State and Main

After seeing this, I read that this was supposed to be in the style of a Preston Sturges comedy, information that truly shocked me. I'll take on faith that Mamet has even seen a Preston Sturges film, but he clearly learned nothing--or didn't understand what he saw... there's none of the lightness and none of the manic quality. I kept wanting better material for the able cast to work with, though William H. Macy made the most of every single line, and Philip Seymour Hoffman is always a joy.

A great cast but still this movie is the epitome of OK. Nothing really grabbed me either good or bad.

Mildly funny but mostly shitty. I hate the way David Mamet thinks people speak. Every conversation sounds like David Mamet talking to himself, with the possible exception of Hoffman's. Take a working class aphorism, say it as a declarative sentence, then have another character repeat a portion of the aphorism, with a question tacked on. Congratulations, you speak Mamet. Speaking Mamet, is that what we're doing?

One of the most average movies I've ever seen. Nothing particularly stunning about it and nothing particularly horrible about it either, besides Sarah Jessica Parker who never ceases to amaze me with how awful she is at acting. It's also like they took the outtakes from Magnolia and used it as a score. Mamet continues to prove to be a mixed bag - sometimes great, sometimes terrible, sometimes average.

I would only deal drugs if I was for sure going to make some kid lose a mother.

Normally, I like a movie that has a bit of a payoff with something said or done in the beginning coming full circle as something more meaningful at the end. Here, that's turned on its head, as almost every line seems like a non sequitur when first said -- and, no surprise, it's said again in the end. It's too meta, making fun of that convention. Quirky humor (favorite: the pothole) but very few outright laughs.

Pretty mediocre and unnoteworthy, except for the gross and extremely dated ways it handles 1: a movie star sleeping with underage girls (it's just his quirky eccentricity!) 2: an actor refusing to do a nude scene (what's wrong with her?! She's ruining the movie!). Some of the performances are quite good, especially Philip Seymour Hoffman, of course, who again completely transforms and goes far above and beyond what the material calls for, but the script and direction are just too mundane to care

really bad

David Mamet also being a playwright, it's surprising that this wasn't adapted from a play, because it's stagier than any of the adaptations I've seen from his plays. Every scene has 3 characters on average and everybody's cue to move stage right/left and say their line is blatantly transparent. It's a mildly amusing comedy with a nice cast, but nothing to distract from how mechanical it all is.

Mixed themes on morality but I did recognize the Boston Commuter Rail so that was nice

This is so adorable. Quirky little small town indie flick. Realistic portrayal of people's everyday strangeness. Love it.

Viewed February 11, 2021.

I didn't get it.

Funny little movie about making movies. Very strong cast, and good pacing.

There's fun to be had here with this behind-the-scenes story and its restricted time and location setting, though the film's probably a bit too light-hearted with its humour and story. The cynical movie-set satire works usually in the one-liners, but some of the story points are either ridiculous, predictable, or unimpactful. A breezy easy watch, but I expected more of a punch from Mamet.

Its ighthearted cheer in dealing with possibly the vilest aspects of Hollywood may either be meta or simply just callous, but in either case it explains the whole Polanski case very well. A thoroughly unpleasant experience.

It might just be the cast (hey there Matt Malloy), but apparently Mamet doing comedy comes off sort of like Hal Hartley-lite with a bit of Coen Brothers-style condescension thrown in. Some of it actually works perfectly, and it's at least consistently enjoyable even if it ultimately gets kind of earnest and sappy (thankfully, Mamet limits his usual macho histrionics mostly to one character). If nothing else, i found it incredibly bittersweet to see Hoffman play a nebbishy romantic lead for once.

77.000

State and Main offers plenty of wit and laughs in its lampoons of the movie industry.

Another Mamet film (this one comparatively light) on truth-as-produced and the corrosive power of capital and celebrity in spectacular America. Comedic highlight occurs when a bit player utters the throwaway line, "I didn't know it was illegal."

80.375

The script follows her suit: random turns of events try to add a zany edge to the film, but it just ends up overlong and ridiculous.

Nothing special here. Not terrible but certiainly doesn't excite like a Mamet movie with a decent cast should.

Somewhat funny but not hilarious by any means.

A nice little David Mamet film.

i thought this was much better that i had anticpated it to be

Really funny.

On the surface, it may seem normal. Soon you realize, however, that all the characters speak only the way David Mamet characters speak; even the smallest of parts have been taken over this way, with the ruthlessness of any alien bodysnatcher. The PrestonSturges-ish material fails sometimes, but mainly this is a funny and entertaining movie

Luckily, it is now possible to pause the image and read the back of the book version of the protagonist's play when he picks it up in the bookstore. I was glad I did.

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I very much enjoy what Mamet is doing here. So many of his other movies are these tightly constructed, "folding in on themselves" boxes. This, while tightly constructed, opens out into a space where the joke is the thing and mystery (what did happen in 1975?) is embraced. That there's real heart at the center of this (PSH and Pidgeon) makes this just that much more enjoyable.

funny mamet film with terrific cast

Has moments & is trying really hard to be a good movie. The lines are so overwritten & stiff that everything sorta sits there on the plate saying its clever instead of actually being clever or interesting. Has an alternative feel. Cute girl in romantic lead & cast by some of my favorite casters.

Very smart comedy.

Probably David Mamet's worst film.

A great satire with a lot of heart.

Mamet's dialogue and quirkiness doesn't really work here. It certainly has its moments, but overall it's pretty average.