By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 1.25 cats
Director: Bart Freundlich
Starring: Billy Crudup | David Duchovny | Ellen Barkin | Glenn Fitzgerald | Julianne Moore | Maggie Gyllenhaal
Country: united_states
Year: 2006
Running time: 103
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427968/
Michael says: “If only a cast a movie made. During his introduction to the film, Fruendlich, who has made a great film (THE
MYTH OF FINGERPRINTS) and a good film (WORLD TRAVELLER) said that TRUST THE MAN was his gift to audiences because it requires no thought. Yes, he actually said that. Going for broad comedy, Fruendlich focuses on two couples, stay-at-home dad Tom (Duchovny) and his successful actress wife Rebecca (Moore); and Rebecca’s brother Tobey (Crudup) a ne’er
do well sports writer, and budding children’s illustrator Elaine (Gyllenhaal). The men cheat on their wives and generally act like boors, while the women wonder why their men are such schlubs. Ellen Barkin and Glenn Fitzgerald put in brief supporting turns that are bold and embarrassing respectively. While it’s fun to see the super-talented Moore do comedy (she has some great slapstick moments), and Gyllnehaal is always superb, this is an embarrassing misstep for Freundlich. 1 ½ cats”
Chris says: “But don’t trust indie filmmakers who think the best way to court the mainstream is to retain all the pretty faces of their earlier features and then place them in a tableau where the audience never needs to do something pesky like thinking. The sad thing is that the cast here (David Duchovny, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Billy Crudup, and the director’s paramour, Julianne Moore) is fine, but the waspy Woody Allen-ish screenplay would’ve seemed stale a decade ago. You can just imagine how tired and clichéd and stoopid it feels now. (and still, Fox Searchlight paid $8 million to acquire this drivel!) 1 cat”