pictures

Meet Joe Black reviews
43
6.7 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 24 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 15 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Drama  |  Fantasy  |  Mystery  |  Romance

Written by: Ron Osborn, Jeff Reno,
Kevin Wade,
Bo Goldman,
Alberto Casella (play Death Takes a Holiday)

Directed by: Martin Brest

Release Date:
Theatrical: November 13, 1998
DVD: June 3, 2003

Running Time: 178 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: PG-13 for an accident scene, some sexuality and brief strong language

Starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Claire Forlani, Jake Weber, Marcia Gay Harden, Jeffrey Tambor, David S. Howard, and Lois Kelly-Miller

Bill Parrish (Hopkins) has it all -- success, wealth, and power. Days before his 65th birthday he receives a visit from a mysterious stranger, Joe Black (Pitt), who soon reveals himself as Death. In exchange for extra time, Bill agrees to serve as Joe's earthly guide. But will he regret his choice when Joe unexpectedly falls in love with Bill's beautiful daughter Susan (Forlani). (Universal Studios)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

75

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The movie contains elements that make it very good, and a lot of other elements besides. Less is more.

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67

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Sometimes clever and enjoyable, even touching, yet too often the film makes you feel as if you're in Sunday school.

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67

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Meet Joe Black flows nicely, and the whole of the film is bathed in some of the most sumptuous cinematography (courtesy of "Like Water for Chocolate's" Emmanuel Lubezki) of the year.

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63

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

Ultimately, the movie is a perfect mirror of its star -- looks great, seems empty.

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60

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

Meet Joe Black is a hefty three hours long, and just so you know, it is at least two before Claire Forlani, as the Parrish daughter, Susan, unbuttons Pitt's shirt.

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60

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

Meet Joe Black is Hopkins's movie and, despite the film's unnecessary length, his quiet and dignified performance almost carries the ball across the finish line.

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60

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

A businessman is visited by an otherworldly presence who has the nerve to fall in love with his daughter in this savory, extralong feature, whose obvious plotlines unfold with an almost painful slowness that somehow makes them deeper.

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50

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Brest deserves credit for letting the story unfold at a thoughtful pace, but the drama falls apart in the last half-hour, gushing with exaggerated emotions and abandoning its fairy-tale premises for an unconvincing feel-good finale.

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50

The New Yorker Anthony Lane

There are many unanswered questions here (why, for instance, does Pitt's Grim Reaper seem semi-retarded?), not to mention unintended spasms of comedy; in the end, however, they all get swallowed up in the mush.

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50

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

It's not just that Pitt's performance is bad. It hurts.

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50

San Francisco Examiner Walter Addiego

You feel the full weight of the movie's three hours, since the filmmakers only had 90 minutes' of plot.

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50

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Clocking in at a self-important two hours and 59 minutes, this elongated romantic fable is impossible to sustain at a running time better suited to the fall of the Roman empire.

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50

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

It doesn't pay to look too closely at this sumptuous fantasy, but if you're in the right mood to let it wash over you it's very warm and fizzy indeed.

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50

Variety Todd McCarthy

What might have been an effective fantasy if handled with sophistication and insouciance is instead weighed down by ponderous pacing, overstuffed production values and an instance of miscasting.

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50

Washington Post Rita Kempley

Meet Joe Black, with Brad Pitt, is a near-death experience: Time seems to stop as we stiffen in our seats and the actors all whisper as if they're at a wake.

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50

The New York Times Elvis Mitchell

With a too-many-cooks screenplay credited to Ron Osborn, Jeff Reno, Kevin Wade and Bo Goldman, it's so long that every character regrettably wears out his or her welcome.

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40

Salon.com Laura Miller

The high-concept premise of Death taking a long weekend off to mingle with us mortals brings out the worst in filmmakers.

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40

Slate David Edelstein

Is Brad Pitt the worst actor on earth? The case could be made, and Meet Joe Black could serve as Exhibit A.

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38

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Meet Joe Black has the dubious distinction of being the longest film to date of 1998. It is also one of the most tedious and bombastic.

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38

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

A movie about death that stubbornly refuses to come to life.

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30

Village Voice J. Hoberman

This ponderous, didactic weepie aspires to "Titanic" stature even if the only ship it sinks is itself.

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20

Dallas Observer Jean Oppenheimer

Meet Joe Black takes an interesting idea--Death assumes human form and comes to earth to learn about human existence--and reduces it to a flat, uninspired, interminably slow movie.

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10

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

It's probably not the year's worst film, but it would be difficult to imagine three more interminable, snooze-inducing hours of film than you'll find watching this narcoleptic dinosaur.

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0

Newsweek Jack Kroll

Every once in a while a film comes along that's so inexplicably ghastly that there's just no point in making nice about it.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 6.7 (out of 10) based on 15 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Thomas T. gave it a10:
It's a movie-miracle!The plot is great and Anthony Hopkins is..fantastic!Brad Pitt is great too!In the end you will cry for much time..It's unbelievable!

Job A. gave it a9:
This movie is incredible.I've seen it around 7-8 times.The acting is right on and it is a great story.It should of got better reviews cause its a great movie experience.I rate it a 9.2.

Seth H. gave it a9:
First of all, the reason that the Brad Pitt's character is so stale through most of the movie is because he plays DEATH! What did you expect? The movie is exceptionally long, but I cannot think of a scene I would want to exclude [other than Brad speaking to the Jamaican woman]. The score is nothing less than brilliant; Thomas Newman is a genius. The scenes fit together seemlessly. At the very least, this film is intelligent and entertaining. If viewers are too bored with this movie, I suggest taking more riddelin and watching Die Hard twice...it'll still take three hours, but you'll get to see Bruce Willis blow stuff up. If you actually want to watch a well-thought-out, relatively original film, you'll not be dissapointed.

Adam M. gave it a9:
Great film. Totally engrossed. I'm not a Brad pitt fan, but he and Anthony Hopkins were outstanding. Made a change from all the special effects crap that seem to dominate so many films these days. Defintely one for the ladies too, good weep factor.

Beercan gave it a2:
It's a good thing Brad Pitt got lucky with Fight Club and Ocean's Eleven, because this elephantine monstrosity damn near shot his career in the head and left it for dead in a dirty parking lot. Pitt is so embarrassing in Meet Joe Black that I actually felt bad for him. He looks puzzled at how to play his character and seems to be looking beseechingly at director Martin Brest for some kind of guidance, but Brest apparently ignored him and concentrated on the sets instead. The scene where Pitt comforts an old Carribbean woman in a hideous accent is one of the most uncomfortable sights in all of cinema. Meanwhile, while Pitt and his nonsensical character babble endlessy about peanut butter, Brest fills the screen with eye candy and a lovely score, which - along with Anthony Hopkins' sold work - constitutes the only good things about this fiasco. Unfortunately, there wasn't any money left for an editor, because Meet Joe Black is almost 177 years long. Avoid, avoid, avoid. I can't stress this enough, folks.

Lisa V. gave it a 0:
I watched this movie ages ago but still deem it necessary to rate it. If I hadn't been with a group of people I would have walked out of the theater screaming. I don't want anyone else to lose 3 hours of their life for this film. Atrociously stilted dialogue drags the scenes together. Pitt is an excellent actor provided the material is good...if he has to work too hard it's a lost cause. The only time I didn't want to gauge out my eyes was when Hopkins was on screen...but alas...it wasn't enough..not even worth a rent unless you can watch it in another language.

B G gave it a 9:
Exceptional acting. Every character is crucial to the script here. The script is truly rich for eevry character. Even Tambor's Quince, a truly minor character, is especially paramount to understanding this movie's characters. If you can accept the premise (and I don't see why it is so hard for so many) then this movie is well worth your time. And to all those who say "less is more," maybe it is a bit too long, but no movie is perfect, and most all the dialogue and deliveries are amazing. And I sat through Braveheart the same as all of you and loved it. If a movie is interesting, I'll stay. It is smart dialogue with an excellent score, fantastic cinematography, superb direction, and a great cast. It's unfathomable that this man went on to direct the unintelligable Gigli.

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