Customer Reviews

State and Main [VHS]

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

Hollywood has a long tradition of movies about movie-making, which range from the sublime (Sullivan's Travels, The Bad and the Beautiful) to the horrifying (Sweet Liberty). Thankfully, David Mamet's new film belongs with the former rather than the latter. Although known more for his gritty dramas than comedy, there is no doubt that Mamet has a genius for dialogue, and never has he put this genius to better use than he does in "State and Main." The movie also features one of the great ensemble casts in recent memory. In addition to Mamet regulars William H. Macy, Rebecca Pidgeon, and Ricky Jay, the cast of this Hollywood-film-crew-comes-to-small-town-New-England comedy features Alec Baldwin,Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sarah Jessica Parker, Charles Durning, and Julia Stiles.

If there is any justice at all in Hollywood, the Academy voters will be able enough to laugh at their industry, and this movie will get a Best Picture nomination.

"State and Main" is a David Mamet movie, and it shows. While more light-hearted than most of the his other works, it shares their stylized writing, understated cinematography, and brilliantly cynical humor. The movie follows the misadventures of a Hollywood film crew as they try to make a movie in small-town America, spinning locals and movie people alike into a whirlwind of hilarity.

Featuring an ensemble cast of excellent actors (Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Rebecca Pidgeon, David Paymer, William H. Macy, Sarah Jessica Parker, Alec Baldwin, Clark Gregg, and Julia Stiles, among others), "State and Main" relies on their energy and fast-paced paced interaction to keep the laughs coming. The characters they play are caricatures (the noble writer, the slick director, the skirt-chasing actor, the greedy producer), but they are nevertheless believable. The very absurdity of the characters is entertaining, but the humor is intelligent - there's nothing slapstick about this.

In fact, if the movie has a weakness, it is this very intelligence; at times, the writing seems a little self-conscious, the smartness a little stilted. Nevertheless, I'd much prefer a comedy to be too smart than not smart enough, and "State and Main" leans that way if it leans at all.

Aided by a punchy soundtrack, the film gets off to a quick start and maintains its pace throughout. The dialog has a staccato rhythm, and the lines are delivered with beautiful comedic timing. The underlying themes of second chances and the transience of the American Dream are clear, but unobtrusive.

I truly feel that this movie is an underrated masterwork, and I recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who likes to laugh. I've watched "State and Main" at least five times, and it remains funny and engaging on each viewing - something I find very rare in a film. Buy this movie today, or rent it, or borrow it - you won't regret it.

In all too many films, I find myself let down because the writing is so bad. Some of the very worst are by directors who also want to be writers but who can't really write. When I find out who they are, I thereafter avoid their films. I never trouble myself with thoughts like these in seeing a David Mamet film though since he is first and foremost a writer. As usual, he brings his superb screenwriting skills to this vehicle, which he also directed, and turns it into pure gold. He places William H. Macy front and center as a film director who is trying to bring a film in on budget in New England although disaster looms on every front. I frankly never thought Macy could be a funny, ha-ha kind of actor but he is absolutely hilarious as this director with a bunker mentality. I also never thought Philip Seymour Hoffman could play a romantic lead but in this film he does so admirably with Mamet's wife, Rebecca Pidgeon. Hoffman is the writer on the film and Pidgeon becomes his muse and support system in one as she takes over his heart. Alec Baldwin plays himself as an obnoxious movie star and is also perfect doing so. He brings the chief conflict into the film, the prospect of the film's being shut down because of his penchant for bedding underage girls. Perhaps the most brilliant casting of all though is David Paymer, as producer Marty, who is perfect in every scene as the Machievellian man who will do anything to reach his end goal, bringing the film in. This film reminds me of Preston Sturges' "Travels of Sullivan," a masterpiece of screwball comedy. Mamet is not really known for comedy but rather for incisive drama. You'd never know that, however, from seeing this film. You'd think he'd been doing comedy all of his life. The only other comic film of his that I can recall is "Things Change," also a superb film. All of Mamet's work is a must-see for me and I am rarely disappointed with the results.

"State and Main" is a throwback to the often gentle but hilarious satires of the 50s and 60s--you know the ones where the bucolic splendor of small-town America is thrust into chaos by the arrival of out-of-towners. Like "The Music Man" and "The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming!", David Mamet's sendup is witty and affecting, though many of his famous four-letter-word sensibilities still pepper the mix. The terrific ensemble cast includes Alec Baldwin, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rebecca Pidgeon, William H. Macy, and Sarah Jessica Parker, and the story revolves around a frenetic movie crew struggling to turn a dramatic disaster into a box-office winner. Along the way, they brave graft from the locals, the Machiavellian efforts of a producer, and the peccadilloes of a star that deserves to be locked up. Despite some raunch and cynicism, Mamet somehow manages to splash a sweet gloss on it all, particularly with a refreshingly watchable romance between Hoffman and Pidgeon. Look for some great sight gags, too, and, of course, Mamet's penchant for rip-snortin' dialogue. About the only complaint I have is that Ricky Jay didn't have more to do.

This warm, homey, satirical comedy is David Mamet's homage to the filmmaking industry. It's a story about purity - the unforced, unpretentious timeless simplicity of a quiet New England town populated by just plain folks, and the age-old heroic struggle of the artist trying to share his vision with the world. But it's also a story about second chances, even if it's only the opportunity to make the same mistake twice. And certainly it's a story about money, too, but enough with generalities...

The ensemble cast features some of Mamet's favorite actors, including the wonderful William Macy as the smooth-talking director who is determined to get his movie made no matter what, and the always-quirky Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the sensitive author who struggles to keep up with the ever-changing demands that reality makes on his screenplay. Sarah Jessica Parker plays the leading lady brilliantly, showing us a woman with beauty and charm and animal grace who can scarcely speak a complete sentence unless she's reading it from a script.... Alec Baldwin's performance is less notable; he never really seems to take on the character of the film's skirt-chasing star, but seems to be merely playing himself.

The real standout is the terrific performance by Rebecca Pidgeon whose luminous presence really steals the film and makes her character's romance with the writer the main plot focus. She's a bookseller, and like most of the people in this small, out of the way town, is much smarter than anyone in the production company (or for that matter watching the movie) expects them to be. Her dialogues with Hoffman are intimate, artful, creative, and ultimately rather unrealistic, but then, this isn't a very realistic film, and if the illusion of real life is important to you, you might give this one a miss. If you're willing to concede Mamet his artifice, this sweet, charming story should delight the small-town intellectual in everyone.

A film crew goes to a small town in Vermont (they were previously in a small town in New Hampshire, but had to move due to the male star's penchant for underage girls) to film a movie called "The Old Mill". The problem is that the old mill burned down in 1960, part of a spate of "unexplained fires". And that's just one of the funny set pieces of David Mamet's latest movie.

There is the overly tense, carbohydrate-hating director, played to perfection by William H. Macy. The male star, played with swagger by Alec Baldwin. The female star, who refuses to go topless (despite having committed to it in her contract) unless the production company pays her additional money, played by Sarah Jessica Parker. And the hapless writer, who now must find a substitute for the mill, played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

Unlike most Mamet-written or -directed films, this is a gentle comedy, without most of the raw language of his plays. But the dialogue is no less sharp and no less funny. There isn't a weak link in the cast, and the laughs keep coming as Bob (Baldwin) gets into trouble with yet another teenage girl (Julia Stiles, who makes it unclear whether she is the seducer or the seducee), Joseph (Hoffman) struggles to keep up with the demanded rewrites, and a town prosecutor vindictively (and then justifiably) goes after the film company for what is happening to the town.

Filmed in a picturesque little hamlet, the complications of the plot seem all the funnier for occurring in this bucolic atmosphere.

Very, very funny and highly recommended.

This movie hooked me from the very start. The tone was quick and self-assured. I love that. Getting the action going is the only thing to do with a movie like this.

Even scenes that seemed like nothing more than introductory exposition (a truck bumping over a pot hole, a close-up of a tourist brochure), turned out to be setting up some of the movie's later business.

And what a cast involved here to handle that business! These are gifted performers at the top of their games. Wow!

While the material plays with a lighter touch than many of Mamet's famous works, there is no reason to question the genius.

This is a thoroughly splendid movie.

I was especially amazed by the performance of Philip Seymour Hoffman. Here he plays the screen writer and his role is the closest thing like a romantic male lead in the movie. After seeing him play Scotty in "Boogie Nights", I'm amazed that this is the same person. This guy is one heck of an actor.

As she's been in everything I've viewed, Rebecca Pigeon is wonderful. Every time I see her perform, I feel like I know the person she has portrayed. She is brilliant.

I could single out each performance in this movie for high praise. So lets just say that they are all exceptional!

Why can't more movies be like this?

There are some many good things about this movie that it's hard to pick some out. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is brilliant as playwright/screenwriter Joseph Turner White. You can not say enough about his performance "Have you seen my typewriter?" And when he is about to sit on the porch with his woman, the conversation that takes place is classic. And then there is Alec Baldwin the pedophile, "So that happened." We can't forget William H Macy's character who gives a giant loaf of bread as a gift. I can't praise this movie enough, it is one of all time favorite movies. "Go you Huskies!"

This seems to be an acquired taste for some people, but I think it's hillarious. Very subtle in some ways, but if you like Mamet's writing, you just can't beat this.

It's difficult to write an objective review about a film that I'm so enthusiastic about, but there's no getting around it-- I haven't been this excited about a movie in a long time, so I'll just forge ahead. The film is "State and Main," written and directed by David Mamet, and arguably his best effort since 1987's "House Of Games." When a movie company invades the sleepy hamlet of Waterford, Vermont, for a location shoot, complete with big name stars Bob Barrenger (Alec Baldwin) and Claire Wellesley (Sarah Jessica Parker) in tow, it creates quite a stir; and before it's over many of the townsfolk, as well as a few of those connected with the film, have learned some things about themselves-- and others-- they never knew before. Things about honesty, purity and the moral flexibility inherent in many of those who reside here on planet Earth. As a setting for the making of the film within the film-- which is about purity and second chances-- Mamet takes a page right out of Americana, complete with a Main Street, an historic firehouse, a quaint hostelry and even-- "maybe"-- an old mill on a stream. And in making a film about making a film about purity and second chances, he's made a film about purity and, well, second chances; a terrific character study that is forthright and sincere, and which rings with truth from beginning to end. It's as honest as it is real, and so accessible that it makes an instant connection with the audience. There are characters and situations here with which everyone will be able to identify in one way or another, all presented refreshingly and quite unpredictably. Just when you think you see something coming from a mile away, you're treated to one of those famous Mamet "twists" that take you exactly where you didn't think you were going. And Mamet does it so well that it's not only highly entertaining, but invigorating as well. The cast he put together for this film is superlative, beginning with William H. Macy as Walt Price, the director of the movie. A Mamet regular, Macy creates a character infused with that magic Mamet realism that helps establish the credibility of the film from the outset. Baldwin is perfectly cast as the "star" with certain insatiable appetites and recreational needs, as is Parker, as the actress with a sudden case of "issues" regarding her contractual obligations. And David Paymer does a solid turn as Marty Rossen, the producer of the film. But the two actors who really make this movie tick are the charismatic Rebecca Pidgeon, and the versatile, multi-talented Philip Seymour Hoffman. Pidgeon is absolutely captivating as Ann Black, the local who runs the book shop and directs the town's drama group (which includes just about everybody in Waterford, it seems). She's winsome and charming, with a directness and vigor that is stunning; and she captures the very essence of Ann-- the intelligence and the compassion-- and conveys it convincingly to the audience. It's a memorable performance, and one of the strengths (among many) of the movie. The real star of the show, however, is Hoffman, as Joseph Turner White, the writer of the movie. He gives an introspective performance filled with nuance and subtlety that is so real-- so pure-- that he single-handedly takes the film to a whole new level. Like Meryl Streep, Hoffman has that chameleon-like ability that enables him to be anyone and everyone, yet always unique; it's a quality with which few actors are endowed, and he uses his gift to full advantage here, with his memorable portrayal of White. Simply put, it's a great performance by a great actor, and one that should earn him an Oscar nomination. The supporting cast includes Charles Durning (Mayor George Bailey), Clark Gregg (Doug), Patti LuPone (Sherry Bailey), Julia Stiles (Carla) and Ricky Jay (Jack). Mamet has a style that make his films uniquely his own, and "State and Main" is one of his best. Exceptionally well done and delivered, it's intelligent, funny and entertaining; an honest and succinct examination of human nature with an integrity at it's core that makes it a truly great film. This is a prime example of what the magic of the movies is all about; a film that absolutely should not be missed.