Product Details

• Actors: owen wilson, eva mendes
• Format: Widescreen
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0031HE0LE
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #325,587 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars not a barn-burner but sweet and witty, December 14, 2008

By 

Roland E. Zwick (Valencia, Ca USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Wendell Baker Story (DVD)

***1/2

As played by Luke Wilson, Wendell Baker is the kind of character authors like to refer to as a "lovable rogue" - a smooth-talking scam artist with a tongue as nimble as the pen of a scribe (to borrow a phrase from scripture, if I may be so bold). The trouble is that a good-hearted guy can run afoul of the law for only so long before he risks losing the woman he loves (Eva Mendes) and before he is finally forced into taking a long, hard look at his life. Thus, once he's paroled from prison, Wendell decides to go straight by taking a job at a retirement home (he's been duped into believing that this is a first step on the road to a career in hotel management) run by a sadistic administrator (Owen Wilson) and his toadying staff. There's a little of the feel of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," as the con man leads the put-upon inmates of the "asylum" in a well-coordinated rebellion against their oppressors.

The chief attraction of "The Wendell Baker Story" is the opportunity it affords us of seeing the Wilson brothers appearing together in the same movie - and what a treat it turns out to be. Luke has written a script filled with the kind of dry, wry wit that has been the hallmark of both of their performances over the years, and their scenes together crackle with understated cynicism and humor (Luke co-directed the feature with yet another brother, Andrew, making this a family affair in the fullest sense of the term). The movie is also blessed with an amazing team of supporting players, including Harry Dean Stanton and Seymour Cassel as spry oldsters who find a supportive helpmate in Wendell Baker; Kris Kristofferson as a mysterious, stoic resident who is harboring a carefully guarded secret about his past; Will Ferrell as the grocery store owner who is Wendell`s chief rival for his now ex-girlfriend`s affections; and Eddie Griffin who serves as chief henchman for the home`s scalawag of a director.

Their performances and the laidback tone of the humor compensate for the occasional dry spots and the fact that the movie itself doesn't really add up to all that much when all is said and done.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars See this movie!, May 5, 2010

By 

Freya (San Diego Co, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Wendell Baker Story (DVD)

This movie is a kick! Really well done. Very quirky, very endearing. Good ensemble cast. Lots of laughs. If you like this one, then see Henry Poole was Here too - also very good. There is something very geniuine about both movies. Definitely my two favorite Luke Wilson movies. Hope there are more like these to come.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious!, November 8, 2007

By 

Michael W. Smith "mikey5alive" (Lafayette, LA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Wendell Baker Story (DVD)

I thought this movie was very funny. If you like the Wilson Brothers' other movies, then you shouldn't be disappointed here. It's full of their usual oddball comedy, with surprising cameos and a great soundtrack. I hope Luke Wilson is not put off by those pedantic critics who don't get it. He and his brothers, along with their pal Wes Anderson, have a unique take on comedy that is fresh and highly entertaining.