Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
IFC Films | Release Date: September 25, 2009 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
44
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
11
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
The Hollywood ReporterJames Greenberg
One hell of a date movie. A surgical examination of the male psyche based on David Foster Wallace's book and written and directed by John Krasinski, there is plenty of food for thought and argument. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
At times, the movie could have been called "Me and You and Every One of the Bastards We Know," but Krasinski preserves Wallace's whooshing roller coasters of words, powered by the fuel of confession. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
Raises the question of whether Krasinski made this movie because he really loves Wallace’s work, or because just he wanted to show Hollywood that the loveable doof from The Office can actually act. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia Puig
An insightful, sharply written and unsettlingly amusing exploration of the darker elements of masculinity. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
In his directorial debut, Krasinski doesn't seem to believe in his hideous men so much as he appears intimidated by them. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
Works only in spurts. Read full review
50
New York PostKyle Smith
A blast from the 1980s, when the idea that men were essentially rapists and women rapees was a popular way to score chicks on campus. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesMichael Ordona
The film is intelligent, well crafted and often funny, but it may not sufficiently reward even the brief time it asks one to spend with such hideous men. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
If we learn nothing else about Krasinski as a filmmaker, it’s that he thinks more is more. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
What this arid and arty exercise offers is the opportunity for a bunch of actors, many of them tethered to TV series, to deliver theatrical monologues pulsing with misogyny and narcissism. It's like second-rate Neil Labute. Read full review
40
VarietyTodd McCarthy
It's a very academic movie about academics that belongs in academia, not movie theaters. Read full review
40
Time OutDavid Fear
The question is, could someone turn these full-frontal-dudity snapshots into a satisfying, cohesive movie? Answer: no, but not for lack of trying. Read full review
40
NPRIan Buckwalter
Faced with the unenviable choice between honoring his daunting inspiration and telling his own story, the director shoots straight down the middle -- and misses both targets. Read full review
40
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Compacted into an 80-minute mishmash of interviews, confessions and sketches, melded into a shaky mosaic, the answers from a cross section of men are shallow, self-serving and ultimately unenlightening. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
They’re not all hideous, the men who sit for interviews with a graduate student (Nicholson) and unload their dirty laundry. Sometimes they’re just feckless, or crass; some are even pitiable. Read full review
20
Village VoiceChuck Wilson
As a film, Brief Interviews With Hideous Men is a disaster. Read full review
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