Dice Rules (1991 film)
Dice Rules is a 1991 American stand-up comedy film starring Andrew Dice Clay and directed by Jay Dubin. Plot. The film begins with a half-hour narrative short titled "A Day in the Life" with Andrew Dice Clay playing a fictionalized version of himself. After the short, the rest of the movie consists of footage from his shows at Madison Square Garden. Production. Originally intended to be released by 20th Century Fox on August 31, 1990, in July of that year Fox made the decision to indefinitely delay release of the then unnamed "Andrew Dice  Clay concert film". Reportedly executives at Fox were positioning Clay as a leading man with projects such as The Adventures of Ford Fairlane seeking to distance Clay from his "Diceman" persona. Then Fox distribution chief, Tom Sherak, iterated that Clay’s two-night engagement at Madison Square Garden was filmed without any definite plans for a theatrical release, and emphasized the studio’s opposition to issuing pictures rated NC-17. The cancellation of the film's theatrical release by Fox was praised by the National Organization for Women, a frequent critic group of Clay's material. Clay was reportedly angered by  Fox's decision not to release his concert film, voicing his regret at associating with the studio. The film was eventually picked up for distribution through Carolco Pictures for release through the company's Seven Arts label shared with New Line Cinema. Alan Friedberg, then chairman of Loews Theaters,refused to exhibit the film citing Clay's material related to women, ethnic groups, homosexuals, and the disabled. Other theater chains soon followed suit including American Multi-Cinema, Famous Players, and Edwards Theatres. Cineplex Odeon, National Amusements, and United Artists Theaters agreed to showcase the film, but were consider more niche  Art House syndicates. Reception. Dice Rules received aggressively negative reviews with an aggregate score of 7% on Rotten Tomatoes from 14 critics. Roger Ebert said of the film: "Andrew Dice Clay comes billed as a comedian, but does not get one laugh from me in the 87 minutes of this film". He also reviewed it with Gene Siskel, each giving it a thumbs down.