Bill Buell, David Schwimmer, Dick Cavett

David Schwimmer stars as Duane Hopwood, a down-on-his-luck divorced father who works the night shift as a pit boss at Caesars Palace in Atlantic City. Heartsick about the demise of his marriage to Lin...( read more  read more... )da (Janeane Garofolo), Duane does nothing much in his daily life but work and drink. When his visitation rights are threatened after he's caught driving while intoxicated with his daughter in the backseat, Duane confronts the realization that the time has come to get his life back on track before he loses everything.

Flixster Users

58% liked it

475 ratings

Critics

53% liked it

19 critics

R, 1 hr. 31 min.

Directed by: Matt Mulhern

Release Date: December 31, 2004

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DVD Release Date: April 25, 2006

Stats: 159 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (159)


  • April 12, 2007
    A good movie.
  • October 21, 2009
    If your having trouble sleeping then watch this movie
  • October 14, 2009
    4 stars for David Schwimmer for givnig a phenomenal performance and proving to me that he will not come off "Ross-like" in other roles. Half a star for using a Ben Folds song in the soundtrack.
  • January 24, 2009
    just ok for "bummer theater"
  • January 19, 2009
    This has to be one of the most depressing little movies I've ever seen. And yet nothing seemed to come of it. The first half is a nice portrayal of this guy's "loser" life, but then it just stops and meanders for another fifty minutes. It appeared to try to be manufacturing some ...( read more)sort of "happy ending" at the conclusion of the film, but this happy ending was all a lie because in reality, nothing had been solved and only one thing had even been in the slightest resolved. The subject of Duane's drinking habit is tossed to the side an hour into the movie, although that first hour kept promising us this was a major issue. Apparently not THAT major.

    I will say, however, that David Schwimmer was remarkably good in this. I haven't seen him in much else apart from Friends, where he played Ross, a character who was forced to be constantly depressed because the writers kept toying with and then destroying his love life for ten seasons. But while his suffering there was comic, Schwimmer makes an elegant transition here to portraying real suffering, real denial, real pain, without the audience being able to laugh at him. Kudos to him. I was going to give this movie just 2.5 stars, but his unexpectedly great performance earns another half a star.
  • January 6, 2009
    Not a masterpiece, but it was well directed, there's this really cool soundtrack and David Schwimmer gives an incredible performance as... well, not Ross!
  • January 5, 2009
    Plot appears to be interesting enough so could be worth checking out at some point, plus it would be kinda nice to see David Schwimmer in something else other than Friends.
  • December 28, 2008
    A nice family sad movie...a bit slow..I did not like the acting
  • June 28, 2008
    Just an overall downer of a film. I'll never live in Atlantic City. D.Schwim did a credible job as a drunk. I've seen drunks and his depiction was farirly accurate.

    I definitely enjoyed Judah Friedlander as an aspiring stand up comic.
  • May 9, 2008
    i just cannot watch anything with schwimmer, and take it seriously.

Critic Reviews


November 17, 2005
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The movie is a wise and realistic portrait of the disease, showing the drunk not as a colorful or tragic character, but simply as a sad man whose days occasionally contain moments of joy and hope. full review

November 10, 2005
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

A fairly dreadful melodrama drenched in self-pity. full review

View more Duane Hopwood reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • Clemontine
    July 18, 2007
    I havent seen this movie, but Janeane Garofalo seems to look surprisingly good.
  • soadrocks125
    July 1, 2007
    Very good movie. Enjoyed the comic elements as well as the drama and realistic tragedy.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

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