State and Main

Pros: William H. Macy is the bucket of glue that keeps this thing together.
Cons: I was conned by the promising cast - does that count?

When I view a film (or watch a movie) I want to be challenged or inspired... or at least have something to show for my investment of time and electricity when the bombs stop dropping and the lips stop moving. At the conclusion, the worst thing ...

Pros: rare excellent writing and comedy direction
Cons: the women seem so two-dimensional

Clever, quotable, and funny David Mamet's dialogue is loved by performers because of its literate substance. "State and Main" like "Day for Night" is a look on the inside of the very crazy business of putting together a film and there are some real ...

Pros: Wise, funny, charming
Cons: Predictable

"State And Main" is yet another sign of proof that if David Mamet has a hand in writing a film, he should direct it. When his only task of the film is the writing, we often can't really see his talent (though films like "The Verdict" and "Wag The Dog"...

Pros: Sharp, witty dialog. Great characters. Great story.
Cons: A few noticeable continuity errors.

What is funny?

Well, if you were to ask me that question, the last person that would come to my mind is David Mamet. Normally, I am not a big fan of his films. He has proven that he can write sharp dialog, but I don't enjoy his films very...

Pros: Well directed, well written and great acting and Funny
Cons: may be too "insider" for casual fans of movies who'd rather see cars explode

"State and Main" is a film about the adventures of making a movie in a small Vermont town. The movie being made is "The Old Mill" and Waterford, Vt. is chosen because it has an old mill. Or had an old mill. The mill burned down in 1960 and this causes...

Pros: Great cast
Cons: Not laugh out loud funny as you would expect

State and Main is a comedy from David Mamet, a well known and well respected filmmaker. Some of his writing credits include Glengarry Glenn Ross, Hoffa, Wag the Dog, and the Hannibal screenplay. He occasionally directs his own films, and State and Main...

Pros: Characters, Dialogue, Sarah Jessica Parker
Cons: Some plot aspects

State and Main is an interesting look at small-town values and Hollywood immorality, and how they clash when they are thrust together. It seemed to me that it rang true, but I can’t be sure. Having only ever lived first in a large suburban town...

Pros: Great characters, Easy-going attitude, Intelligent humor
Cons: A bit slow in parts, A couple of subplots are taken too far

State and Main is an easy-going little yarn; a movie so satisfied with itself, its characters, and its dialogue that it’s content to please us just by sitting there and smugly smiling, rather than jumping up and trying to surprise us. Playing...

Pros: Bill Macy and Philip Seymour Hoffman, dialogue at times
Cons: nearly everyone else, essential banality of the premise

If you have to watch a movie that everyone says is a comedy, I suppose you could pick this one from the list. No one dies in the film , boy gets girl, and sooner or later nearly everyone does the RIGHT THING...for the wrong reasons. It is not the raucous...

Pros: Verbal comedic dexterity, superb ensemble acting
Cons: Mamet's still a bit artificial and self-conscious as a director and inept at physical comedy

In this part satire, part screwball comedy, writer/director David Mamet explores what happens when a Hollywood movie crew invades the quaint New England town of Waterford, Vermont.

The story revolves around an idealistic, insecure...

Pros: Extremely funny; well written; great cast.
Cons: Damn screenwriter character! Waste of cinematography talent.

The first movie written by David Mamet I saw was Wag the Dog, and I loved it. Maybe I was a little biased because I admired the actors in it immensely, but Wag the Dog was also the first movie that made me realize what a great screenplay could do...

Pros: Funny, Decent characters, Good acting
Cons: Hits some of the jokes a few too many times.

Every now and then, I find myself watching a movie I am convinced I saw, but never got around to reviewing. Before I recently watched "State And Main" with my fiance and family, for example, I was sure I had seen it. I knew what it was about, after ...

Pros: Excellent satire with a good script, Outstanding ensemble acting with a great cast
Cons: Too wordy for some audiences

Prolific writer David Mamet has written some 30 screenplays during the past 20 years, many of them serious pieces about life's losers and con men, though Wag the Dog certainly contained a great deal of sarcastic humor. The lighthearted...

Pros: A top-notch cast
Cons: A weak screenplay and uninspired filmmaking

David Mamet may be the foremost social critic of our times. Whether laying contemporary sexual mores bare in OLEANNA or the ruins of the American Dream in GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS, Mamet's view of modern life is often brutally honest, hitting closer to home...

Pros: witty, clever, well acted, wonderfully paced. A gem
Cons: Hurried finale' and a lack of consequence for an act of vandalism

David Mamet's new film finds him delivering a film in the spirit of Preston Sturges. I hope your familiar with Sturges' best films like Sullivan's Travels, The Palm Beach Story and Unfaithfully Yours. They remain among the finest film comedies ever...