Product Details

• Actors: Luke Wilson, Giovanni Ribisi
• Directors: George Gallo
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Paramount Pictures
• DVD Release Date: February 8, 2011
• Run Time: 112 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (107 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B003Q6D200
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #109,788 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Middle Men" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Middle Men argues pretty convincingly that Internet commerce wouldn't be possible without porn. Two cocaine-driven would-be pornographers named Wayne (Giovanni Ribisi, Avatar) and Buck (Gabriel Macht, The Spirit) invented the credit card protocol that makes buying over the Internet possible--and then came close to capsizing from their own indulgences and some bad decisions involving Russian mobsters. That's where Jack Harris (Luke Wilson, The Royal Tenenbaums) came in. Harris is simply a levelheaded guy who can see solutions where others only see problems--and he sees the potential to make more money than even Buck and Wayne had dreamed. What's most surprising about Middle Men is how a movie based on a true story featuring porn stars and Russian gangsters has turned out a bit bland--particularly since it's written and directed by George Gallo, who wrote one of the most character-rich screenplays ever, Midnight Run. Of course, as one of the movie's producers is the man on whom Jack Harris is based, it was unlikely that Harris would be depicted as anything but a fundamentally decent guy who lost his way for a while. Despite this, Middle Men features an abundance of entertaining supporting performances (Kelsey Grammer, James Caan, Kevin Pollack, and Robert Forster make pungent appearances) and many of the true-to-life twists are startling. Above all, Rade Serbedzija (Before the Rain) gives the movie a jolt of pure menace as the Russian mob boss. --Bret Fetzer

Product Description

In 1995, everyone had a VCR, music was sold in record stores, and the world wide web was a newfound discovery. Businessman Jack Harris (Luke Wilson) had the perfect life - a beautiful family and a successful career fixing problem companies. Then he met Wayne Beering (Giovanni Ribisi) and Buck Dolby (Gabriel Macht), two genius but troubled men, who had invented the way adult entertainment is sold over the internet. When Jack agrees to help steer their business, he soon finds himself caught between a 23-year-old porn star and the FBI, all the while becoming one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs of his time. Witness a story so outrageous, you won't believe it's true. A story that proves business is a lot like sex: getting in is easy, pulling out is hard.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 52 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The Internet is for Porn August 9, 2010

By Chris Pandolfi

Format:DVD

A section in the end credits for "Middle Men" asserts that, although it was inspired by a true story, the film is, in fact, a work of fiction. I've tended to find this annoying, especially in relation to horror movies. In the case of "Middle Men," however, the assertion fascinates me, for Christopher Mallick, the film's producer, has claimed that much of what we see - 80%, apparently - is based on his own experiences. A former chief executive of Paycom, the Texas-born entrepreneur was a key player in bringing the adult entertainment industry to the internet, pioneering the technology that makes online purchases, especially monthly memberships to porn sites, easy and secure. In essence, he was a middle man. His efforts have paid off; according to a set of statistics published by Jerry Ropelato in 2006, the annual revenue of internet porn was nearly $3 billion in the United States alone. I have no doubt that the rate has increased since then.

As to how much of this film is true, as to what facts have been embellished or altered or altogether made up, I obviously have no way of knowing. That, of course, only makes it that much more irresistible. In the film, Mallick is reinterpreted as Jack Harris (Luke Wilson), who begins as a respectable and competent businessman, having a knack for talking and negotiating with people of every flavor, including mobsters that enjoy busting people's kneecaps with baseball bats. Sometime between the mid to late 1990s, he becomes involved with Wayne Beering (Giovanni Ribisi) and Buck Dolby (Gabriel Macht), two Los Angeles cokeheads who realized they could build an empire by scanning dirty pictures onto their computer, posting them on the internet, and selling them for $9.99. They have absolutely no business sense and are basically idiots, and never mind that Dolby was formerly a rocket scientist and has an IQ of 183.

What begins as a straight-and-narrow handling of affairs quickly escalates into something grander, Harris, Beering, and Dobly becoming wealthy entrepreneurs over the space of five years. It also becomes far more dangerous, Beering and Dolby having gotten involved with a Russian mobster (Rade Šerbedzija); he owns a strip club, you see, and they generate new content for their site by posting videos and photos of his girls. You know how it is with mobsters. They want their cut of the profits pronto. But you also know how it is with guys like Beering and Dolby. They blow off all their money on drugs. They don't know any better, not even when their faces are smashed in or their heads are shoved into toilets.

Harris, meanwhile, will have to use his business smarts to contend with a shady Las Vegas lawyer (James Caan), a spiteful young adult actress he has fallen in love with (Laura Ramsey), and a team of federal agents, led by Kevin Pollack, who want to use the adult actress as a weapon against international terrorism (and of all the movies I've ever seen, this is definitely a new one for me). He must also come to terms with the fact that he still has a family back home in Texas, and that, despite his wealth affording them the good life, he hasn't been there for him. Matters are complicated even further when Beering and Dolby, never able to think before they act, learn that they have unknowingly been exploiting underage models.

I grant you that this is a lot to take in. The director and co-writer George Gallo is reported to have written an expletive followed by the words, "keep up," on the front page of the screenplay as a reminder that, should the audience leave the theater for even a minute, they will miss something important. I don't particularly agree with the first part of his mantra (which I can't repeat), but the second part is spot on. You have to keep up. The thing is, that shouldn't be a problem; this movie is so well structured, so finely acted, and so cleverly written that you're libel to get hooked within the first ten minutes. It plays like a cross between "Boogie Nights" and a Guy Ritchie film, seamlessly interweaving comedy, crime, and mystery into a character-driven plot, the Harris character serving not only as the film's narrator and main player, but also as the emotional center.

Indeed, there is something oddly compelling about Jack Harris, the way an all-around respectable guy can allow himself to be so corrupted by the pursuit of the American Dream. His continuous narration is filled with regret, but there's also a certain dry, sardonic twist to his words, as if to suggest that the whole thing is utterly ridiculous. Well, it IS utterly ridiculous. And yet, a lot of it is true - if you're willing to take Christopher Mallick's word for it, that is. That blurring of fact and fiction, that inability to distinguish reality from fantasy, is part of why "Middle Men" was so enjoyable for me. That, and the fact that it's simply a fine movie. I liked the humor. I liked the intrigue. I liked the performances. And I really liked the screenplay; not only is it founded on an engaging premise, it's also refreshingly honest about what the internet really is for.

16 of 21 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars True story about the men who got rich off internet porn. If it wasn't true I wouldn't have believed it. A good time. I say B+ February 8, 2011

By Tony Heck

Format:DVD

A true story about the men who came up with the idea to sell adult entertainment off the internet. After two slackers (Ribisi & Gabriel Macht) make over a million dollars in two months by coming up with a program to make money off of internet porn the russian mob wants thier cut. They become partners with Jack Harris (Wilson) who takes thier business in to a legit area and makes them more money then they dreamed of. This movie really surprised me in the fact that I was expecting a straight comedy. While this movie had its really funny moments its also dramatic throughout. An amazing cast helps tell the story of someone other then Mark Zuckerberg getting rich off the internet. The events that happen in the movie made me wonder why I've never heard of this guy before. Overall this was a very enjoyable movie and I highly recommend it. I give it a B+.

Would I watch again? - Yes, I definately would

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Despite a great cast Middle Men is barely worth the time February 11, 2013

By Joe Vago

Format:Amazon Instant Video

With such a great cast this seemed to be a solid bet but both my wife and I were disappointed. And how this is in the Comedy section is a mystery. Yes it had a few funny moments but its definitely not a comedy. At the end of the movie we both wished we had made a different choice. As a "based on true event" type movie it was interesting but even then you will probably find many other movies that are more entertaining and have better character development. I kept feeling like there were points in the story that were being left out just to make the main character look better.