Duane Hopwood (2004)

55% of critics liked it
(20 reviews)
56% of users liked it
(4,345 ratings)

A sad sack has to come to term with his own demons after a long run of bad luck in this downbeat comedy drama from writer and director Matt Mulhern. Duane Hopwood (David Schwimmer) lives and works in Atlantic City, where he's a pit boss on the night shift at one of the city's resort hotels, and has… More A sad sack has to come to term with his own demons after a long run of bad luck in this downbeat comedy drama from writer and director Matt Mulhern. Duane Hopwood (David Schwimmer) lives and works in Atlantic City, where he's a pit boss on the night shift at one of the city's resort hotels, and has a wife, Linda (Janeane Garofalo), and two young daughters, Mary (Ramya Pratt) and Kate (Rachel Covey). Duane also has a drinking problem, and while Linda loves him very much, she's begin to wonder if he's still capable of living up to his responsibilities as a father. The final straw comes when Duane gets arrested for drunk driving while Kate is in the car with him; Linda files for divorce, and the court opts not to give Duane visitation rights. With Duane struggling to hold on to his family, he gets more bad news when he loses his job after he's caught giving money to an argumentative customer to shut him up. With only his friends from work to keep him company -- Anthony (Judah Friedlander), a maintenance man who wants to be a comedian, and Gina (Susan Lynch), a kind-hearted bartender -- Duane realizes he's come to a crossroads where he has to get his life back on track before he loses what little he still has left. Duane Hopwood also features supporting performances from Dick Cavett and Jerry Grayson. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 23 min.
Directed By: Matt Mulhern
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Jan 20, 2005 Wide
On DVD: Apr 25, 2006

Critic Reviews

Michael Booth, Denver Post
[A] remarkably accomplished indie movie ...
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News
Visually dreary and not especially illuminating, Duane Hopwood can't quite get where it must have wanted to go.
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
... this downbeat indie drama gives the leads a few excellent scenes together, and they acquit themselves credibly. But there's also a fair amount of wilted comedy from the stock supporting characters ...
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
It's just very authentic, very real. Everything that happens here you believe it.
Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
It's a mixed but basically likable little indie picture.
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.
Robert W. Butler, Kansas City Star
Duane Hopwood digs into the soul of its title character with a patience rarely found in contemporary films.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Schwimmer demonstra uma enorme sensibilidade ao evitar qualquer tipo de exagero ou caricatura ao viver seu personagem alcoólatra, retratando-o como um homem triste e gentil que não enxerga o próprio vício.
Scott Weinberg, DVDTalk.com
A mellow-yet-effective character study that exhibits some real poignancy and delivers a stunningly good performance by Friends star David Schwimmer.
Peter Sobczynski, eFilmCritic.com
Duane Hopwood is a crock from beginning to end.
Scott Tobias, AV Club
[The film is] suffused with hangdog dreariness, equivalent to a unsoled shoe treading rainwater.
Phil Villarreal, Arizona Daily Star
Anthony is as upbeat as Duane is down. The character works so well as a counterpoint, you wish the film would abandon Duane altogether and follow Anthony on his moronic misadventures.
Jeffrey Westhoff, Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
Surprisingly amiable for all its bleak tidings.
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central
Schwimmer's fine, but Duane Hopwood is flat and uninvolving for long stretches.
, Philadelphia Weekly
An unusually memorable picture of one man's bad time.
Dan Gross, Philadelphia Daily News
The movie is understated enough to let the emotional, and sometimes comical, story tell itself, with no over-the-top dialogue, nor worse, overacting.
Peter Hanson, Film Threat
Loaded with unoriginal ideas, weak comedic concepts, and underwhelming emotional climaxes, the movie is the definition of bland.

Read all 17 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

♥˩ƳИИ &

DAVID SCHWIMMER, JANEANE GAROFALO, JUDAH FRIEDLANDER, JOHN KRASINSKI, STEVE SCHIRRIPA 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… More
DAVID SCHWIMMER, JANEANE GAROFALO, JUDAH FRIEDLANDER, JOHN KRASINSKI, STEVE SCHIRRIPA 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 Linda (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. There are a lot of mixed reviews on this movie. I happened to like it. I wouldn't say enjoy, cause the movie is depressing and sad. But David Schwimmer is really, really, really good in this movie. He blew me away with his performance. First movie I have ever seen him in, and I will admit I was afraid I couldn't separate him from his character 'Ross' from the t.v. show 'Friends'. But there was no "Ross" in his performance. He was great. It's a very real, raw, and honest movie. Definitely not your feel good type movie. But one that will have you sympathizing with the characters, or even relating to them. The ending is bitter sweet. This story might touch home for a lot of people. It's a well done movie and I hope more people see it.
Leo L

A good movie.