X
- 2008
- R
- Peace Arch Entertainment Group
- 1 h 37 m
- 2008
- R
- Peace Arch Entertainment Group
- 1 h 37 m
Summary JCVD is an action-packed, comedic satire of the life of movie hero Jean-Claude Van Damme. Playing himself, Jean-Claude finds himself out of money, fighting for custody of his daughter and losing every good action role to Steven Seagal. In an attempt to escape, the aging star walks away from his shrinking spotlight and returns home to h...
Directed By: Mabrouk El Mechri
- 2008
- R
- Peace Arch Entertainment Group
- 1 h 37 m
- 2008
- R
- Peace Arch Entertainment Group
- 1 h 37 m
JCVD
64
7.4
Where to Watch
Summary JCVD is an action-packed, comedic satire of the life of movie hero Jean-Claude Van Damme. Playing himself, Jean-Claude finds himself out of money, fighting for custody of his daughter and losing every good action role to Steven Seagal. In an attempt to escape, the aging star walks away from his shrinking spotlight and returns home to h...
Directed By: Mabrouk El Mechri
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 25 Critic Reviews
64
72% Positive
18 Reviews
18 Reviews
24% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
4% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 25 Critic Reviews
64
72% Positive
18 Reviews
18 Reviews
24% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
4% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
A reality-twisting cousin to "Being John Malkovich" -- showcases a Van Damme who's sly like a fox about his own image.
An inspired melding of action thriller, satire and biographical drama through the looking glass of a funhouse mirror.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 44 User Ratings
7.4
70% Positive
31 Ratings
31 Ratings
23% Mixed
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
7% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 44 User Ratings
7.4
70% Positive
31 Ratings
31 Ratings
23% Mixed
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
7% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
Surprisingly good movie. The film is truly original while being very entertaining all the way through. It's also very funny. Jean-Claude at his best !!
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A fun and funny meta-satire of Jean-Claude Van Dam, which switches views between JCVD's custody battle over daughter in the U.S, and his inadvertently walking in on a bank robbery in his native Belgium. There. he is used in the botched robbery as a means of distracting and confusing the police while the real real bank robbers try to find a way to escape.
Little comic touches are peppered throughout, like using his knowledge from filming "Hard Target" to dispense medical advice, finding out that Steven Segal has been given a role meant for Jean-Claude, a bank TV playing one of JCVD's most **** insane interviews ever (1+1=2, it should be 1+1-11), and one of the robbers being starstruck at holding "The Muscles from Brussels" as a hostage.
This movie may make you reconsider Jean-Claude's acting chops.
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Unlike "Being John Malkovich," which JCVD sometimes resembles, there is no secret portal to the star's head; instead, the audience gets a fleeting glimpse through the smeared window of his soul.
Inventive, insightful and utterly surprising movie. It takes you places you're not prepared to go: namely, into the soul of a performer best known for flying back kicks. Who, by the way, can act.
JCVD should entertain both movie and action buffs. Van Damme proves once and for all that he's not just a set of glistening pectorals. However, he's still in no danger of being asked to play Hamlet.
What exactly is JCVD? Comedy? Confession? Confusion? No one will ever mistake these backstage shenanigans for "Irma Vep." But as a self-regarding expression of masculine angst, it's a Damme sight more fun than "Synecdoche."
Combines a sketch-comedy premise with pacing like a philosophy seminar.
Bottom line: if you are that middle-of-the-road movie lover who loves art-house fare AND old-school 80′s testosterone flicks, definitely check out JCVD. I guarantee you’ll come away familiar with a Jean-Claude Van Damme you never even knew existed.
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Who said Jean Claude Van Damme can't act? This movie is really good. It really shows all the prejudice people have against Van Damme after all his bad action movies in the past. He wants to put all that behind himself and move on. And this movie really shows how great he really is.
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JCVD is not just a bizarre film chronicling Jean Claude Van Damme's fall from celebrity and to a certain extent, grace, but it is a film that cleverly mounts the boundary between tense thriller (something Van Damme is familiar with) and satirical comedy. The film follows Van Damme as he travels to Belgium to visit his parents following a nasty custody battle regarding his daughter. One morning he decides to transfer some money at the local post office unaware that the place is being robbed by three menacing but inept robbers. The film is both knowledgeable of Van Damme's career and reputation but also his ability as an actor. The film is surprising in the fact that it is utterly ludicrous but it is grounded by a powerful central performance by JCVD (That is something I never thought I would write). The film manages to balance the need for thrills and the need for comedy while also injecting some deep emotion into the movie. The film, due to the subject matter, is inherently dark but it is populated by characters who are good even if they do bad things. This provides an interesting view of morality in the film. Finally the films end allows for both the stereotypical Van Damme take down but also the ending that is grounded in reality, the one where things aren't perfect and Van Damme is still a thing of the past. I for one have found a kind of respect for the Muscles from Brussels through his powerful performance of a man extremely broken but constantly trying to do the right thing, even if at times he doesn't quite know what that entails.
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Une idée originale et audacieuse que celle de filer à Jean-Claude Van Damme le rôle... de Jean-Claude Van Damme ! Le film joue en effet très habilement sur la limite devenue floue entre fiction et documentaire, opposant sans **** star à l'homme "normal"... Et les guillemets sont en effet de rigueur, car on ne présente évidemment plus le bonhomme aussi connu pour ses films "vidéoclub" que ses interviews... devenues "légendaires". Le JCVD est un personnage dont la réalité dépasse sans cesse la fiction, son parcours, son ascension, sa descente et sa carrière à nanars... "légendaires" eux aussi.
Ainsi, il s'agit en même temps d'une sorte de biographie ou plutôt d'un portrait condensé plus vrai que nature de la vedette belge dans une situation fictive qui permet à JC de faire preuve d'une sincérité touchante. Mieux qu'une téléréalité ou un quelconque reportage, on voit de suite qu'il ne triche pas et qu'il "est" le fameux JCVD dans toute son entièreté (comme on dit en Belgique).
Emouvant donc mais aussi drôle et sans concession, le film ne cherche pas à le mettre en valeur et appuie aussi là où ça fait mal : une satire réjouissante mais toujours sincère.
A côté de ces lauriers mérités, le film a quelques soucis de réalisation (caméras à l'épaule, usage forcené de filtres ridicules) tandis que les acteurs "braqueurs" font preuve d'un dilettantisme assez consternant. Heureusement, le scénario reste solide et Jean-Claude délivre une excellente prestation dont on ne l'aurait jamais cru capable. Très courageux de sa part, ce qui le rend encore plus sympathique !
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The film opens with an aging, depressed, desperately-broke Jean Claude Van Damme dealing with the disappointment and drudgery of his disappointing life, when suddenly he's stuck in the middle of a hostage situation. The whimsical, self-depreciating, semi-autobiographical writing is a welcome change to Van Damme's catalogue, which had for so long suffered due to him taking his (mostly) crappy movies so seriously. I love the "imaginary" moments where he jaw-jacks the bad guys and saves the day, only to cut back to the stark reality of him being just another helpless hostage. Unfortunately, the pacing is tortoise-speed and it proved lethal to my interest in the film as the minutes ticked by. Also, during Van Damme's long monologues, given directly to the audience, he speaks French(?) and is dubbed over by a different voice actor. This phenomenon is unexplained in the film and is grating. Mildly recommended.
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Production Company
Gaumont,
Samsa Film,
Artémis Productions,
Radio Télévision Belge Francophone (RTBF),
Bankable,
Sofica Cofinova 4, La,
Canal+,
CinéCinéma,
Luxembourg Film Fund,
Cofinova 4,
Pôle Image de Liège
Release Date Nov 7, 2008
Duration 1 h 37 m
Rating R
Tagline Be Aware
Website
http://vandamme.asmik-ace.co.jp/
Awards
Chlotrudis Awards
• 1 Nomination
Toronto Film Critics Association Awards
• 1 Nomination
