Looking for Palladin (2008)

22% of critics liked it
(9 reviews)
17% of users liked it
(42 ratings)

Screen legend Ben Gazzara (Husbands, Saint Jack) headlines this gentle, amiable comedy drama. He stars as Jake Palladin, a famed Hollywood actor (and two-time Oscar winner) self-exiled to Guatemala. Jake's life gets shaken up with the arrival of young and conceited Hollywood talent agent Josh Ross… More Screen legend Ben Gazzara (Husbands, Saint Jack) headlines this gentle, amiable comedy drama. He stars as Jake Palladin, a famed Hollywood actor (and two-time Oscar winner) self-exiled to Guatemala. Jake's life gets shaken up with the arrival of young and conceited Hollywood talent agent Josh Ross (David Moscow), who has been shuttled off to Jake's Central American small town to retrieve the aging actor and pull him out of hiding. Unfortunately, locating Jake proves far more difficult than Josh anticipates, and he must rely heavily on the assistance and support of the local community -- which he resents -- to find the great thespian. Though Josh eventually succeeds in locating his man, neither he nor Jake can anticipate the journeys of self-discovery that their encounter will engender, forcing each man to reconfront his long-abandoned past. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 55 min.
Directed By: Andrzej Krakowski
Written By: Andrzej Krakowski
Genres: Comedy

In Theaters: Mar 5, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Mar 22, 2011
Studio: Monterey Media

Critic Reviews

Rex Reed, New York Observer
A small movie with a big, big actor.
Michael Ordoña, Los Angeles Times
Looking for Palladin meanders around Antigua (Guatemala) at a leisurely gait and enjoys the presence of Ben Gazzara in its central role. That's about all there is to find, however.
V.A. Musetto, New York Post
Looking for Palladin has a split personality. It starts as a comedy but morphs into an icky family melodrama. It should have stuck with the yuks.
Stephen Holden, New York Times
A semicoherent, overacted mélange of travelogue, farce and suds
Nicolas Rapold, Village Voice
Requiring cuts, some sense of direction, and dialogue that doesn't either declare or dither, the film looks like it was fun to make.
Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru
Suffers from an unfunny, unmoving, stilted and often meandering screenplay which can't be saved by Ben Gazzara's engaging and charismatic performance.
Doris Toumarkine, Film Journal International
The unsubtle approach to a lead character--a crude, motormouth Hollywood talent agent--sinks this otherwise often watchable comedic drama about a show-biz fish out of water in quaintest Guatemala.
Aaron Hillis, Time Out New York
We've seen enough movies to know Joshua will stop being a jerk after he learns the true meaning of Christmas, but it's almost impossible to disparage such genuine warmth.
Diego Costa, Slant Magazine
Apart from Gazzara's brilliant, effortless performance, everything is a little cartoonish in Looking for Palladin.