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Gun Shy
Buena Vista Pictures


8.3

based on 20 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 3 votes
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Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: R for violence, language and some brief nudity

Starring Liam Neeson, Oliver Platt, Sandra Bullock, Mitch Pileggi, and Mary McCormack

On the verge of a career-induced mental breakdown, and in complete fear of trigger-happy Mafia leader Fulvio Nesstra (Platt), undercover DEA agent Charlie Mayough (Neeson) seeks psychiatric help and finds himself relying on the support of an unstable therapy group and nurse Judy (Bullock) just to get through his work. (Hollywood Pictures)

GENRE(S):	Comedy
WRITTEN BY:	Eric Blakeney
DIRECTED BY:	Eric Blakeney
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: June 19, 2000 Video: June 19, 2000 Theatrical: February 4, 2000
RUNNING TIME:	101 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	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...

Slate David Edelstein

A grave screwball comedy. Its gags aren't just hilarious -- they have a weighty, plaintive soul.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

One of the most subtle and inspired comedies you'll see this year.

LA Weekly Chuck Wilson

A smooth little comedy deserving of more studio support than it got.

Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard

Thanks to the first-time filmmaker's attention to character, Gun Shy is worth at least a shot at a matinee.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

The bathroom jokes in Gun Shy wear thin.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

A mildly amusing but forgettable and way-too-scatological black farce.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

The story isn't nearly as funny or suspenseful as it would like to be, although the solid cast gives it occasional dashes of pizazz.

Variety Robert Koehler

A textbook case in which the parts are greater than the whole.

San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris

Blakeney can't decide if this is a quirky romantic comedy or a quirky mob essay, and you can see the movie thinking itself into a rhythmless hole with cement shoes.

Los Angeles Times Eric Harrison

What use is journeyman acting, quality set design and a kicky, eclectic score in a movie that's so ineptly scripted?

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

The big trouble here is that there seem to be pieces of three different films rubbing up against each other without ever fitting together.

Film.com John Hartl

Neeson might as well have phoned this one in.

USA Today Mike Clark

Can't stars attract better scripts than this?

Film.com Tom Keogh

Gun Shy can't rise on wobbly legs, and its real potential is lost for good.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

This low-caliber Gun Shy has singularly ugly cinematography by Tom Richmond that at one point shows off Bullock's facial hair.

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Stack

It's implausible, cartoonishly overdrawn.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Blakeney's script contains more hackneyed dialogue and misfired jokes per minute than would seem possible, and the result embarrasses every actor in it.

Village Voice Michael Atkinson

It's the casting of Liam Neeson as the nervous breakdown that turns the movie to asphalt -- it's like watching Andre the Giant play Woody Allen.

TNT RoughCut Don Kaye

We're just over a month into 2000 and already there's a candidate for the year's worst picture.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

A half hour in and still, the plot, tone, and setting are incomprehensible.

The average user rating for this movie is 8.3 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Dave M. gave it a 9:
Brilliant.. An amazing performance from Liam Neeson and even better from Oliver Platt.. I bought this 6 months after seeing it, and love it even more.

Jon C. gave it a 9:
Great soundtrack, great cast, great ending.

M. S. gave it a 7:
I loved the sex while creating a garden scene. I liked Liam in the role and thought it gave the movie an edge it wouldn't have had with another actor.

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Gun Shy Buena Vista Pictures

Gun Shy
Buena Vista Pictures