10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
PAY ATTENTION!!, February 26, 2008
This is truly a thought provoking movie that you need to PAY ATTENTION TO....think about it...he goes to a class to learn how to write his "Journal" and he really dos not know WHO he really is...just WHAT he is..his job, his possessions,etc...he starts thinking about his life, and he realizes that all the people surrounding him..at work,etc...are the same way..no ethics,no morality,no compassion,just concerned about making the big bucks regardless of having to lie,cheat,etc to get that...Going to the class makes Ben start thinking about what IS really important in life. WATCH IT . GREAT MOVIE !!
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A typical Affleck heart string yanker!, March 13, 2007
Affleck seems to be in just about every film under the sun nowadays. I felt like this show was somewhat similar to the film "Bounce" that he co-starred in with Gwyneth Paltrow. This film tries showing a go getter in a corporate environment whose life is falling apart around him. Rebecca Romjin co-stars as his wife Nina, and her character adds a lot to the drama, which also includes a journal belonging to Jack (Affleck) being stolen and used against him. Many great actors and this story was somewhat interesting, but in the end it is just one of those campy films you could enjoy on a Sunday afternoon.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Man About Town's Ben Affleck, April 15, 2008
The running joke on the 'Mallrats' DVD commentary was that not even another Ben Affleck flop like 'Phantoms' would dare list 'Mallrats' on the back of its case for fear of being associated with the Kevin Smith film. 'Man About Town' can safely take the distinction of being the worst Ben Affleck movie that nobody should ever want to be associated with. This film is so bad it makes other Affleck flops like 'Paycheck' and 'Gigli' look like 'Good Will Hunting' by comparison. Among this film's numerous crimes is the utter wasting of a talented cast that includes Rebecca Romijn, John Cleese, Jerry O' Connell, Gina Gershon, Bai Ling and Kal Penn. Writer/director Mike Binder, who appears as Affleck's friend in the film, is a much better actor than director. He gives himelf the only real laugh in the movie after he grabs a fire extinguisher and goes after an actor who has stormed into his office to complain about some insignificant detail.
Jack (Affleck), a once successful agent, is devastated to learn that one of his only clients, a T.V writer (Adam Goldberg), is sleeping with his wife (Romijn). His other client, a self centered actor (O'Connell) is ready to fire him and seek new representation. Jack's partners (Gershon, Penn and Binder) want him to put aside his personal feelings and keep the writer as a client since their business is going under. To help sort out his feelings, Jack takes a journal writing class presided over by a snooty professor (Cleese). At first Jack isn't sure what he's trying to write about and it takes him the whole movie to realize he's trying to figure out what went wrong with his marriage. He wants to find out who he really is and how his childhood with an abusive dad, who he's now caring for, affected him growing up. Enlightened Jack comes to the life changing revelation that he's imperfect. But before Jack can sort all this out his journal is stolen by a fellow student (Ling). She plans on releasing all of Jack's true feelings about his rich clients to the media unless he pays up. Her motive has as much to do with money as pride - Jack refused 12 of her screenplays over the years.
The most painful moment in this film involves Affleck, after getting his two front teeth knocked out, wearing blindingly white buck teeth and doing his best Tom Cruise impression. There's also a charmingly racist scene later in the film that finds Jack and his office mates, who all take kung fu classes together, squaring off in an alley against Ling and her family (who not surprisingly run a Chinese restaurant). This film is shockingly bad. The only thing not shocking is that it was dumped on DVD. This is Affleck at his absolute worst. You actually feel embarrassed for him as you watch him ham it up in painfully unfunny scene after scene. The DVD extras are for masochists only. There's 11 more excruciating minutes of Deleted Scenes, 3 featurettes and a humorless gag reel. Surprisingly the featurettes don't include appearances from Affleck or director Mike Binder. At least they had the good sense to sit those out.
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