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State and Main
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MPAA RATING: R for language and brief sexual images
Starring Alec Baldwin, Charles Durning, Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, Patti LuPone, and Sarah Jessica Parker
A big-budget movie crew descends upon a quaint New England village, sowing a bumper crop of corruption, vanity and greed. (Fine Line Features)
| GENRE(S): | Comedy |
| WRITTEN BY: | David Mamet |
| DIRECTED BY: | David Mamet |
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: June 19, 2001 Theatrical: December 22, 2000 |
| RUNNING TIME: | 106 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: | France / USA |
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...
The average user rating for this movie is 6.0 (out of 10) based on 19 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Nasja de V. gave it an8:
Good tempo, nice references. Overall very enjoyable.
Chad S. gave it a 9:
Unlike The Coen Brothers' "Oh, Brother Where Art Thou", David Mamet's "State and Main" doesn't treat smalltown folks like affected hayseeds. In Mamet's world, the denizens of Vermont are allowed to be sophisticated, which could also an affectation, but it's better to be portrayed as smart rather than dumb. They're allowed to know the names of obscure playwrights, read Variety, and interact with Hollywood types without being at a disadvantage. Mamet's great achievement here is finding the right tone for the assembled film team. The rustic charm of the town and its inhabitants softens the pretty people's urban edge without effacing their immoral centers. At the center of "State and Main", is the wonderful pairing of Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Rebecca Pidgeon, who have the starry-eyed wonder of young lovers from "Our Town". They have a lot of chemistry. Who knew?
Pat C. gave it a 3:
First Rule of Moviemaking: Don't fritter away the attention of the audience in the first 10 minutes. After one initially effective one-liner is panned by Macy's character, the show plunges into unmitigated disjointed banter involving a slew of characters and phone voices all disrupting the continuity with unrelating dialogue about things that are neither interesting nor matter. If I want to hear people interrupt each other, I'll watch political talk shows. I deserted this show after 15 minutes, so I didn't watch it all. If it was good from there on, a 3 is the best I could have given it, and that's the benefit of the doubt. Besides, it was my second attempt. Sorry, but abusing the audience's gift of initial attention is a fatal error. It makes me suspect some critics may be taking complimentary drugs from the movie companies before reviewing their products. But hey, the value is merely misplaced: Rent this movie as a sedative.
Yoon Min C. gave it an 8:
Hard-hitting urbanite Mamet situates his usual story of hucksters and conmen in a quiet little NE town where the folks are not as simpleminded as they may first seem. The Mametisms here should by now be well-known to everyone. There is the signature cynicism taking advantage of wide-eyed trust; you have the hardened dupes retaliating in like manner. There are hidden motives, personal grudges, downright greed, and vanity fueling the engine for most of human behavior. Only two people--both playwrights--are good which may be Mamet patting the likes of himself on the back a bit too gently. The acting is good but limited as the movie never strives for anything other than light satire. The sense of irony evident in situations--moral or plotwise--is bit too obvious and the ending too pat. One even wonders if this would have worked better as a play than as a movie. Still, Mamet's control of his material and the medium is impeccable; without the customary mushiness and with a ruthlessness that doesn't degenerate into pointless ugliness, this is overall a well-observed movie about clash of egos, instability of values, and the power of money.
Shane gave it a 10:
Philip Seymour Hoffman's greatest acting job, ever.
VD gave it a 10:
I loved it.
Walter S. gave it a 2:
This has got to be one of the most overrated films I've seen in some time, and I see a LOT of movies, okay. This movies is botched in so many ways it's hard to keep track. It's almost easier to say what was good about it. William Macy's director was fantastic, both in writing and performance. The two leads (Baldwin, Parker) were great fun. Philip Seymour Hoffman did what he could well given the limits of his character's stereotypical drivel. And that's it. The editing was amateurish. The script was terrible. Mamet's wife? Miscast and her role was pathetic. Her fiance was just as unbelievable as a Vermonter. Durning needed a Starbucks. LiPone (who I love) was way off the mark. The local reporter had a British accent.. I mean who the f%$# was making this film? Too many subplots which are as quickly introduced and sloppily dismissed. Attention Hollywood: just because you make a self-loathing, self-indulgent feature doesn't mean it's injokes are really that interesting.
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