Owning Mahowny

RegularKarate · June 23, 2003, 06:45:17 PM

Did I spell that right?

Anyway... wasn't that good. Nothing I haven't seen.

Man, though... PSH is so fucking good. I just watch the trailers to this movie and I say "damn, he's good in that". He just makes you nervous throughout the whole thing.

Too bad that the movie wasn't better.

PSH needs to land a lead role in a really good movie.

Ghostboy · June 23, 2003, 07:26:49 PM

I thought it was an all right movie. It was entertaining, but slight. What really made it, as you said, was PSH's performance. He can do so much with so little. If you don't pay attention, you might just say he's stuck in a rut, playing a schlump, but every schlump he plays is a unique individual.

That said, I've heard that he's the lead contender for David Gordon Green's adaptation of 'A Confederacy Of Dunces.' The character of Ignatius Reilly is a polar opposite of everything he's done before (except, in some ways, PDL), and I relish the idea of seeing him tackle the role.

filmcritic · June 25, 2003, 01:09:39 AM

Yeah, I was a little disappointed in it. Not enough that I wouldn't recommend it, but I felt like there was too much plot going on for it to be a character study. PSH is very good, but he isn't giving an Oscar quality performance here. Overall, good but nothing you can't see on video.

chainsmoking insomniac · June 25, 2003, 10:44:41 AM

Quote from: RegularKarateDid I spell that right?

Anyway... wasn't that good. Nothing I haven't seen.

Man, though... PSH is so fucking good. I just watch the trailers to this movie and I say "damn, he's good in that". He just makes you nervous throughout the whole thing.

Too bad that the movie wasn't better.

PSH needs to land a lead role in a really good movie.

Seen Love, Liza yet???

RegularKarate · June 25, 2003, 02:40:10 PM

Quote from: RegularKarate
PSH needs to land a lead role in a really good movie.

Quote from: punchdrunk23
Seen Love, Liza yet???

Yes and I still stand by my original statement.

It was good, not really good, certainly not great.

chainsmoking insomniac · June 25, 2003, 03:00:55 PM

If you say so. I thought it was a brutally honest film, one of the most unflinching examinations of lost love I've ever seen.

Duck Sauce · June 25, 2003, 05:06:04 PM

About Owning Mahowny, I dont normally consider IMDB ratings, but I saw this thing at 3.7 once, now its up to 5.3, that has to say something? The premise is really interesting, but is it that bad?

ono · August 28, 2003, 11:44:43 PM

I finally caught this on the final night it was playing in my town. Only four other people in the theatre. I love that, as usually with a small number of people, the crowd is respectful.

I loved this film and love PSH, period. He is such a jackass in this film, but you just can't help but feel bad for him. And as for wishing the film was "better", well, sometimes, the truth is stranger than fiction, and sometimes, the truth is just, well, real, and rather slight and boring, but sad and another man's cautionary tale. Minnie Driver was great if underused; unrecognizable as PSH's girlfriend. I kept on thinking ... Phil, that lucky bastard. I had a crush on Minnie since Circle of Friends (underrated movie, IMO), that I think never wore off all the way. About Phil, though, he's one of my favorite actors by far now. I just keep on putting him in the same category as Kevin Spacey, Nicholas Cage (can't wait for Matchstick Men, or to finally see Bringing Out the Dead this weekend), and John C. Reilly. Guys who light up the screen and can do it all. ***½

Find Your Magali · October 29, 2003, 12:52:23 AM

Watched this on DVD tonight and I must say I enjoyed it quite a bit. It's neat to see PSH carry a movie and provide an unfliching portrait of a guy who just keeps crossing lines he shouldn't cross and sinking into a deeper hole. The ending was a bit too easy and pat; I wanted to see more of a total breakdown/collapse of the character. But, overall, it was still better than most movies out there these days. I'd say 7 out of 10.

John Hurt was excellent also. It was great to see him with a showy role.

kotte · October 29, 2003, 05:28:44 AM

The end was good...

The way PSH reacted when he was caught, I think, that was very realistic. Could totally relate to that feeling he portrayed.

mr_boz · October 29, 2003, 07:02:23 PM

i saw it when it was in the theatres and while i enjoyed it, i have to admit that i was a little disappointed by it too. it was enjoyable to watch, and psh gave a great performance, but i never found the story very engaging. that is, i wasn't really drawn into it on an emotional level, and i would probably never want to sit through it again.
-ccb

lamas · October 29, 2003, 10:07:21 PM

i was very disappointed by owning mahowny and love liza. i expected much more but i don't know why. on a side note, why the fuck did they have a picture of hoffman getting arrested on the front of the dvd? i mean i knew how it was going to end and all but do you have to show me one of the last scenes before i've even sat through the movie?