Jimmy Show, The

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8.0 User Score:

Generally unfavorable reviews

Based on 6 critic reviews
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Based on 7 votes
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Drama

Written by: Frank Whaley
Jonathan Marc Sherman (play)

Directed by: Frank Whaley

Release Date:
Theatrical: December 13, 2002
DVD: May 20, 2003

Running Time: 96 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: R for language

Starring Frank Whaley, Carla Gugino, Ethan Hawke, Lynn Cohen, Jillian Stacom, and Spelman M. Beaubrun

Set in the 1970's and 1980's, this is the story of a failed New Jersey inventor (Whaley) who embarks on a career as a standup comedian.

Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database

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...

New York Post V.A. Musetto

Whaley gives an earnest performance, especially when he's articulating his frustrations during his monologues. But it's all relentlessly glum. The film, like Jimmy's routines, could use a few good laughs.

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Village Voice Leslie Camhi

Backed by a strong supporting cast, Whaley makes Jimmy a vivid character, but he never achieves anything like the tragic grandeur of a Willy Loman. He's at once too earnest and too unappealing.

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New York Daily News Jack Mathews

The movie is as unpleasant as its hero, and the film audience gets no more for its money than the customers at the Laughing Stock. Still, watching Whaley take Jimmy down his tortured path has some morbid appeal -- like a train wreck in progress.

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TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Whaley's determination to immerse you in sheer, unrelenting wretchedness is exhausting.

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The New York Times Stephen Holden

The kind of movie that is a must to avoid on a bad day. Even on a good one, it could send you into a funk.

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Variety Scott Foundas

Pic has a stagy, boxed-in feel. Both visually and energetically, it suggests something that has been done onstage to the point of mechanized repetition. And even though Whaley is supposed to be playing a disillusioned character, it's the actor himself who seems fatigued and over-rehearsed.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 7 User Votes

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

blah blahblah gave it a1:
This film was remarkable only in it's complete lack of dimension. i can't understand what people are seeing in it. i think about what a story like this would would be like in a documentary and i wouldn't watch it. as a narrative, it's even more tortuous because it isn't real.

T gave it a10:
Thiis is a wonderful movie--it is an honest movie about dealing with problems without the benefit of happy coincidences and good fortune--no fairly Godmother, but no Willie Loman ending either--for those who don't get it--the standup routine is Jimmy's interior dialog--and, for those who missed it, it isn't depressing, because the character never gives in.

Ray gave it a 7:
I really liked it, but I too felt it spiralled too far down, giving one little sympathy for a character who refuses to try to pick himself up by his boot straps. I felt the acting was superb, and the film held my attention throughout. Just a little sprinkle of joy might have made a major difference.

Eric B. gave it a 10:
Critics are stupid, point-missing idiots. This movie is written with an honesty and "realness" that I've never seen before. Frank Whaley plays his self-written character perfectly, and captures the hope and failings of the true american dream. SEE THIS MOVIE.

Pink Sabbath gave it a 10:
The critics missed the point. this is DRAMA, not the cheesy hollywood formula kind weve been force-fed for decades, but real life kind of drama. the acting was beautiful, the story was unusually relevant to so many of us working class losers. maybe that's why the critics don't get it; they never had to work a crappy supermarket job where there only thrill was ripping off beer. i give this film 97 thumbs up. to hell with you lame, daddy-owns-the-magazine idiots.

Ron W. gave it a 9:
Excellent.