Kopps is a very entertaining Swedish comedy from the opening of the film to the final credits. Like most Swedish films, the cinematography is exceptional and the acting is top-notch. What makes this find stand apart is the screenplay is well-written and humorous. It's accessible to large audiences. Most people will enjoy this film. Each character in the film is unique and a joy to watch. It has a good story, and does very well at capturing small town life in modern-day Sweden. This film is not an historical period piece or set on a rural farm, which is refreshing. And it's better than most Hollywood movies. This director has a real future in film-making.


I'm not to big a fan of movies that make you laugh only with slapstick comedy... and this film surely goes beyond the silly. It made me laugh with some very good parody, with great situations and finally with very loveable characters. Its a smart comedy no doubt. I highly recommend it. The rythm is great... your never bored or know whats coming up next.


When one thinks about Northern European cinema you think about frozen landscapes, desert towns, drama, Bergman, Liv Ullman, Von trier... You wouldn't relate Sweden or Denmark to the crazy comedy, but that's what you're gonna find in "Kopps": a small town and four cops whose jobs are at risk (no crime = no need of cops). Now, what are they gonna do? Can you figure it out? Well, if you can't just give "Kopps" a chance.

OK, it's not one of the best movies ever, but it's much more funny than most of nowadays Hollywood comedies. It's full of hilarious situations and crazy characters (the police dog is a Chihuahua!!).

*My rate: 7/10


Good Swedish comedy, which makes fun of American hard core action movies! Excellent filming and special effects. The actors, especially poor Benny, are doing a great job. In this film, you will find a kind of old, jolly good Monty Python humor as well. You have to see this one!


If you're looking for real comedy and humor, this is the movie to watch. Especially if you like the previous movie, Jalla,Jalla! by the same director (and many of the same actors) this one is a must. However don't be disappointed if the quality is not as high as Fares's debut.

It's more filled with stupid jokes and the characters are not as thoroughly deepened as you would like. On the other hand, the plot (paper thin as it may be) very original and you feel good by it. Moreover the special effects are unexpectedly good for a swedish film. It may be clear that I liked this one very much and I can really recommend it! ...


Kopps (eng. "Cops") is a Swedish comedy, which tells about a small town with no crime. The police forces are satisfied with that, spending most of their time in a snack bar.

But the cops' life stops smiling, when they hear that the police forces are possibly going out of order, due to the low amount of crime. They have no choice, but do something about the too low amount of crime, but how are polices supposed to do that?

My favorite character was Benny, the guy who had watched too many Hollywood films. He was often caught daydreaming as a super cop. There is an animated gif-file on the Internet, where Benny beats three criminals without even firing his gun with his hands. Might be worth finding that clip.


I've seen this movie twice in the cinema and about 5 times on DVD!I love it sooooooo much!!!!The story is totally original and the acting is brilliant!!!!The special effects,.......I'm speechless!!!Honeswtly people!This is a Swedish movie with special effects like in Matrix or in Die Hard!This is a parody on many American action movies per example:Matrix,Die Hard,Rambo,etc.There is even love in this movie between Jessica(who wants to close local Police station) and Jacob(the policeman).The humor is original,typically Swedish,but still amazing!tHE ACTORS :Torkel Petersson is one of the best Swedish young comics on this time.Josef Fares and Fares Fares are actually Libanons,who moved to Sweden.Whwn Josef was 21,he was accepted to the Swedish Film Academy in Stockholm.He also directed another box office hit,Jalla Jalla,the film I also liked it.In this movie,you can see a brother,Fares Fares and a Father Fares.So this movie is totally Fares family movie and i really recommend it!


The two Fares does it again and even is better than ever!

Director Josef Fares does an even better movie than "Jalla! Jalla!" (2000) and his brother Fares Fares is excellent in the lead role as a cop in a small Swedish Town.

But my favorite is Torkel Petterson in the role as Benny. Benny is a sweat guy who makes headbands to his fellow police men, but dreams of becoming a hard neck American cop.

If you want an easy and funny movie make sure to see this one!


Forget Eddie Murphy's Beverly Hills Cop movies! Josef Fares sets a new standard in laughing at the police. Right from the start you start laughing and keep laughing until at least four fifth of the film. After that it starts to lose its magic, but it's still highly amusing. The strange thing is that you can see the jokes coming from miles away, but they work excellently nevertheless. With this movie Josef Fares definitely puts on the stage himself as a highly talented comedy director and proves that Jalla, Jalla! wasn't a lucky shot. 4 out of 5


The movie was getting a lot of buzz everywhere I went at the Cleveland film festival. For the most part, it definitely deserved it. The film is very entertaining, well acted, and more or less well-written.

The oddest part, however, was that everyone kept talking about how plans are in the works to make an American version of this film. All I could think of in response to this news is...the American version already exists! It's called Super Troopers. An American knock-off of a Swedish knock-off of an American film! Only in Hollywood.

Strange Hollywood "good ideas" aside, the film is a lot of fun even if the plot is unoriginal and predictable. See this version before the US cranks out the 3rd generation wannabe.


Josef Fares had a success (in Sweden) making "Jalla, Jalla!". That film was a little overestimated, but it put some humour into the immigration questions in Sweden, although still being serious.

"Kopps" is mostly childish, telling the story about the village police station getting closed and the local policemen trying to make crime statistics much worse than in reality. Sometimes it's embarrassing, including gags on the level of some 15-year-old director.

They say Hollywood has bought the script and probably this can be done much better there. Josef Fares seems to have had a much too easy ride after "Jalla, Jalla!"


This is...the funniest movie...EVER!!!! I literally...LITERALLY laughed so I cried, I laughed all the way trough, my I could barely hear what the actors were saying I laughed so much. Even the plot is cosy and cute, but even if the plot stinked, this movie(with its humour) would still be the best movie ever!!!


If your work was about to be shut down, what would you do? How far would you go to prevent it from happening? Would you blow up something? Or maybe hold a hostage? Not in my entire life, not even in "Dumb, dumber", did I laugh this much. From the very beginning to the very end. All I can say is that this was a brilliant movie, and I strongly advice people with a good sense of humor: see this movie.


A surprising funny Swedisch action comedy with matrix alike special effects!!

Movie has some slow parts in it, but overall it is really funny and not to be missed.


After the mildly entertaining Jalla! Jalla! this is two steps down for director Josef Fares who tries hard to make this work but it just won't get off the ground. All the basic ingredients for a good comedy are present: a funny story (local police post has to shut down due to low crime rates, so the police start bringing the crime to town) and actors who are suitable for this kind of screwball comedy.

But it is badly written, most jokes are average and some fall flat. And as comedy is about timing, timing is not something Josef Fares handles well during the whole movie. It all reminded me a bit of Airplane!: When in a certain mood you can laugh about it, but take a closer and more detailed look and it's actually not very funny.

Strong points are when Kopps is breaking its own screwball form with the action fantasies of Benny (Torkel Petersson) as an American super-cop.

At first you won't expect such light-hearted comedy from the country of Bergman. Because his style is very well suited for children, I would advise Josef Fares to make movies for that age (and I am serious here). For the time being I prefer Lukas Moodysson with his current evolution to radical movies in form and content.


Dean Martin for the first and only time in his career played a villain, a town boss named Alex Flood who still hasn't gotten control of the stagecoach line Jean Simmons runs. She's sold it to George Peppard and John McIntire. McIntire is wounded on the way into town and he and Peppard are put up by Simmons. This doesn't sit well with Dino, he and Simmons have had their moments in the past.

It's a good adult western with lots of action to satisfy everyone. One of the most brutal fight scenes in cinema history takes place between Peppard and Slim Pickens who's Martin's chief henchman. More brutal than the one between Humphrey Bogart and Tim Holt against Barton MacLane in Treasure of the Sierra Made. More brutal because Pickens meets his demise.

The rest of the film is Peppard rallying forces to take the town away from Martin's control. Of course having Jean Simmons to come home to is enough to inspire anyone.

Simmons is no longer playing the young girls she played in the 1950s, but she gives a good account of herself as the stageline widow. She's always good, one of the most under-appreciated actresses in movie history.

Good adult western, worth a view. And if you want to see a modern remake, catch the Patrick Swayze film Road House.


Dean Martin plays the villain for the first time, but doesn't add any dimension to his role. George Peppard steals the movie as a gambler who doesn't want any trouble until situation becomes impossible. Jean Simmons is adorable as usual.

The plots are quite routine, the action scenes passable. It's a bit unreasonable that Simmons would let Peppard, a stranger who rides to town on her stagecoach, stay in her house. Although such arrangement is made by the writers, it's a shame that their relationship is not fully developed.

Fortunately we see some familiar supporting actors, including Don Galloway (of TV series IRONSIDE), John McIntire (of WAGON TRAIN), and it's interesting to watch comic actor Slim Pickens as mean, sadistic character again after his wonderful performance in ONE-EYED JACKS (1961).


It's a bit unusual seeing Dean Martin play the part of a villain, especially having been a regular viewer of his variety show back in the 1960's. I couldn't help thinking that any minute he would enter the Ace Deuce, hop up on a piano and start belting out 'That's Amore'. There was at least one similarity to Martin's weekly show with the presence of a gorgeous blonde babe hanging around. No, not Jean Simmons, but that saloon girl Claire (Carol Andreson), who if I had to bet, would probably have shown up on one of his shows as well.

Actually, Martin handled the role of a heavy pretty well, but I kept wondering if the movie might have been better served with Dino and George Peppard switching roles. The casting of Slim Pickens as Alex Flood's (Martin) top henchman also seemed to go against the grain. I mean, can you picture Andy Devine as a bad guy, or Smiley Burnette, or Chill Wills, or ..., well you get the idea. But at least Pickens took the role and ran with it, nasty bull whip and all.

As for Peppard, he becomes the reluctant hero after Flood pushes all the right buttons, and especially when he makes the move on Molly Lang's (Simmons) stagecoach business. Martin's character makes it a point to own fifty one percent of every enterprise in Jericho, but you know, I kept wondering why he allowed the 4 Aces Saloon to operate in town; it didn't seem like Jericho was all that big.

Hey, can you beat those medical fees back in the 1800's? For fixing up a gunshot wound in old Ben Hickman (John McIntire) the Doc charges just a dollar! Kind of makes you wonder how much it cost to go to med school. Too bad Hickman didn't make it to the end of the picture, I kind of liked his deliberate, methodical style.

Of course the ending is never in question, the fun is in watching how the good guy plan separates Flood's gang of outlaws so they can narrow the odds. The one thing I would have allowed for earlier in the story would be showing Peppard's character and his prowess with a knife. As it is, the way Dolan took out Flood made me sit up and ask, 'where did that come from'?


Off beat casting of Dean Martin as the town tyrant who, among other things wants the stagecoach line that his former lover, Jean Simmons, currently owns. In steps George Peppard, playing a former deputy, who comes to town and eventually gets caught up in things when his better sense tells him that he shouldn't stay. Simmons plays a hand in this. Slim Pickens, who usually played good guys, played one of Matin's henchmen. The film gets rather violent--especially the fight scene between Peppard and Pickens-which begins with Pickens using a whip. Acting was quite good. I liked Don Galloway and John McIntyre in supporting roles. It was a bit of a stretch to believe Martin as a total villain--but he pulled it off quite well


Nothing in this movie makes sense, and it really doesn't matter. It succeeds with its self-assured anarchy and the charm of its stars.

Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy and especially Irene Dunne are in top form. Dunne has been unjustly overlooked for her comic talents. The contrast of her well-bred demeanor and inner wickedness is a delight -- like when she does a "hoochy" dance for a parlor of society snobs. She always appears to be on the edge of bursting out in laughter at the antics of Grant and the buffoonery of Bellamy. A wonderful nonsensical scene is of the musically skilled Dunne at the piano trying to sing "Home on the Range" with the hopelessly off-key Bellamy.

Grant is in the period of his career where he's not afraid of self-parody. He's at his best when he takes nobody and nothing seriously, and he's especially funny at tormenting the slow-witted Bellamy. And Bellamy is so good at playing dumb, you have to wonder if perhaps he's not really in on the joke. (Grant and Bellamy basically repeat their roles, with the same success, in "His Girl Friday," another first-rate comedy).

"The Awful Truth" is the masterpiece of Leo McCarey. There's really nothing else quite like it.


This movie is exquisitely directed and acted. The "fourth wall" is gone; the movie rides so high and smart that we as audience can be subtly acknowledged throughout and made complicit in the production, while we continue to believe in the characters and care about what happens to them.

Much of the important dialogue is "throw-away" dialogue, in a sense. It's clear to the hearing, but lines are often spoken by the characters to themselves, for their own (and our) amusement, or delivered in very deftly choreographed "simultaneity," each speaker maintaining an independent point of view in rapid-fire repartee. Implications are understated. We are expected to expect the unexpected, to listen to every line.

The plot is composed like a piece of music. Each scene takes moment from the time-line established by the impending day and hour and minute at which a husband (Cary Grant) and wife (Irene Dunne) become legally divorced, and the movie ends at precisely the stroke of midnight which marks that moment. They clearly want each other back, but will they cleave together or cleave apart as the clock strikes midnight?

One extended "movement" of the movie lets Cary Grant charmingly undermine his wife's new relationship. In corresponding scenes later, Irene Dunne brilliantly plays a dumb floozie, pretending to be the husband's sister and demolishing in one evening his reputation and his prospects for marriage in respectable society. In these later scenes, in another of the movie's nice compositional touches, she does a reprise of a hoochie musical number performed earlier by a girlfriend of her husband's, and then falls into her husband's arms, apparently drunk. He gestures for her to look back and say goodnight to the horrified guests (and to us) as they do a wonderful little wobbly dance out the door, having burned their bridges behind them.

I found the opening few scenes of the movie unlikable, but with the entrance of Irene Dunne, the movie gets us on board. There's so much great understated visual and verbal double entendre (in the best sense) that I want to go back and see if there's more that I missed. In one scene, Cary Grant has brought to Irene Dunne's new fiancé the paperwork on a coal mine the divorcing couple still own. Interrupted by a visitor while advising the fiancé on where it would good to sink a shaft (har!), he explains that he and the fiancé (brilliantly played by Ralph Bellamy as a very successful bumpkin businessman) are transacting a business deal. The movie moves along briskly and doesn't play up the point, but we catch, for a fraction of a second, Irene Dunne squirming as she finds herself looking like the business transaction in question. The movie moves through moments like this quickly, with high respect for our intelligence and our capacity to get in on the joke.


'The Awful Truth' just came out on DVD and what a treat! I'd never seen it before. It's sort of a first draft of 'My Favorite Wife' (remade as 'Move Over Darling') and has all the patented screwball-romantic comedy-French farce elements of the 'Palm Beach Story' but in a less sophisticated form. Even though 'The Awful Truth' may have established a formula for all subsequent screwball comedies, let's face it, it's still rude and crude around the edges. But it probably was the 'There's something about Mary' of its time and Leo McCarey apparently got an Oscar for Best Director. Its gags and dialogue are at times so unexpected as to be termed "experimental". The movie is really all about the sexual tension between Cary Grant and Irene Dunne, married partners who wilfully dissolve their marriage over the husband's possible infidelity (barely alluded to) and his lack of confidence in his wife's virtue (a.k.a. jealousy). But this being 1937, sexuality has to be expressed in devious, contrived ways, including the occasional gratuitous slapstick. The Swiss clock ending is worth the price of admission in this respect. As is Cary Grant's date's obscene nightclub performance and his martial arts irruption into a society afternoon recital where his wife (Dunne) is singing an Italian aria that none of Grant's pratfalls can interrupt, except for one, memorable, epoch-making, anthology-ready second and a half towards the end that no other (singing) actress could have pulled off. What one has to remember, I guess, is that none of this nonsense had ever been attempted, seen or done on a screen before and it must have seemed terribly daring and innovative, thanks to the complicity and high spirits of a perfect cast, including Gee-shucks cowboy Ralph Bellamy, irrepressible faux-French charmer Alexander D'Arcy and worldly aunt Patsy (Cecil Cunningham). Irene Dunne, as usual, is a total original, and, by the way, Katharine Hepburn copied her comedy style and not the other way around (check your dates, guys).


I grudgingly watched this movie at my fiancé's request. But I really enjoyed it wholeheartedly and I laughed out loud at least a dozen time. In addition to being very clever and funny, the story was interesting and heartwarming. Cary Grant player Jerry Warriner, am man to whom we are introduced while he is in a tanning bed to help provide the alibi that he was on vacation in Florida. We never find out what he was 'really' doing but it was probably naughty. He returns home to an empty house early in the morning. He doesn't know where his wife is and then she returns in a full evening gown with a handsome "continental" man. It sounds dramatic, but its actually very very funny. I enjoyed seeing the double entendres and the innuendos that they were forced (by convention) to use in 1937. I am going to buy this movie and watch it repeatedly, just as I watch "The Apartment" and "Some Like it Hot"


Cary Grant and Irene Dunne catch each other in a white lie and the quarrel leads to a marriage breakup. The only bone of contention is that there's a dog who is a family pet that they both love. They go to court and Dunne with a bit of trickery wins the custody battle.

This is one of those comedies where the people can't live with each other or without each other and both are too stubborn to admit it. Cary gets himself involved with society debutante Marguerite Churchill and Irene takes up with mother fixated oil millionaire Ralph Bellamy.

Any fan of old Hollywood films can tell you how this one will end. My favorite bit is when Irene crashes the Churchill household with Cary there and pretends to be his drunken floozy of a sister.

Leo McCarey won an Oscar for Best Director and Irene and Bellamy were nominated for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor. McCarey keeps the laughs coming and takes advantage of the talents of all his players, Irene's voice and Cary's gift for physical comedy.

And as for Mr. Smith the little terrier who finds out he's not all that Cary and Irene have in common. Well he's one lucky little fellow to be in a classic comedy like this.


When I was a little child, my mother used to tell me again and again the main scenes of this irresistible comedy, and we laughed our asses off. Much later, I had the good fortune to see it myself, at an oldies-goldies TV re-run, and it amused me like nuts.

Today, as a movie professional, I can safely state that it's an instance of PURE COMEDY: bright humor, pointed satire, a healthy dose of absurd, deliciously foolish, a fast-paced rhythm that makes the 90 minutes seem barely 9 seconds! You see it again and again, and wish for it never to come to an end! THIS, ladies and gentleman, is the stuff of real comedy - not all the Apatow and Seltzer moronic obscenities! Platinum class vintage!


Nominated for six Academy Awards (including Best Picture and Best Screenplay) and a huge box office hit when originally released, THE AWFUL TRUTH is a screamingly hysterical marital comedy that hasn't lost one iota of its punch in the seven decades since it's release. Irene Dunne is amazing in a layered performance that is both subtly affecting and side-splittingly funny - sometimes within the same scene! The scene in which Dunne masquerades as Grant's floozy, night club dwelling sister is one of the brightest highlights in film comedy history. Dunne received a well-deserved Oscar nomination for her inspired work in this film, which endures as a reminder of why she was one of Hollywood's top actress during the thirties and forties.

After flirting with success in SHE DONE HIM WRONG (1933), SYLVIA SCARLETT (1935), and TOPPER (1937), Cary Grant finally became a bonafide superstar with his performance in THE AWFUL TRUTH. Grant was an absolute master when it came to delivering one liners, and the prowess that he displays in the film's many moments of physical comedy is nothing short of phenomenal. Exceptional performances are also delivered by the rest of the cast (including Best Supporting Actor Oscar Nominee Ralph Bellamy), but the film's real scene stealer is the incredible canine performer Asta as Mr. Smith, which is easily the best performance by a dog ever! Leo McCarey won a much-deserved Academy Award for his frenetic direction of what is surely one of the all-time greatest comedies.


Cary Grant and Irene Dunne play an unhappily married couple who divorce only to discover they were happier married. Naturally they won't admit it...

You can probably guess the rest (the story is ages old), but this movie is fantastic! The acting is great--Dunne and Grant are in top form and work beautifully together. The script is hilarious with many great lines and moves VERY quickly. Director Leo McCarey won a well-deserved Oscar for this--a rare occasion for a director winning for a comedy. He keeps it moving and large chunks of the plot are explained by images and not clumsy exposition. Also Cecil Cunningham adds strong support as Aunt Patsy--her expressions are priceless and she nails her lines. Mr. Smith played by Asta is a dog who steals every scenes he's in. Ralph Bellamy is stuck with the impossible "good guy" role. He's fine but given nothing to do.

I've seen it at least seven times and I still laugh out loud each and every time. A definite must-see. There are many great lines but my favorite is--"Here's your diploma"


The funniest comedy ever made. An older friend introduced me to "The Awful Truth" in the days before VCRs. I thought it so hilarious, I taped the dialogue on a tape recorder when it was shown on local channels.

Of course, the most famous scene is the one in which Irene Dunne, still in love with husband Grant, appears at his society girl's family's estate. She pretends they are from a class these snobs would not accept. It is Dunne's finest ten minutes -- hilarious and it never grows old.

But the whole movie is funny. Cary Grant and his "continental mind." Grant thinking he is bursting in on a love nest, only to find himself in the middle of a sedate vocal recital. And Dunne, singing a Tosti song, watches him lovingly as he stumbles and executes pratfalls, ending her son with a laugh rather than the words of her song! Asta, even, is put to better use than he was in the delightful "Thin man" series. Here is their dog Mr. Smith.

Esther Dale never had a better role than as Ralph Bellamy's prudish and prurient mother. And Bellamy, as he played the wrong man so often in romantic comedies, is easy to take for granted. But he is delightful too.

Joyce Compton, in endless movies for a couple decades, is an absolute scream as Dixie Belle, the risqué nightclub performer with whom Grant takes up at around the time Dunne has taken up with deadly dull Bellamy.

Not only is this sequence funny but it is also touching: Don't we all, on the rebound, make choices that seem right but turn out catastrophic! I also like "Twentieth Century" and Bringing Up Baby." I do not like the smug "My Favorite Wife," also with Dunne and Grant" or the mean "Nothing Sacred." When it comes to screwball comedy, this is the one! It surely is one of the greatest of all American movies.


Awful Truth is anything but awful

In 1937 Cary Grant was already a Hollywood Giant. a dynamic actor and a genuine Star. But in the `Awful Truth,' Irene Dunn took him to school. Yes, Mr. Grant was as charismatic as usual, delivering his lines marvelously, perfect in comedic timing, and demonstrating great physical humor. Throughout most of the movie, Grant and Dunne sparred on relatively equal terms, each earning a fair share of the proliferus laughter generated by their antics. However, at the last hearty chuckle, it was clear that Dunne had been toying with Grant throughout. No, this is not a spoiler and has nothing to do with the storyline, but rather an evaluation of their performances. Despite the magnificence of his, her's was better.

Irene Dunne was simply phenomenal, deserving her nomination for `Best Actress.' She was funny, charming, exuberant, conniving, manipulative, and intriguing. The movie was slow to find it's footing and much time was wasted as Grant and Dunn, in the slower portions, are not on camera together and thus unable to `duel.' But as the plot unfolds the momentum builds to a final crescendo and the mutual magic of these fine comedic artists delivers cascade upon cascade of laughter.

The director Leo McCarey, earning his Best Director Oscar, toyed with both the relatively new `Hayes Code' and the censors, implying with sensitivity and subtlety, a physical aspect of love and infatuation that was unnecessarily suppressed in movies for decades. The witty `doublespeak' dialog at the end was fascinating as each of these protagonists explained the situation in self-contradictory fashions and yet their meanings were unmistakable. Yes, there is a predictable plot but the witty words and scrappy schemes are pleasant surprises.


The Awful Truth is one of the best comedies of the 1930s and ever. Irene Dunne and Cary Grant star (in the first of 3 pictures together) as a divorcing couple who really love one another, but they're just so darned sophisticated! Lucy (Dunne) moves in her Aunt Patsy (the underrated Cecil Cunningham) who gets Lucy introduced to a hick millionaire from Oklahoma (Ralph Bellamy). Meanwhile Jerry (Grant) gets hooked up with a grasping socialite (Molly Lamont). The "love birds" continue to peck away at each other and get entangled in each other's new "romances." The chemistry is just wonderful between Grant and Dunne, and the supporting cast is first rate. Highlights include Grant playing the piano while Mr. Smith (the dog) does a barking routine, but Dunne gets her chance, singing "Gone with the Wind" at a high-toned party. Great fun. Cunningham and Bellamy are terrific, but so are Esther Dale (Bellamy's ma), Joyce Compton (Dixie Bell), and Mr. Smith (who I suspect was really Asta from The Thin Man). The film, Dunne, and Bellamy scored Oscar nominations, and Leo McCarey won for direction. Filled with snappy one liners and hysterical situations. Best scenes may be the night club sequence when Dunne gets stuck dancing with Bellamy, and the party where Dunne pretends to be Grant's sister and yells out, "Hey wait a minute! Somebody stole my purse!" to snooty Mary Forbes. Very funny.


THE AWFUL TRUTH is the quintessential romantic comedy based on a misunderstanding between the protagonists. Jerry and Lucy Warriner (Irene Dunne & Cary Grant) are a married couple who get a divorce--their only point of contention appearing to be the custody of their dog "Mr Smith"--because Jerry thinks Lucy cheated on him with her vocal coach Duvalle (D'Arcy). The theme of the film is that a marriage must be built on trust, without doubt and suspicion. What's odd, then, is that Jerry spends the first half of the film trying to win Lucy back--when *he* was the one who hadn't trusted her in the first place. Lucy spends the second half trying to win Jerry back, after he falls for the same misunderstanding again when he happens upon Duvalle hiding in the other room in her apartment. What strikes me as odd is that the misunderstanding the entire film is based on is so small as to be insignificant. Why doesn't Lucy just come right out and *say* that she didn't do anything wrong? What's so difficult about saying, "My vocal coach came over this afternoon after I ran away to see if I was alright"? Why shove him in a room only to have the farce start all over again? (I suppose, in the end, that is the point. She doesn't clear up the misunderstanding as most sensible adults would because then the film itself wouldn't exist.)

So the plot of the film isn't particularly strong--what is its saving grace? It's probably got to be the performance given by the leading members of the cast--Cary Grant is everything you'd ever want Cary Grant to be. Charming, debonair, gleeful, playful, mischievous, vulnerable, hurt: every emotion that Grant so skilfully and mesmerisingly displays through his career is available here, possibly for the first time in one irresistible package. Irene Dunne is beautiful and very funny in her role as well (mild spoilers ahead), especially when she assumes the role of Lola Warriner to mess up Jerry's situation with Barbara. A real pleasant surprise is Ralph Bellamy as Dan: he plays the perfect country bumpkin, and practically steals the picture with his constant singing of "Home On The Range", his fervent hug-swinging of Lucy, and declaring that he's so happy that, why, he could eat three steaks!

Most of the film feels like set-pieces strung together to showcase the comedic talents of the stars. The film itself most certainly suffers for it (since the plot twists don't often make sense), but the performances are absolute classics. Some of the best moments include Lucy's breakfast chat with her acerbic aunt (played delightfully by Cecil Cunningham); Dan's "cup-winning" turn around the dance floor with Lucy; and Duvalle hightailing out of Lucy's apartment with Jerry right on his heels. The ending as well is played out in a delightfully suggestive and sexy way, something that could only have been done with the inventiveness needed to get around the Hays Code in those days.

If you're looking for laugh-a-minute comedy, you'd be better off with BRINGING UP BABY. And if it's romance you're after, you probably couldn't do better than THE PHILADELPHIA STORY. (Both Cary Grant classics.) But this film does a pretty good job of melding the elements of comedy and romance into one coherent whole. THE AWFUL TRUTH is definitely one for true Grant aficionados, but it is no doubt a great way to spend a couple of hours.


Cary Grant is one of my favorite actors, and this movie is his funniest ever, in my opinion. I had no idea, until seeing this film, that Irene Dunne was such a great comedienne. The script was excellent, even with great lines for Cecil Cunningham, who played Dunne's Aunt Patsy in the movie. The sight gag involving Grant attending a serious music recital, leaning back in a chair, and crashing to the floor was hilarious. I laughed out loud through most of the film, which must be one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. Grant's ability to express himself through his facial expressions is one of his best attributes, and this film allows him to do that frequently. I expect to watch this one fairly often.


Lucy & Jerry Warriner strain their marriage by suspecting each other of cheating, so much so, a day in court leaves them with a 90 day prelude to a divorce. Tho sure enough love never quite runs as expected, and can indeed be a truly complex thing, especially when the other parties involved are human, a cheeky cat, and a rather smart and astute canine!.

The Awful Truth is tagged as part of the wonderful genre that encompasses the screwball comedy, and although to a degree that genre placement is true, I do believe that those not particularly fond of the high octane scattergun comedies from the genre, will certainly find this offering far more appealing with its pacing and lighthearted production values.

The Awful Truth began life as a stage play in the early 20s, and was then adapted to film twice previously in 1925 & 1929, but here for the 1937 version, director Leo McCarey {academy award winner Best Director} improves the story big time with sharp witty dialogue and an appreciative knack for letting his actors improvise at free will in the name of comedy. Taking the lead roles of the Warriner's is Cary Grant & Irene Dunne, and it's a great pairing as they positively bounce of each other with almost carefree abandon. Adding greatly to the frivolity is Ralph Bellamy as tone death country bumpkin love interest Daniel, Alex D'Arcy as the suave but naive Armand, and Cecil Cunningham as the wry Aunt Patsy. It's a seamless enjoyable romp containing many laugh out loud sequences, and as much as the outcome my never be in doubt, the ending is still a joy to behold. Even if the cat and the clock invariably steal the show!

Wonderful and highly recommended 9/10.


Leo McCarey's "The Awful Truth" is among the best of the "screwball" comedies of the 1930s. It is also one of the simplest in plots and screenplays, because it does not require any attempts at conspiracy or hidden identities or mystery (say as in the comic mystery "The Thin Man", or in "His Gal Friday" - which also co-starred Cary Grant and Ralph Bellamy in somewhat similar character types). The plot of "The Awful Truth" is reminiscent of what Jimmy Cagney and Pat O'Brien always are arguing about as screenplay writers in "Boy Meets Girl". There the plot is "Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy finds girl again!" Here it would be, "Husband and wife split, husband and wife sabotage each other's love affairs, husband and wife reconcile!"

Grant and Irene Dunne have been married for awhile (we later learn in court that they met when both fell in love with a puppy in a pet shop), but both jump to the conclusion that the other has been having extra-marital affairs (Grant, in particular, is funny growing disgusted and angrier at Dunne's fairly blameless voice teacher Alex D'Arcy). They agree to separate and eventually divorce (their only bone of contention is the puppy - "Asta" from "The Thin Man" series - who Dunne wins by a slightly sneaky trick. Dunne is introduced by her aunt (Cecily Courtneigh) to a neighbor in her luxury apartment house - Bellamy. He's a very wealthy oil man from Oklahoma. Grant tries to pick up a romance with a nightclub dancer (Joyce Compton), but he finds he delights in humiliating Dunne with her ham-handed new beau. The scene in the nightclub is funny because of how Compton's act embarrasses Grant, but he watches Bellamy jitterbug Dunne off the dance floor.

Grant manages, without fully planning it, in wrecking Dunne's romance. Then he starts showing a serious interest in snobby socialite Molly Lamont. Dunne, following this romance in the social columns, shows up at the home of Lamont's parents as Grant's drunken younger sister - and proceeds to demolish his engagement before his shocked fiancé and her parents.

The reconciliation is at the end, although it seems hinted that Dunne comes out a little ahead of Grant in looking less absurd at the conclusion.

The dialog is worth listening to here. A disgusted Bellamy announcing that a boy's best friend is his mother (here Esther Dale). D'Arcy weakly agreeing to help Dunne make Grant look foolish - but inquiring if Grant carries a gun (oddly enough Ingrid Bergman's servant "Carl" is used in a similar way in "Indiscreet", and worries about getting shot by Grant too!). Grant reassuring a dismal looking Dunne that if she gets tired of the nightlife of Oklahoma City, she can always go with Bellamy to swinging Tulsa.

If not as somewhat meaningful as "My Man Godfrey" or as dramatically balanced as "The Thin Man", "The Awful Truth" ends up being sweetly mirthful to the conclusion. It is a comedy that never fails to entertain.


Laughs galore and a disarming modernity punctuate this sophisticated screwball comedy. Grant is at his pinnacle. And Dunne tops him blow for blow. Surprisingly "liberated" for its day in many ways. D'Arcy, Cunningham, and Compton take turns nearly stealing the show, and Ralph Bellamy started patenting his career with this role. Marvellous fun.


Cary Grant, an up-and-coming actor in the mid-1930's, fortuitously teamed with the more established Irene Dunne for the first of three fruitful pairings in this archetypal 1937 screwball comedy directed with finesse by Leo McCarey. The result is one of the era's breeziest concoctions, an uninhibited farce based on suspected marital infidelity that has the stars bickering and bantering with precision and élan. It's easy to see how Grant became a full-fledged star with this film as his persona already seems fully formed from his droll one-liners to his acrobatic pratfalls. He dexterously balances the urbane and everyman aspects of his personality as Park Avenue social dandy Jerry Warriner.

Adapted by screenwriter Viña Delmar from a 1921 Arthur Richman play, the featherweight plot begins with Jerry and his equally gadabout wife Lucy living carefree amid their luxuriant surroundings and wealthy social circle, but the couple experiences a misunderstanding over each other's whereabouts. Both are so smug and proud that neither apologizes for the trouble each causes the other. In fact, they rashly decide to divorce, and a custody battle ensues over their pet terrier, Mr. Smith, the same dog who played Asta in the Thin Man series and later the bone-stealing George in Bringing Up Baby. With their jealousy peaked, Lucy and Jerry try to sabotage each other's next serious relationship - Jerry with priggish, suspicious heiress Barbara Vance and Lucy with wealthy Oklahoma oilman Dan Leeson. Things inevitably spiral out of control as the final divorce decree approaches.

Perhaps the most criminally overlooked of the top actresses during Hollywood's golden era, Dunne not only matches Grant's comedic skills here but shows off her impressive singing talent. Along with her insinuating laugh, she has a sophisticated but down-to-earth manner that makes her the classic screwball heroine. Look for the hilarious scene where she pretends to be Jerry's tawdry, heavy-drinking sister Lola. A specialist in playing the third point in romantic triangles, Ralph Bellamy is likeably lunk-headed as Dan, and there are sharp comic turns by Cecil Cunningham as no-nonsense Aunt Patsy and Joyce Compton as nightclub chanteuse Dixie Belle Lee. According to Hollywood lore, McCarey encouraged Grant and Dunne to improvise much of their dialogue. If true, their rapport is especially impressive here. The 2003 DVD offers no extras.


Irene Dunne and Cary Grant were wonderful together in this film as well as MY FAVORITE WIFE because the writing was so exceptional and the chemistry between them was terrific. Even though PENNY SERENADE (also starring the pair) was pretty depressing, it was also a quality film. I almost believe they could have told them to ad-lib together for 90 minutes and it would have been wonderful! I think part of the reason I liked the film so much is that both stars had a wonderful way with light comedy. This movie doesn't have a terribly complicated plot--a man and woman are divorcing even though down deep they are still in love. However, because of the chemistry, writing and excellent direction, it's almost magical. See this film, then see MY FAVORITE WIFE--they'll satisfy nearly anyone.

So, if the film was so good, why didn't I score it higher? Well, the bottom line is that for Cary Grant he made a few other comedies that WERE better (ARSENIC AND OLD LACE and BRINGING UP BABY). Plus, the movie is so similar to MY FAVORITE WIFE--another Grant and Dunn comedy.

By the way, a couple things to look for: Yes, the dog "Mr. Smith" is the same dog that is "Asta" in the THIN MAN movies. Also, as usual, Ralph Bellamy DOES once again play the boyfriend who is destined to lose the girl (Irene Dunn). Just like in countless other movies, Bellamy is inexplicably left bride-less by the end of the movie (as in HIS GIRL Friday and HANDS ACROSS THE TABLE among others). Third, this film seems to have possibly been the inspiration for the later Hitchcock film, MR. AND MRS. SMITH. If not, then at least they have a lot of similarities--intentional or not.


This is the best of the screwball comedies with Dunne and Grant equally matched. It has puzzled me though that the more I read the subtitles in the DVD and hear the dialog I am convinced the two characters were each having extramarital affairs. It is never made explicit and each one denies they were having affairs but not convincingly. It was clearly the director's intent to make their fidelity ambiguous. Freudian slips and double entendre are used instead.

Was this done by the director because of the Hays Code and how did the public react to all the innuendo about infidelity in the film at the time of release?


I recently had the good fortune to see this movie for the first time in a Paris movie house. I'm surprised to read a recent post about the poor film quality on the DVD release, because this film showing in Paris was absolutely pristine! Anyway, I'd put The Awful Truth right up there with the best of the screwball comedies of the era. (I think it's much funnier than the overrated (IMHO) Bringing Up Baby (which also stars Grant).) Irene Dunne really busts out of her more ordinary characters and shines in this film with humor, intelligence and, in the wonderful final scene, even sexiness! Grant, plays a fairly unsympathetic character, yet remains charming as hell.

***SPOILER*** My one problem with the story is the fact that by the end, Grant never suffers the consequences for the affair he apparently returned from at the beginning of the film. ***END OF SPOILER*** Special kudos for skillfully incorporating the dog. In far too many films featuring animals, the action momentarily screeches to a halt to accommodate an inserted shot of the animal's "humorous" reaction; The Awful Truth avoids this trap, and the dog (Asta from the "Thin Man" series) contributes seamlessly to the humor and the plot.


Cary Grant is absolutely brilliant in this movie and lets it work out as a fun romantic comedy. He is great as a man who is giving his ex-wife to be a hard time, when she gets engaged to a rich southern oil man. In the end the roles get turned around and the Irene Dunn character gets to give the Grant character a hard time. It makes this a rather fun movie to watch, though I wouldn't call it Leo McCarey's finest movie but that says something more about his qualities than that of this actual movie.

It has a fun typical 1930's genre story and the movie can be seen as a screwball comedy, though its not the best genre example of it, since the movie besides its screwball elements also feature many other, more subtle, comedy styles. It sort is too bad though that the actors obviously had to improvise at times. It gives the movie a sort of a realistic look into how Cary Grant and Irene Dunn worked as actors but it doesn't always provide the movie with some much needed great witty dialog and fine written comedy moments. Sometimes the directing and editing feels like it was done too hasty, with at times as a result an end result that isn't quite what it should had and could had been. Nevertheless Leo McCarey still received an Oscar for his directing of this movie. It was the only Oscar the movie won as well but it was nominated in 5 more categories though, including best picture of the year.

But no I don't want to let this movie sound bad, for it really is a movie which I enjoyed watching. Its characters, its story and its actors simply make sure that this is a movie to enjoy.

8/10


A very important film for Cary Grant. His role as Jerry Warriner in 'The Awful Truth' basically defined the actor Grant that we know today. Before this film, Grant's only films of real note were his supporting performances to that grand old sexpot Mae West in films such as 'She Done Him Wrong' and 'I'm No Angel' and roles opposite 30's female stars Marlene Dietrich in 'Blonde Venus' and Katharine Hepburn in 'Sylvia Scarlett'. Here, Grant comes into his own opposite the incredibly versatile actress Irene Dunne.

In this classic 30's screwball comedy, Grant and Dunne star as Jerry and Lucy Warriner, a married couple who decide to get a divorce after some doubts over each other's faithfulness to the union. Of course, in the tradition of screwball comedy, their suspicions are hilariously jumbled and unfounded.

This film really hits it's stride when Jerry and Lucy go to court to battle over the custody of their scene-stealing little dog Mr Smith. Lucy wins out in this round (with a little cheating), but there is still 60 days until the Warriner's divorce is finalized and havoc, inevitably, must ensue!

Jerry and Lucy do their best to ruin each other's plans for remarriage, each conducting a series of schemes and pranks designed to help banish the other's partner. Jerry and Lucy are clearly meant for each other...but will love win out in the end or will Jerry marry haughty socialite Barbara Vance (Molly Lamont) and Lucy the oil-rich but dumb Dan Leeson (Ralph Bellamy)?

This is Grant and Dunne's first screen pairing together, they would go on to make two more successful films after 'The Awful Truth'. The great thing about the Grant/Dunne team is the feeling of equality. Together, they represent a sophisticated, fun couple who are not afraid to have a laugh at themselves. Indeed, Grant and Dunne seem to be sharing a private joke with each other, that others (particularly the clueless Bellamy character) just don't get. Dunne is the best screen partner for Cary Grant - she doesn't have the beauty of other screwball queen Carole Lombard or the fiery wit of Katharine Hepburn, but she plays off Grant's wacky exuberance perfectly.

A near perfect film with a near perfect script, 'The Awful Truth' is screwball comedy at it's peak, starring two great actors at their best.


In this movie you can see two of the most brilliant actors, Irene Dunne and Cary Grant, who are both the Queen and King of Comedy. Apparently they enjoyed each other's company - which isn't surprising at all, considering that actors tend to favor actors who can keep up with themselves - as Dunne says "But working with Cary Grant was different from working with other actors - he was much more fun! I think we were a successful team because we enjoyed working together tremendously, and that pleasure must have shown through onto the screen," and Grant compliments her with "(Irene) had perfect timing in comedy and was the sweetest-smelling actress I ever worked with."

Dunne indeed has the perfect timing and one of my favorite parts in this movie was the scene where she puts on a double act, pretending to be Grant's sister. She has the ability to go back and forth between distinct characters and does it well, with her own little refreshing touches here and there. I have to say that I consider Irene one of the best comediennes of the 30s, alongside Carole Lombard and Myrna Loy.

Turning to Grant, he is of course one of my favorites, and an excellent actor. He was the steady companion beside Irene and was part of the reason this movie fared so well. He is one of the most natural actors I have ever seen. He can act all he wants and it doesn't seem like he's "acting." I admire performers who can do that, and Grant certainly deserves the reputation he had, and still has.

Overall this movie was fun and entertaining, although I personally think that the movie's success was rather exaggerated, because the story itself isn't all that great. However if you think about the wonderful Grant-Dunne chemistry and their outstanding performances, I guess it's really not that surprising after all.


"The Awful Truth" is, in my opinion, the best screwball comedy from the golden age of Hollywood. Curiously, it's the one example of this comedy genre that doesn't get the attention it deserves. People are quick to mention "Bringing Up Baby" or "It Happened One Night", but both of these films run a distant second and third when compared to "The Awful Truth". The performances of Irene Dunne and Cary Grant are pure classic. They are Lucy and Jerry Wariner, a married couple who decide to divorce when they feel they can no longer trust each other. The judge grants a divorce with a waiting period of 90 days, during which they can't stay out of each other's lives, in part because of their shared custody of Mister Smith, their dog (who classic film fans will recognize as Asta from the Thin Man series). > There are numerous classic screwball moments in this film. Maybe one day this film will get the respect it deserves as the best screwball comedy of all time!


"The Awful Truth" was a ground breaker in terms of some of the conventions that were used in screwball comedies of the thirties. It is one of the first times where the actors were encouraged to ad lib responses, and make comments on top of other characters lines. This may seem a small step forward in Hollywood film history, but think of the influence it may have had on directors such as Robert Altman who was praised for this type of work with "M*A*S*H", thirty years later. Or more immediately with Preston Sturges and "The Palm Beach Story". The natural interplay between characters is essential in this kind of screwball comedy.

The genius here is Leo McCarey, who may be better well known for "Duck Soup" or "Going My Way", but here he trusts his stars, who are all perfect, to take the story and run with it.

Cary Grant is, well, Cary Grant. How many times have we seen this character, and how many times do we wish he were still making movies like this. He is perfect in this role. Irene Dunne is absolutely beautiful and in every measure Grant's equal in terms of performance and comic talent. Ralph Bellamy, again, is the classic foil. The wide-eyed, wide-eared Okie, who's just made it to town. All three are gems.

9 out of 10


This is one of those glamorous Hollywood movies made during the Great Depression, whose two main characters are a rich and gorgeous young couple with not a care in the world, other than the possibility that, upon returning from separate trips, circumstances indicate that they each may have been unfaithful. Consequently, in a mutual fit of self-righteous indignation, they decided on a whim to divorce (normally not a funny plot development, but bear in mind this is one of the best screwball comedies from the 1930s). And divorce they do, but before their divorce is finalized, they have to wait-out a 90-day grace period, and therein lies the magic of the story. For during these 90 days they each begin new, unlikely romances, and at the same time try their best to sabotage the other's new relationship. These attempts are brilliant comedy and they lead to a surprisingly thoughtful ending for such a zany movie.

This movie is possibly my favorite comedy ever. It may be 70 years old, but the humor is not at all out-dated and the performances by the two leads, Cary Grant and Irene Dunne, are superb. Irene Dunne, especially, is in a league of her own in this film, outwitting even Cary Grant and proving exactly why she was considered one of the best comediennes of this era.

The Awful Truth is less-known than some of its contemporary screwball comedies, like Bringing Up Baby and The Philadelphia Story, but I believe that this movie outshines them all.


This is a favorite film, starring Cary Grant and Irene Dunne at their absolute goofy best as a divorced couple who can't admit they still love one another. The comedy is flawless, the dialogue witty, the chemistry great between the two stars.

Cary Grant is handsome, sophisticated, but not above the occasional pratfall. And Dunne is fantastic as his wife. Her ultimate comedy scene comes in the home of Grant's high-class fiancée. Dunne enters, pretending to be his sister. She's total trash. She performs "Gone With the Wind" a tawdry nightclub act shown earlier in the film, where the gimmick is that the "wind" blows up the woman's dress Then she screams, "DON'T ANYBODY LEAVE THE ROOM. I CAN'T FIND MY PURSE." She's hilarious.

One of the top films of the '30s. I think it's a riot.


I thought that the newer movies must have recycled all the jokes from old comedies like these and made these movies insignificant. But the charm that is present in this movie isn't present in most of the newer comedies. The plot itself is very good, and the direction sees to it that the movie doesn't get too serious or unfunny. I especially liked the fact that the movie was short.

Cary Grant is excellent in his role.His acting is so funny, especially his dialog delivery and his facial expressions. He done't overdo it and fits his role perfectly. In fact, he should have received an Oscar nomination at least for best actor. Then there is a charming actress by the name of Irene who too is cast perfectly. The two share a wonderful chemistry that is one of the best that I have seen in movies. The supporting cast is great, especially the neighbor and the old lady.

The direction is great. I especially loved the movie because I was not expecting such a movie in the thirties. It looks much newer, mainly because of the jokes. The ending is great and this movie is too good. 10 out of 10.


The Awful Truth is an old-time humorous-type movie picture what your grandparents like to watch on the old-time movie channel because it takes 'em back some sixty years. Your grandparents aren't loving it 'cause o' some brilliant-type screenplay or some clever-type editing job. They love Cary Grant and Irene Dunne together. I happen to like it for the same reason. Cary Grant and I coulda been buddies. He's a really funny guy, and standing next ta him woulda made me look more handsome than I am. Irene Dunne? If only I could whistle on a freaking keyboard.

The narrative-type story starts off with Cary boy coming back home from one o' those business trips, if ya know the kind I mean, but he finds Irene, his wife, his out someplace. When she gets back, she's got some fresh European music teacher what Cary finds out she spent the night in the country with, after her car, you know, broke down, or so she says. Then, she finds out Cary didn't go on no trip. So they divorce. She starts trying' ta get her mind offa him by getting friendly with some big lug of a hick but then realizes she still loves Cary Grant.

I wouldn't wanna give nothing away 'cause then that'll spoil it for ya and I'm no jerk. But I tell ya, I was rolling on the floor over here, busting' up with laughter and such. Ain't nobody gonna blame Cary Grant for being' in love with Irene Dunne. I mean, she ain't just beautiful. She's a funny broad. And ain't no person gonna blame Irene Dunne for wanting Cary back. I mean, I'm no fruit or nothing, but if I was, in a hypothetical, completely hypothetical-type situation, I would certainly be giving Irene a run for her money, not that I would though 'cause I ain't no fruit. And their dog is a hoot! I wish I could get my mangy mutt to do some o' the stuff the dog in this picture does.

This is one o' my favorite movie pictures. If you ain't seen it, you betta get to it if ya know what's good for you. And if you don't like it, I'll bust ya freaking head open. Cary Grant and Irene Dunne are freaking beautiful together. It's like a match made in Heaven, for Chrissakes.


I saw this film many years ago, when I was first discovering Cary Grant and going through some of his big films, and somehow it never made a big impression on me, and I largely forgot it. So I recently decided to see it again. It was very good, but didn't live up to all the rave reviews you see on this site.

I was perfectly content with the plot (althought it *is* a little odd, more on that later). The cast and performances were just fine. There were definitely some out-loud laughs and funny lines. Just... less of them than I expected. That's really my complaint, I just didn't think this one was as consistently funny as some of the other great screwball comedies of the era. I blame the script. While there are a few great lines, on the whole I think the dialog could've used some punching up. Some scenes just didn't do that much for me, especially when Cary is playing the piano and the dog is "singing". I just found it loud and irritating, and it didn't make sense to me why the other characters were trying to talk over this cacophony rather than either asking for some quiet or just going over to Leeson's apartment (which was only across the hall!) Also, some of the supporting characters could've been used to greater advantage: both the aunt and Leeson's mother had great promise but in the end weren't given that much to do, and as someone else astutely pointed out, the dog just disappears into the aether.

Now about the plot: It really seems very odd to me that we never DO find out what Cary was up to when he was supposed to be in Florida. He's clearly involved in *some* kind of deception. Are we supposed to assume that he was indeed having an affair? That seems both a little harsh and a little out of place, given the rest of the film. The key sticking point between the couple is clearly made out to be his inability to trust her; other than her initial discovery with the orange, she never reproaches him over his shenanigans (whatever they might be) nor does he ever display any contrition over them, which you'd think would be required if he really had been up to serious no good. Moreover, if he *was* having an affair, it leads to some obvious questions: 1) Why not have the affair *in Florida*? Florida is surely a very nice place to fly off to with a lover, and he could clearly afford it. 2) Why not continue with this lover after the divorce? The best he's able to come up with for the first half of the film is Miss Gone-With-The-Wind, who he admits he had just met. Frankly, it just never really seems credible to me that he was having an affair; it seems more likely that he was doing something of a decidedly less naughty character, like big-poker-game-with-the-boys or something. But you'd think that something like that would be revealed to us. Sadly, it looks like the true answer is that the writers had NO IDEA what he was doing not-in-Florida, they just needed to contrive something to help fuel the initial argument that leads to divorce. Which really is just lazy and makes the whole thing unnecessarily contrived.

On the plus side: I think the whole last bedroom scene really works. The film has been successful enough up to this point that we really *want* to see these two finally get together (well, back together), and we're really curious to see just how it's going to happen, and so the film teases and tantalizes us for a while at the end. And I don't think anybody has made a strong enough point of this yet: when Irene is lying there in the bed there, man, she is HOT! Her expression and body language is just so right-on, she's unbelievably alluring. You totally feel how much Cary's character must want to jump her, because you so much want to jump her yourself! (maybe only men (and lesbians) can truly appreciate this. :) )

So, overall, a very good film, but not quite up there with the likes of His Girl Friday or The Philadelphia Story.


In 2004, the loud and politically motivated director Michael Moore made a splash with Fahrenheit 9/11, lambasting the Bush administration and making rude noises about the connections between oil and politics. The lack of academic rigour in his film allowed it to be dismissed as disingenuous, although it created plenty of waves in the minds of the anti-Bush camp, at least. Then in 2005, Stephen Gaghan made Syriana, a tense, well-researched, politically charged drama about the oil industry - which made plenty of sense to those steeped in world politics and economics, without outwardly offending anybody. Now in 2006 two directors in Switzerland make A Crude Awakening - The Oil Crash, a painstaking documentary about the frighteningly central role of oil in our lives. Gelpke has a background in anthropology, economics before working as a news/war reporter and then becoming involved in scientific film-making. McCormack worked in corporate film-making and documentaries but also holds an Honours Degree in Environmental Policy and Management. As you might expect, this film relies not on hearsay or fictionalised evidence, but interviews with notable academics, experts and advisors from across the political, corporate and economic spectrum. The film's official website is awash with official protocols, reports, and other evidence to help you check their sources. It has no discernible political axe to grind. In other words, it's hard to ignore.

Maybe you've read a lot of literature and have made some connections. You know that the globe faces an energy crisis. Yes? Think again. If you thought it was serious, multiply that a hundred-fold and start examining it on your mother's life - or rather that of your children. If you thought there was a connection between oil and foreign policy, good or bad, stop and realise that the underlying mechanics are much deeper than that and go to the root of things you never even dreamed of. Stop, and imagine your cosy world coming to an end.

A Crude Awakening starts off by calling oil 'the excrement of the devil'. That is the first and last piece of rhetoric - the rest is cold examination of evidence; which is perhaps one of the reasons it then has to work so hard to make its rather dry subject interesting . . . I was tired enough to nod off while watching it, but the cold and careful facts started seeping down my neck until I was almost in a state of shock.

Oil and other fossil fuels, compared to human physical labour, is so efficient as to make it look almost free by comparison. If we take away everything around us in our modern world that has not been affected by oil in some way, from food to manufacturing (but particularly transport), there is hardly anything left. Our cities, have consequently been designed and built (unlike most of those in Asia and much of the world, that pre-date the rise of oil) around an almost never-ending supply of cheap oil. There is no 'easy going back.' With Western supplies dwindling, and the main sources being ever more in the hands of rogue or unstable governments, oil, essential to our continued way of life (and a modern way of life that developing countries would emulate), becomes a catalyst and magnet for war. From 1945, the promise of security to Saudi rulers became the exchange currency for the promise of a cheap supply of oil. Ordinary Saudis however have seen a massive drop in their quality of life, which has led to discontent and the attraction of terrorism, especially by migrating to neighbouring countries where there is are bigger power vacuums.

The present lifestyle of the West, according to the range of least-to-most optimistic figures presented in the film, is impossible to maintain. This produces some bleak options. 1) militarise oil - in other words, say to people, if you want to keep your current way of life and present civilisation, be prepared for a lot of wars to secure the oil necessary; or 2) kick oil dependence, which means developing new technology. Although some of the scientists in the film try to be upbeat about never underestimating the human capacity for technology, they mercilessly dissect the present known options to show that, even with the best outcomes, the result would be the tiniest drop in the ocean of what is required.

In the absence of sufficient fossil fuels, they suggest that a world population of the current size would be difficult to maintain. We have an unsustainable lifestyle. Pushed into the corner, do you want to get the bicycle to work - even if it's fifty miles away? Or do you want to say, it's a future generation's problem? Put so starkly, the neo-con solution of 'democratising the Middle East' to ensure oil supplies in a publicly acceptable (or marketable) way, sounds a more realistic me-first solution than many liberals would care to admit . . . How much world poverty and deprivation, not in third world countries but our own, can the we stomach - and how much will our children have to stomach? Would you rather not know? Or do you maybe want to see this film . . .


This is a stunning film that covers the oil question in a way never viewed before. What impressed me was the calm factual reasoning/questioning/answering/reviewing without the emotional drama normally associated with going to the cinema.

This film filled in many gaps, that really made sense to me of what was going on and has been going on for a very long time. It has impressed me so much that I have started going back to review history because of all the questions it has raised for me.

This film puts into perspective and also gives me many answers for the bloodshed carried out in many of the wars of the last century, and continuing into this century. When you have seen it there is a recognition, as when you get news/information/diagnosis that makes you go AH ! That explains it !

For me it was like getting an economic clinical diagnosis - of an economic terminal illness. And these are the reasons why.... And we've ignored all the symptoms...... And all the indicators...... And now with the best will in the world we will probably still have a huge decline, before things can get better, if they ever will......

But - by doing nothing we will have an economic meltdown.

By waking up and taking action - by making sure those in charge take action, we can slow the process and ensure that developing countries need to divert into renewable energy rather than old energy (oil) to achieve their aspirations.

There is a lot that can be done, starting with the reasons why that are portrayed in this film. It is absolutely amazing to see such a film on a big screen - but I must remember that this is real - this is our lives/lifestyles we are watching going up in smoke. While cinema is the vehicle, but this is not a film about make believe - in fact it is doing the opposite of what films are normally about and using itself as a means to get us to believe.

This is my honest reaction so far after having seen this film only once over a week ago. Initially I thought it a bit repetitive, but afterward I was glad as it has made it memorable, to the point that I can't let it drop. I look at everything differently and through a different value system. It really is like you hear of how people re-evaluate after getting a diagnosis of a terminal illness - that is what this film has done for me. I can't wait to get hold of a copy of the DVD.

It is the best film I have ever seen - and the title couldn't have been better !


The most fascinating aspect to A CRUDE AWAKENING is that the film was made not by some left-wing conspiracy theorists with ties to Greenpeace or The World Wildlife Fund, but by two Swiss directors, one (Gelpke) with a background in anthropology, economics, war reporting, and science films, and the other (McCormack) who holds an honors degree in Environmental Policy and Management. These two men know how to make a documentary that looks at both sides of our oil needs and industry while not knocking our addictive behavior towards gasoline. It does lack a few aspects in the end, but holds your attention enough to make the whole watchable.

The focus, as the title suggests, is on our crude oil dependency. We all know oil won't last forever, right? Right? Please tell me you know this. If not, you really need to watch this film. It looks at the boom and bust methodology used in early crude oil finds and how we naively thought (up until the 1970s) that oil/gas would last forever.

The story slashes across socio-economic ground, taking in opinions from specialists in the field to Senators and economists. All of them, without exception, realize that oil isn't going to last much longer. The need to find alternative fuels that are (and here's the key) affordable is on.

The great thing is that these men and women talk about how vital oil and natural gas is to our financial existence, simply because it is so cheap. You just can't find energy this affordable. Fuel cell technology, hydrogen fuels, solar, and many other alternatives are discussed but are exceptionally expensive to produce and market to the general population. No doubt we have a lot of worries coming our way as carbon-based fuels become more and more scarce.

The only lacking aspect in this documentary was that there's very little time given over to these alternative energy methods, and no experts on said same. All of the information comes from experts in the gas industry or those who monitor it. To truly round-out the program I would've liked to have seen specialists in alternative car manufacturing and other items that are undoubtedly headed our way.

Still, this is an insightful documentary to get your hands on. And one to show your kids to get them on-the-ball about what they can do to help decrease our oil addiction.


If you think Hubbert's Peak is some up and coming ski resort, you really need to see this film. Directors Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack have crafted an informative and visually stunning film on the ramifications of Peak Oil. The film delves into the history of the oil age and how once booming oil centers such as Baku, Azerbajian and Maracaibo, Venezuela have morphed into ghost towns once the oil was gone. The manner in which access to oil is driving U.S foreign policy, the ubiquitous nature of oil in modern society, and the lack of scalable efficient alternatives to petroleum are presented for the viewer's consideration. Oh, I forgot to mention the discussion of the concept of Peak Oil: that once aggregate world oil output reaches its maximum peak, subsequent recovery will plateau and then begin a permanent decline. Once this decline commences, all hell will break loose with the world economy. Depending on the experts, this decline could already be under way or it could be 20 years away, but it is generally accepted that it is on the horizon. Gelpke and McCormack seamlessly present interviews with knowledgeable thoughtful proponents of peak oil (e.g. Colin Campbell and Roscoe Bartlett) as well as the occasional demagogue (e.g. Matt Savinar). The effect is to inform (in a very entertaining way) rather than frighten. The visual style of the film is reminiscent of Michael Mann and the Phillip Glass soundtrack is on a par with the best work of Ennio Morricone. If you liked "An Inconvenient Truth", you will be enthralled by this equally important yet superior film.


Those whom the documentary "A Crude Awakening" fails to awaken now, to the fast approaching consequences of peaked oil depletion, at a time of unprecedented, and ever growing demand, just may not be awakeable, or won't likely wake up before it's too late.

Unlike that other much hyped Hollywood liberal misappropriation of the catastrophic global warming issue, to serve the personal needs of one disingenuous politician, "A Crude Awakening" is a Swiss production, that employs a broad range of viewpoints, from 27 scientists and energy experts, who's collective opinions all provide greater credibility to the message.

There's enough information concisely crammed into this one and half hour film for it to be the basis of a full semester's self-directed course of study... perhaps several semesters. In the special features, included on the DVD version, there is an extra chapter on the problems of petrostates, and four extended interviews with the following experts:

Colin Campbell: Oil geologist; consultant to numerous oil companies; and founder of ASPO www.peakoil.net

Matt Simmons: Energy investment analyst; author of "Twilight in the Desert"

Fadhil Chalabi: Former Acting Secretary-General of OPEC; and former Iraqi Oil Minister

David L. Goodstein: Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at the California Institute of Technology

While many viewing this documentary might perceive its realistic appraisal of the demise of cheap and abundant energy as pessimistic, I consider it to be objectively quite optimistic, considering that it did not linger long on the very inconvenient truth that there are over six billion people wanting to have a petroleum based high standard of living, that can't possibly be sustained for much longer, even if there were only two billion people wanting it. "Civilization" has only ever had one answer for that kind of problem. The thin thread that "A Crude Awakening" seems to hang its optimism on is the assumption that if enough people become fully aware of this totally unavoidable event sooner, rather than later, then human ingenuity, combined with a level of human cooperation the world has never before seen, might possibly attenuate the consequences for at least some of those who awaken.


Having just got home from a HotDocs screening, I haven't had a whole lot of time to process all the information this doc throws at you, but my god was it interesting. I won't begin to tell you about the ideas, opinions, and facts that this film brings to the screen, because you should see it for yourself.

My criticism of the film would be in its editing - some places seemed choppy, I'm certain a few of the interviewees were cut-off in the middle of their last word (in the edit, not by the interviewer) but this nitpicking is insignificant when you think about what these people are telling you.

We need more people to see this documentary. But more than that: more people to start talking about the subject to which it is trying to alarm us, and beyond that, to actually take action. Immediately.


This is a movie that people should be forced to see! It is an amazing display of the facts. These are real issues that everyone is going to have to deal with! The problems are not going to be solved by pointing fingers and expecting our governments to mitigate the problem, the problem lies within us as consumers! It is time that we look to our own lives and determine how we can live with far less than we currently do. The people that can grasp this concept will be far better off than those who are stuck in the past. Relocalization, reduction, more efficient use of energy and a serious reduction in consumption are great first starts.

Thanks Basil for the great movie, I look forward to your next film!


Another Alarmist film about the fact that one of the numerous types of the earth's resources is actually finite and one day will run out. The fact remains that long before it happens the market will force a new solution by necessity and until then its no use stressing out about it. Save petrol and do not use a car to travel to hire this DVD.

Seriously it is a great crisis and oil prices are already exponentially rising.

Peak Oil is being reached very rapidly.

The question is will humanity learn to use energy more efficiently and curb overpopulation with contraception and the answer is no.

The Human race is unfortunately doomed to a crisis caused by overpopulation and depleted resources.


Amazing film. I guess we all know that our way of life is based on energy and that energy in large part comes from oil. (A *very* large part) I'm not much for writing reviews, and I'm not very good at it, but what an amazing documentary.

No sledgehammer over the head, just experts in the oil industry and other fields, talking about the upcoming oil 'peak'.

I think we all know how dependent we are on oil, but it takes something like this film to hammer the point home.

Anyhow, enough blather from me, rent, buy or view this film. It is *very* important that people understand this issue.

(I listed this comment as 'may contain spoilers' for those that think there is no oil crunch coming)


I awoke in the middle of the night after watching this movie, and couldn't fall back to sleep as I couldn't take quit thinking about the issues discussed.

Never before have I been afraid that I am too young, and might live to experience the crisis outlined in this film.

It almost makes "An Inconvenient Truth" seem like a Disney movie, as there are zero aspects of our life today that will be untouched by the impact of the disappearance of the worlds oil supply.

This is as a must see film, that needs to have the same level of awareness and concern that has been generated by global warming. The impact to the world, and specifically our nation, appears worse than global warming as we will be challenged to transport food to segments of the population far away from rural farms. It seems that our total economy will revert to an agricultural base rather than industrial and technological.


The fact that a movie on this topic was made is admirable. I found the opening quarter a little rough (editing, footage choice), and had to overlook some exaggerations and oversights. But in terms of weaving a consistent message with data, dialog, music, and both historical and current video - hauntingly amazing. Whether you believe that message or its implications ... well, that's up to you ... and the movie leaves it at that. Although not directly comparable to An Inconvenient Truth, I'm sure viewers who liked one will like the other. If An Inconvenient Truth was about humanity's reach exceeding its grasp, then this movie is about humanity's reach falling short of its presumption.

Sure there are alternatives. I'd watch a video of someone working out the environmental consequences of using coal gas, the political consequences of fighting for oil, or the economic consequences (a measure of ability) of developing nuclear, wind, and solar power. I guess I'd rather believe I have an empty tank and conserve than think I have a full tank and burn - even if the truth is the other way around. I think it makes me a better person for trying, and in my opinion provides a better opportunity to explore the alternatives. Call it inspiration through pessimism. If people continue to burn ridiculous amounts of fuel in a frivolous manner, out of convenience or perhaps poorly planned necessity, shame on us. Since, I'm no better than the average North American on this issue, I'm afraid that this is a lesson we'll all have to learn the hard way.


Its Happening Now, Oil is about to PEAK, Gas $ are up, Stocks are falling Be Prepared.....

If this is the first time you are hearing about Peak Oil, you are among the majority of the population. Peak Oil doesn't mean 'running out of oil', but rather 'running out of cheap and plentiful oil'. Inexpensive oil supports our very way of life, as we know it. It is crucial for our transportation, food production, economy and basically everything that we use on a daily basis.

In his 2006 State Of The Union address, President Bush publicly acknowledged for the first time that we are addicted to oil. Unfortunately, that's only part of the story. Addictions of any kind can result in catastrophe when the supply falls short or the costs rise beyond reach before curing the addiction. You owe it to yourself and future generations to learn more today.

It is time for all Americans to take individual responsibility for our future. Our industrial society, built on cheap and readily available oil, must be completely redesigned and overhauled  immediately. The changes ahead are going to be very difficult; and will be hardest for the ones who didn't, or wouldn't, see it coming, and didn't prepare adequately for it.


This is bleak and uncompromising stuff. Made in a tradition reminiscent of the best Cold War books and productions on nuclear war, an activist, a physicist, a politician and a geologist explain in rational and dispassionate terms the background to the energy crisis we face and, most alarmingly, highlight how totally unprepared we are to adjust to a world where oil is a scant resource, one we will all face in just a few years time. There are no vox pops to add light entertainment, no colourful graphics, no sense of theatre, no narrator to soften the blows of the stark reality in the experts' words. The effect is highly disturbing and makes a movie no-one with a sense of responsibility to the next generation should miss.


This is the hard truth. Not some political statement, but real scientists and oil historians explaining the history of oil and where we are heading. It does not go down easy.

If you think it will last forever, then you would be in the company of Texans, Russians and Venezuelans that thought their fields would last forever and now sit on barren land. There is only so much underground and we know where all of it is.

If you think "Blood for Oil" is just an anti-war slogan, you will be surprised that the major conflicts going on right now - Darfur and Iraq - are about oil, not religion or ethnic issues. You must also be prepared for the fact that we will have continuous war in the future to keep SUVs on the road.

If you think that all the alternatives to oil that have been proposed will solve the problem, then you really need to find out just what we can expect. It will surprise you, I'm sure.

Look at the Amish and how they live. That is our future. If you think otherwise, you really need to put this film in your queue.


You just know that when a supposed 'documentary' begins with the comment "Oil is the excrement of the devil", that it will be an educated, well informed, unemotional and unbiased presentation....yeah right. Please...

This was clearly produced by a bunch of extreme activists on an agenda and is very one-sided. Just more fear mongering...as is the trend today unfortunately. The public is taken for fools once again because of the actual shortage of intelligent people out there. Do we need to start heavily investing in alternative resources? Absolutely, but the situation is not as dire as these clowns claim it to be. It was good for a laugh anyways....

If you enjoyed films like 'Loose Change' and 'An Inconvenient Truth', Then you'll love this little gem.


While this film may seem academically sound and well-researched, it does not once mention what I thought was rather widely regarded as the most practicable alternative to petroleum fuel, the conversion of coal into synthetic fuels using the Fischer-Tropsch process. This process has been around since the 1920s and has been exploited by oil starved nations such as Germany and Japan during the second world war, and by South Africa during Apartheid and after. I understand there are enormous reserves of coal in the United States alone, enough to provide such fuel for the country for at least a century. While more expensive, it cannot currently compete with the use of petroleum, and has therefore not been widely exploited. In this film, however, power from solar, Hydrogen, and wind sources are all dismissed out of hand as impracticable alternatives and cannot, or will not, be developed before we all suddenly starve, freeze, run amok, or whatever they suggest is going to happen in twenty years when oil reserves are suddenly depleted. Yet, there is no mention of a significant technology which is already in place, using a resource in rather great abundance, and whose refinement and improvement is light years from the hopelessness suggested by one of their experts, who likens the challenges we face in surviving the depletion of oil reserves to that of colonizing Pluto in ten years...


Let me first say that I completely agree with the idea of reducing our dependence on oil. Mass transit, alternative energies, and exercise (yes, I ride a bike) are definitely the way of the future and should receive a great amount of funding in the present. And guess what? They Are!

But seriously are you people (the ones that have given this film rave reviews) all nuts? This movie deals with a really interesting subject, but turns it into an incredibly manipulated , highly suspect, piece of political propaganda. The entire premise of this movie rests on the notion that we aren't just going to run out of oil (which is obvious) but we're going to run out of it so suddenly that it's going to cause a worldwide trauma. As if one day there will be oil, and the next  oops! All the wells are dry! Next scene: chaos, murder, war, yada yada yada.

The idea that we might, possibly, run out slowly over a long period of time (maybe 3 or 4 decades?)  allowing nations to CONTINUE switching over to alternative sources of energy doesn't seem to exist. Indeed, one "genius" says that Hydrogen fueled cars won't ever work because the technology might not be fully ready for 30 to 50 years. Why is such a time scale a bad thing? Because this film basically tells us that the world is going to end before then.

Look, I get the point. Oil = bad. But why lie and manipulate facts in order to scare people? It just makes the film seem ridiculous and the creators like left-wing hippies.

Examples? Sure, I have TONS, but I only need one. If you actually watch this POS (which I do recommend, if only to question it and learn how politically motivated movies can be) I'm sure you'll find dozens of other factual inaccuracies

Canada's extraction of oil from oil shale: One guy tells us it must only be happening because of growing desperation. After all, who would go after such an uneconomic source of oil as oil shale if our world supply weren't falling apart? Well, smarty, Canadian companies apparently. Why? Because They Make Money Doing It! Shale excavation actually does turn a profit, especially when oil prices are high (as they would be if/when reserves begin to run out). Oil need only be above $30 a barrel (they're about double that right now) for shale extraction to work on a large scale.

Guess what else? There are (conservatively) 3 trillion barrels of RECOVERABLE oil in shale reserves. What's that mean? 100 years of oil at current usage. Double the usage? Fine, still 50 additional years IF the Middle East were to run out today. Plenty of time to develop those alternative energies that this movie scoffs at (yes, they scoff and scoff often).

Again, I get the need to cut our dependence on oil. And ya know what? So does everyone else. I don't need fear mongers trying to put forth easily debunked theories and manipulated facts in order to sway my vote. If anything, I think I'll go out for a nice long unnecessary drive tonight just to show my displeasure with their movie Congratulations.


So I've never posted one of these User Comments, but I had to write about how much I loved this film. The story centers around the two very strong characters of Andy (Baruchel) and Reuben (Quaid). The entire journey kept me captivated from beginning to end (which is no simple feat after a week of festival fatigue) but nothing prepared me for the ending. I have to say, without exaggeration, this film had one of the most perfect and moving conclusions of any film I've ever seen. I won't give anything away here, but I find myself constantly tearing up and moved at the thought of what happens. Now, almost a day later, I still feel its messages and themes rushing through me. Not only is this ending so great, it will probably make a second viewing of this film an entirely different and even stronger experience. My hats off to the writer and director of this film. Damn good work.


Real Time, the second feature of writer/director Randall Cole (19 Months) made its Canadian debut at the Toronto International Film Festival after being the opening night feature at the Slamdance Festival earlier this year.

Opening with a twitchy, expletive-laden, nervous tirade, Ottawa's Jay Baruchel (Knocked Up, Million Dollar Baby) gives the best performance of his young career as Andy Hayes; a doomed gambling addict bemoaning his constant bad luck.

Pulling up alongside Andy in his big black Town Car is Aussie ex-pat Reuben played by Randy Quaid (The Last Detail, Brokeback Mountain) who gives another in a long career filled with excellent performances. Glancing up at Reuben's car, Andy quickly turns on his heel and walks in the opposite direction down the sidewalk to which Reuben calmly puts the car in reverse. Thus begins a hilarious pas-de-deux between man and car on a grey street in Hamilton.

After a stern invitation, Andy reluctantly gets in the car where we discover that we will be spending much of the last hour and a half of his life with him. Quaid's Reuben quietly explains that he has been given the assignment of killing Andy, but will give him until 3pm to get his affairs in order.

Thus our adventure begins, with director Cole cleverly echoing Hal Ashby's 'The Last Detail' in which Quaid takes on the Nicholson role of guiding his young charge in the last moments before an inevitable fate is to befall him.

Both of these character actors are clearly relishing the freedom afforded them by having lead roles in this excellent comedic drama. Quaid's hit man is kind, thoughtful, and contemplative all the while simmering with potential violence, while occasionally flashing a glimpse of the goofy grin we first saw from him in Peter Bogdanovich's 'The Last Picture Show'. Baruchel brilliantly portrays the sadness all too common in people who choose not to engage beyond the perfunctory with the world at large.

Even as events unfold in real time, there is a surreal timelessness evoked as we glide along dilapidated streets, with Reuben as our guide, while a radio station that will bring a smile to the lips of anyone who has a soft spot for 70s Can Con plays innocently along the way.

With cats (both dead and alive), unspeakable acts on potato salad, a somewhat addled shut-in Grandma (national treasure, Jayne Eastwood) and horizontal urination, there are plenty of laughs throughout; despite the serious subject matter in Real Time.

While the film is full of razor-sharp dialogue, writer/director Cole also allows us space, as we are driven through the beautifully shot ugliness of The Hammer's streets, in which Quaid & Baruchel draw us into their messed up worlds, to this point in time.

This thoughtful film invites us to examine how we choose to spend our time, as Andy contemplates a life that has lead him deep into a thick woods with Reuben's gun at his back

This film will stay with you long after the credits roll. You will be glad you spent these 79 minutes in Real Time.


I recently received a rare opportunity to view this film, and boy am I glad I did. I have never written up a review before, but after seeing this movie I feel like I have to. Just to help get the word out that it exists.

The movie starts out with Andy, a complete and utter gambling addict, walking to the convenience store to buy a lottery ticket because he's feeling lucky. He buys the ticket, loses, and decides to go to the racetrack. On his walk there he is approached by the other main character, Reuben, whom Andy owes a LOT of money. Reuben tells him to get in the car, and proceeds to explain to Andy that he is going to kill him today. However, Andy is a guy that Reuben has always been fond of, so Reuben decides to give him 1 hour to do whatever he wants and come to peace with his life, while staying under Reuben's supervision of course. The rest of the movie is about Andy knowing for a fact that he is about to die and how he deals with it. I won't say any more, but I truly thought it had a beautiful ending.

The movie starts off with a bang, but it does drag for a few minutes in the middle, which is why I knocked off a point. It quickly picks back up though, and the final 15 minutes will have you inches from your TV. I should also note that the movie starts out rather comedic, but the tone rapidly changes to drama. I felt that the trailer didn't really do it justice, as it focused on the comedy part a bit much. In fact, I almost wanna say don't even bother with the trailer.

The movie, as the title suggests, is completely shot in real time. This means that the 73ish minutes that you are sitting there are the exact minutes of Andy's final hour (which is actually slightly over an hour). You see every characters move, every turn of the vehicle, and hear every single word spoken. Fortunately, this is a good thing as the dialogue is excellent, so the car rides on the longer side aren't boring.

After the movie movie ended, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it...which kind of stinks because I don't know anybody else who has seen it and I can't talk about it! So here I am, a couple days later, writing a review in hopes of getting the word of this movie out there.

The story is great, the dialogue is great, the acting is great, and it's a unique approach to film. My bet is that word of this one will catch on real quick and we'll be seeing it in theaters stateside within the year.


2008 has been a stinker for films - it seems nothing has gelled or been original - was Wall.E really the highlight!?!? - so Real Time for me was kind of a nicer way to finish the year.

This is a tiny film - totally focused on the two main characters that just works. The enforcer, in a great turn by Randy Quaid, is there to kill a pathetic gambler, Andy, played by Canadian Jay Baruchel.

What makes this is the conversations, nothing Tarantino-like, but somehow they involve us and make us care.

At only 1 hour and 17 minutes this is short, but very well directed and most of all it is logical, neat, and the performances ring true. Honestly, one of the better films of the year, and I would recommend it as being a refreshing change from some of the garbage we've been served this year.


i watched this and OMG a great movie, a great ending. A sublime movie within a movie after you see it once and the ending you have to watch it again, the first time you see it tells you a whole new movie now that you know, you watch it again and see it from a different perspective.

is a bit slow to start of and there is no action like most Hollywood dumps that are coming out, but if you want to see a great story this film will entertain you.

Hollywood should do more like this VION- Virtual Internet Online Navagitor


i would have voted 15 if possible, randy Q. shows a side of acting i had failed to see, i knew he was a fine character actor, always supporting but he is the mac. Daddy in this excellent film there are so many gems in this film and make no mistake its a gem, follywood dumbs us down so much that movies like this stand out like light in the night. I wont give you details. this film must be seen at least 2 times, like one poster said i am the only one around me that has seen this movie and i cant talk about it, acting by all is top notch. This film shows us that a great film can be made without blowing up a car with massive blood shed, involving armies, and corrupt police, This film touched me i will buy it keep it view it


Jay Baruchel is really been sort of a supporting guy in most of his movies like Tropic Thunder and Knocked Up. On the TV series Undeclared he was the main star, but as for the big screen he hasn't gotten a big break. I will admit that I didn't check this out because of Jay, but really instead because of Randy Quaid. Quaid was the only funny part of the recent Balls Out: Gary the Tennis Coach movie and he had me hysterically laughing throughout Kingpin. All in all he is a pretty funny guy. This movie actually appears in a less comedic way and actually appeals as a drama flick. Even though I found this movie to be a little off I still found it to be pretty interesting and not bad to watch just once. So if you need to kill some time then check this one out.

7/10