Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (2009)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Jim H

  
  A woman interviews men about their relationships with women and feminism. Throughout most of the first act of <i>Brief Interviews with Hideous Men</I> I had no idea where it was going, and worse, I didn't care. Julianne Nicholson acted like Julianne Nicholson usually… More
  A woman interviews men about their relationships with women and feminism. Throughout most of the first act of <i>Brief Interviews with Hideous Men</I> I had no idea where it was going, and worse, I didn't care. Julianne Nicholson acted like Julianne Nicholson usually does - awkward and lost, drawn to expectation and thwarted by disappointment. And the stories in the first act were banal in the way one might expect - creepy in some cases, but overall, not extraordinary. Then, at the beginning of what should have been the second act (this film's structure is strange because it seemed like they skipped act two), there is a story about a man whose father worked as a bathroom attendant to support his family. John Krasinski's direction allows the older son to confront his younger father about his sacrifices, and the result is touching and compelling. The film takes off from there, the stories getting more and more interesting and the protagonist's goal more and more clear. Krasinski's final monologue proves him to be a strong dramatic actor. However, I did think that the dialogue, much of which must have been copied out of David Foster Wallace's book, seemed like it was written by an actor who wanted the opportunity to read what he read in public, not the result of a conscious dramatic choice. Overall, I liked the last half of this film even though it's a true "actors movie."

• Megan S

  
  Boring.

• _kelly .

  
  It's quite simple really: I love it when a play is adapted to screen and maintains its stage-intended qualities. I usually loathe a multiplot; they are just too simple a trick. But in this this instance, it's not just a gimmick to garner awards, it's a conscious… More
  It's quite simple really: I love it when a play is adapted to screen and maintains its stage-intended qualities. I usually loathe a multiplot; they are just too simple a trick. But in this this instance, it's not just a gimmick to garner awards, it's a conscious decision that creates the disjointed nature of the overall piece. In other words, the multiplot approach serves this film and its themes very well. I can see many loathing it and viewing it as a waste of time, but I was reeled into these confessions and these candid stories these men tell. Really, there is no central story, and the "main character" is utterly flat and ultimately unlikable, but I really did not care because I was too entranced by the language and its delivery.

• Walter M

  
  In "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men," Sara(Julianne Nicholson), a graduate student, interviews various men about their sex lives for her thesis, even secretly taping a couple of them(Christopher Meloni & Denis O'Hare) talking about sexually harassing a woman(Lorri… More
  In "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men," Sara(Julianne Nicholson), a graduate student, interviews various men about their sex lives for her thesis, even secretly taping a couple of them(Christopher Meloni & Denis O'Hare) talking about sexually harassing a woman(Lorri Bagley) at an airport. And that's kind of the level of discourse she has to listen to, day in and day out. Added to that, as a woman, she is expected to be in a relationship with a man, hopefully not like her subjects but maybe like the one(Will Arnett) who is locked out of his apartment.(Or to take a more extreme example: In an early episode of "Homicide: Life on the Streets," Detective Kay Howard(Melissa Leo) confides to a therapist about her conflicting feelings about men, after, as a homicide detective, seeing the worst they have to offer.) Newly single, people comment on Sara's wardrobe and her haircut and her professor(Timothy Hutton) suggests she should be more sociable. As intriguing as this might sound and despite incredibly and inventively realizing the cinematic potential in such material, the movie sadly never quite goes beyond the conceptual level. And I think a lot of that has to do with never hearing Sara's questions to hear what she is so curious about, so she sadly remains little more than a cipher. Like "The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy" points out, sometimes the questions are just as important as the answers.

• Jeff T

  
  Dear John Krasinski: You are a talented and charming actor. I love your work on TV and have started to believe you might be a movie star too. So I have to ask you something. Why must you also be good as a writer and director? It seems unfair, to say the least. You have adapted… More
  Dear John Krasinski: You are a talented and charming actor. I love your work on TV and have started to believe you might be a movie star too. So I have to ask you something. Why must you also be good as a writer and director? It seems unfair, to say the least. You have adapted the unadaptable novel/essay collection/whatever by the much-missed David Foster Wallace with so much grace, humor and intellect that it makes me want to punch you in the nose a little. It helps a bit that the last 10 minutes of your film don't quite hit the mark, in the end feeling more literary than dramatic, but it only helps a little. I think you're probably going to make a great movie, because you've already made a very, very good one. When you finally do that, I may have to stop speaking to you. Sincerely, Jeff

• Christopher H

  
  The film was overall alright. I was on the brink of laughing with Will Arnett, Will Forte, and a few other interviews, but was ultimately unimpressed by it all. The only interview I invested in was the airplane story and I am not even sure why... Ben Gibbard's (Death Cab For… More
  The film was overall alright. I was on the brink of laughing with Will Arnett, Will Forte, and a few other interviews, but was ultimately unimpressed by it all. The only interview I invested in was the airplane story and I am not even sure why... Ben Gibbard's (Death Cab For Cutie) was a pleasant surprise. Overall, my contempt for John Kransinski continues (not a fan of The Office... at all).

• Philip P

  
  I like Mr. Krasinski very much, he is an appealing guy who seems to have a very intellectual head on his shoulders. This film was made out of the love he had for David Foster Wallace's short story that he read in college. This is an easy fascination to understand, I have been… More
  I like Mr. Krasinski very much, he is an appealing guy who seems to have a very intellectual head on his shoulders. This film was made out of the love he had for David Foster Wallace's short story that he read in college. This is an easy fascination to understand, I have been assigned many stories that I thought would make great films and so I applaud the director for being able to accomplish something I have such an affection for. That said, the style of Krasinski's directing here is quite simple. I say that in hopes that he intended it to be that way. The camera is very static most of the time and only ever so often do we get a moving camera. Most of the time it simply stys focused on the actor giving his highly intelligent and well though out monologue. There are some interesting points here and the concept is inspiring and gets credit for being different. The parade of actors all seem to be doing their friend a favor with no one person getting too involved in the process. Even when Krasinski himself drops in to give his speech it is quite brief and then the film is over. Some of the introspective interviews are more impressive than others, most notably, Frankie Faison's, but this kind of revolving door of stories never allows the audience to connect with one story or character. This connection is supposed to be supplied by the lone female in the film, the one conducting these interviews, but she is never really developed as a character. She is only present to be the object that allows all these smart, funny and interesting things being said to somehow connect and form a story. In the end, this ends up feeling more like an academic paper than a film. It gives us a main idea and plenty of examples to support the point its trying to make and while it is sometimes mildly entertaining, it never feels like we're watching this for the heck of watching a movie. We're watching it to feel more intelligent and listen to intelligent folk spout their ideas of women and the world.

• matt s

  
  I'm very much into watching actors just spew monologues. Some of this is very emo. It doesn't get any worse than watching the guy from Death Cab for Cutie fumble around. But there are some great performances in here?Frankie Faison, Christopher Meloni, even the kid who… More
  I'm very much into watching actors just spew monologues. Some of this is very emo. It doesn't get any worse than watching the guy from Death Cab for Cutie fumble around. But there are some great performances in here?Frankie Faison, Christopher Meloni, even the kid who writes the paper?all prove they're great at providing key emotions into these words. The film grew on me while I watched it, and it crescendoes into Krasinski's moment on the screen, which is pretty damn good. It's flawed for sure, but worth a watch. Here's to Krasinski's budding career.

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