Customer Reviews

Unmade Beds: From the Feature Film by Nicholas Barker

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
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"Unmade Beds" cleverly uses the motif of the dating game to take a clear-eyed, penetrating look at modern neurosis and how the myriad distractions of urban life mirror our fractured sense of self. The four characters are initially quite sympathetic in their quest for love, but as the film progresses they reveal a pathological sense of self-loathing and meaninglessness, in turn making them very unattractive. It's a very entertaining and vastly underrated film, and the soundtrack is in fact very witty and contemporary. Recommended.

This film is an insightful look at loneliness. The great part about it is that its not obsessed with youth -- the youngest person profiled is 28. Four people vent about being single in the big city. This film is at times cruel, sad, and hilarious. Reportedly, parts of the film were scripted but even then it's amazing how candid and relaxed these people appear before the camera. The director whittled down dozens of profiles to focus on four people in particular and he got four compelling stories. Well worth a rental and much, much better than another "documentary" about a poor shlep who filmed his dating life in L.A.., "20 Dates". Unfortunately, that film got much more publicity than "Unmade Beds".

I thought the soundtrack on this film was sensational -- and I was completely captivated by the story of these four singles lives. I highly, highly recommend you buy a copy.

Nicholas Barker gives us a voyeuristic view of the life of four single people living in NYC. At times it feels like a documentary, but the truth is, some parts of the movie were scripted.Although some moments in the movie were brilliantly funny. Barker does a good job of capturing the characters feelings on dating in NYC. If you've ever lived in New York or any other big city, and been single, you'll appreciate this movie. If you've ever thought you were a loser because you couldn't get a date, see this movie. One of the things Barker does in this movie is focus on some negative traits of the characters; almost as if he is mocking them. Therefore making the viewer pity the characters in the movie and life in New York. Over all a funny yet sad comment on single life in the big city.

I found the art in this book version of the cult classic Unmade Beds to be riveting. It makes an excellent companion to the movie, of which I am a big fan.

This documentary was broadcasted on Danish TV last year, and when I saw it, it both amused me, but it also reminded me, that our efforts to achieve happiness comes at different prices.
Brenda Monte is the true reason that I bought this DVD. Ever since I saw her in her bodystocking, the image has been printed on my eyeballs.
The program was on a rerun this month, and I decided, that this movie should be part of my collection.
I'll see it because of the story, and I'll let Brenda cheer me up more than once. I would definately have dated her, if the chance had come up.

Although this film was made in 1999 or 2000 (sometime around there), there's little doubt that the worries, hangups, and issues revealed in this much too overlooked documentary are still very much relevant today.

Nicholas Baker, the filmmaker, focuses on the dating concerns of four New Yorkers, all different--two men and two women. While each is noticeably different from the others, what soon becomes apparent is that there is a similarity in perspective in at least two of them--blatant selfishness. The other two, more sympathetic, are just as fascinating because of their intense involvement in trying to find the right person, knowing full well each has what is commonly perceived to be a serious problem from the point of view of dating--one is overweight (female) and the other is short (male).

What makes this film so compelling is the extremes to which some (maybe a lot more than some) people will go to get the right person into their lives, and especially, making sure the WRONG person does not play a part. Hence the man who is not short--and who is really sleazy--has all kinds of protective measures established to insure that he does not wind up with a "dog", and the non-overweight woman does whatever she can in her power to make sure she gets a rich guy.

A fascinating film to view if you want to see the petty and base sides of human behavior, revealed in all their glory.

Definitely recommended.

This dark comedy about meeting that special someone in the late 90's in nyc epitomizes the frustrations, schemes and nuances that most single people deal with. These are the real people, in their everyday lives. The movie shots around nyc and people in their candid moments inside their apartments add to the realistic nature of this story. The music is a nice compliment to the movie. I just wish "Falling Leaves" by Coldcut was available in the U.S. It is a beautiful contemporary version of this classic song.

Filmmaker Barker found four very different losers-in-love in the personal ads and got to
know them for months, writing a script based on their personalities and experiences. He
then filmed it as if it were a traditional documentary, with the people playing themselves.

The characters are always interesting, if all sad, and often pathetic as well
as pathetically funny.

Sometimes it feels exploitational - don't these people know how sad, and sometimes
crazy they come off? Yet there's something that feels like these people consciously chose
to be seen for who they were, warts and all. Better that than continue to exist in the lonely
hole of obscurity.

And a simple visual touch at the very end puts a slightly more empathetic, less cruel spin on the film.

I couldn't quite love it, but I respect it's bravery in trying something new, its dark humor,
and its unblinking eye. But I suspect an unmanipulated documentary might have
been even more powerful. Here, we're never sure how deeply to hurt for these
people, or how awful or cruel to feel at laughing at them, because we don't know
when what we're seeing is `true' - which makes for interesting debates about
`reality', but also creates a bit of emotional disconnect. But just a bit...

"Unmade Beds" would have made a wonderful one-hour documentary. Unfortunately, the director made it feature length - about 90 minutes - presumably to get into more theaters. I guess people want an hour and a half of film for their $13. The four well chosen characters kept coming back - eventually too many times. I liked the soundtrack. I hoped for a somewhat uplifting (but not corny) ending. I guess the 40-year-old hottie advanced a square. Too bad for the others. I think the most insightful moment is when the 225 pound lady's friend meekly suggested she lose some weight - whew - did that lady unload! Most people have a problem that is less visible - but many will never work through it.