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Paddy C 
"Does not compute! Lame!"
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 Posted - 03/05/2007 : 22:44:44
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Anyone else seen this one? It's going to go straight to DVD here in Ireland, and I dont think it got any kind of promotion in the U.S. either.. not surprising when you look at the targets of the satire: Starbucks, Fox News and, um, Fuddruckers? (Presume they're like McDonalds..?)
The movie is flawed, but I thought the satire hit the mark pretty well, and its a shame that its not getting promoted at all by its distribution company, who just happens to be Fox  ... this is the same crowd that held back the Irish release of 'The Fountain'... what gives?!
It's kind of galling to see decent movies like this just not getting a chance because of a gutless distribution company. Meanwhile, the trailers for 'Norbit' are endlessly playing on tv...
Ah well, hopefully it'll find an audience on DVD... Here's my review... |
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GHcool
"Forever a curious character."
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Posted - 03/06/2007 : 05:31:54
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quote:
Originally posted by Paddy C
Anyone else seen this one?
I just saw this on DVD about a month ago. A very odd film, but also a very wonderful and very funny one. It was written and directed by Mike Judge, who created "Bevis and Butthead" and Office Space, and like those films, the satire here works on both the "so dumb its funny" level and on some fairly sophisticated levels as well. The way it creates a nightmarish, future world that reflects our own times reminded me in some ways of Planet of the Apes.
This is also one of those weird Iron Giant-like studio films that should have been a blockbuster, but the studio was too stupid to know what they had and so they didn't promote it. If anyone here can find it and wants a good laugh, I would highly recommend it. |
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turrell
"Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhh "
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Posted - 03/06/2007 : 07:24:35
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I saw this in the theaters and after leaving the theater I was scared to witness the crowd on the 3rd Street Promenade (here in Santa Monica) closely resembling the future predicted by Judge.
I agree flawed movie but very interesting. My wife however left about half way in and went shopping.
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Shiv 
"What a Wonderful World"
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Posted - 03/06/2007 : 10:08:19
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| It's not available from the postal DVD service I use here in Australia, but I'll keep an eye out for it. I like Mike Judge's take on life - I'm a big fan of King of the Hill |
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MisterBadIdea
"PLZ GET MILK, KTHXBYE"
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Posted - 03/06/2007 : 15:06:29
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| I'm not sure what to make of it. For an unabashedly elitist film, it doesn't really seem all that smart to me. I couldn't shake the feeling that it was just pandering to the intellectuals and wannabe intellectuals of the world. |
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GHcool
"Forever a curious character."
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Posted - 03/06/2007 : 17:08:37
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quote:
Originally posted by turrell
I saw this in the theaters and after leaving the theater I was scared to witness the crowd on the 3rd Street Promenade (here in Santa Monica) closely resembling the future predicted by Judge.
LOL!  |
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Paddy C
"Does not compute! Lame!"
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Posted - 03/06/2007 : 21:51:22
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quote:
Originally posted by MisterBadIdea
I'm not sure what to make of it. For an unabashedly elitist film, it doesn't really seem all that smart to me. I couldn't shake the feeling that it was just pandering to the intellectuals and wannabe intellectuals of the world.
I don't think the film is elitist.. I reckon the message of the film couldn't have been packaged any more reasonably without being patronising.. and surely making fun of Fox News isn't an intellectual pastime!
<WARNING - POSSIBLE SPOILER!>
Luke Wilson's character stuggles for a solution to the problem posed in the movie when, towards the end, he's in prison, and encouraging Rita to go back to the present, and all he can eventually come up with is that she go back and read books, or paint or something.. anything other than get dumber... the message isn't an intellectual one, that's why the movie works for me.. the solutions proposed are normal everyday ones, put forward by the most average guy there is... |
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randall 
"I like to watch."
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Posted - 03/07/2007 : 19:14:18
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| I thought it was a scream until it ran out of gas toward the end. |
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Mr Savoir Faire 
"^ Click my name. "
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Posted - 03/08/2007 : 09:37:22
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quote:
Originally posted by Randall
I thought it was a scream until it ran out of gas toward the end.
Totally agree. I actually got to see this movie in theatres, but I had to look hard to find it. Strong start, weak finish. I felt like FOx didn't like the idea so they rushed it. Still, I enjoyed it.
PaddyC, Fuddruckers is not like McDonalds. It is a burger joint, but it's much more expensive and has somewhat of an old rock theme. The closest thing to compare it with would be a Steak and Shake or a Johnny Rockets.
All the coompanies were real in the movie (except Brawndo), which I found surprising. I suppose since it is technically a parody, they can be used, but I've never seen anything similar to that before. I
enjoyed the Costco greeter's line "Welcome to Costco. I love you."
I did feel, however, that Maya Rudolph did not belong in this movie. She's like Dane Cook; I've heard he's funny, but despite prolonged efforts to find the jokes in his routines, I fail.
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BaftaBaby
"Always entranced by cinema."
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Posted - 03/08/2007 : 10:02:30
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quote:
Originally posted by Mr Stupid
quote:
Originally posted by Randall
I thought it was a scream until it ran out of gas toward the end.
PaddyC, Fuddruckers is not like McDonalds. It is a burger joint, but it's much more expensive and has somewhat of an old rock theme. The closest thing to compare it with would be a Steak and Shake or a Johnny Rockets.
Sounds like The Hard Rock Cafe
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turrell
"Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhh "
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Posted - 03/08/2007 : 19:13:08
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Fuddruckers is pretty equivalent to Johnny Rockets or Steak and Shake which are more diner atmosphere than Hard Rock.
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Paddy C
"Does not compute! Lame!"
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Posted - 03/08/2007 : 19:24:12
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quote:
Originally posted by turrell
Fuddruckers is pretty equivalent to Johnny Rockets or Steak and Shake which are more diner atmosphere than Hard Rock.
Johnny Rocket's? We've got 'Eddie Rockets' in Oireland...? Bit more upmarket than fast food, but not quite a restaurant...
Actually, I could see why they wouldn't call it 'Johnny Rockets' in Dublin, 'jonny' is a Dublin slang word for a condom..  |
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Koli 
"Striving lackadaisically for perfection."
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Posted - 03/08/2007 : 20:14:06
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quote:
Originally posted by Paddy C
quote:
Originally posted by turrell
Fuddruckers is pretty equivalent to Johnny Rockets or Steak and Shake which are more diner atmosphere than Hard Rock.
Johnny Rocket's? We've got 'Eddie Rockets' in Oireland...? Bit more upmarket than fast food, but not quite a restaurant...
Actually, I could see why they wouldn't call it 'Johnny Rockets' in Dublin, 'jonny' is a Dublin slang word for a condom..
...and on this side of the Irish Sea too. (I remember its use, often as 'rubber jonny' 40 years ago in Staffordshire). |
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turrell
"Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhh "
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Posted - 03/08/2007 : 21:32:09
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| Perhaps blending cultural idioms here - but do guys put Jonnies on their Jimmies in that case? |
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Paddy C
"Does not compute! Lame!"
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Posted - 03/09/2007 : 00:01:24
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quote:
Originally posted by turrell
Perhaps blending cultural idioms here - but do guys put Jonnies on their Jimmies in that case?
Isn't 'jimmy' also a verb? (not sure where i'm going with this..!) |
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turrell
"Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhh "
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Posted - 03/09/2007 : 01:23:05
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| In grad school we were studying how sensitive marketing can be when trying to segment by race / class / age, etc. There were lawsuits in one case of a malt liquor brand trying to market its product to young black males - they used a rap song that said their product "made your Jimmy thicker" - this was based on research that showed that many people mistakenly thought that this alcohol could achieve such a feat. Obviously this got past network censors because they had no idea the idiomatic meaning of the phrase. |
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Idiocracy
