Glengarry Glen Ross
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Movie Reviews of Glengarry Glen Ross
Movie Review: Harrowing
Summary: 5 Stars
Holy smokes! What it must take to be a salesman! This movie is great. The only problem I have with it is the miscasting of Al Pacino. I didn't believe him for one moment as Roma, a super slick real estate agent. Much more believable was Jack Lemmon as the salesman in a slump. We agonize with him as his back is against the wall and he tries vainly to make a sale in the rain.What's not to like about htis movie? It's gruelingly good. I felt like I was one of these guys. Alec Baldwin made me mad. Ed Harris made me wonder. Jack Lemmon made me cry. And I laughed. I laughed a lot. This movie works on about a trillion differnet levels and taps into a lot of different emotions.
And I was surprised to learn that Alec Baldwin had actually been offered the Roma role before Pacino signed on. This movie, already great, would've been even better had their roles been reversed. Baldwin has never been better and Pacino has never been worse.
The language..... Makes Martin Lawrence look like Jerry Falwell. But it's never grauitous. Every "damn" is well earned.
The opening scene is classic. It never really reaches those dizzying heights again, but it never sinks lower than great.
Again, the most unfortunate thing about this movie is Pacino, who is usually sensational. The movie works in SPITE of him. For a movie to be this good with a characterization as bad as his really says something about the caliber of the script. I can't imagine a bad adaptation of this material. It's that strong.
And talk about an enseble cast! This movie is all talk- and that's a good thing. It is one of the most dynamic, dramatic movies I heave ever seen. And with it's origins as a stage play, it is 100 percent character driven. It's intense and it's suspensul and there are no car crashes or explosion or chase scenes. In other words, this isn't your typical mindless bullcrap. It is smart, it is tight and it is perfect.
One of the few movies I've watch over ten times- this one's a bona fide winner.
Movie Review: a treasure trove of great acting from a stellar cast
Summary: 5 Stars
This "Glengarry Glen Ross" movie has been criticised for being considerably unrealistic and overblown. At the core of the movie's plot is 4 real estate salesmen involved in a do-or-die contest--the top two sellers win a Cadillac Eldorado and a set of steak knives respectably, not to mention getting to keep their jobs, while the bottom two are to be fired. Perhaps this whole contest setup is a bit far-fetched in terms of real-life, but the resulting movie is extremely compelling anyway, with its dog-eat-dog nature being gripping and easy to identify with. And of course, there's the acting... The late Jack Lemmon is at his best here, once again playing the role of a man who's emotionally distraught and at the end of his rope (very much like his role in 1975's "The Prisoner of Second Avenue"). Alec Baldwin landed the role of a lifetime as a no-holds-barred executive who comes to give the salesmen a "motivational speech" (ahem), and his superb performance is simply devastating. Ed Harris and Alan Arkin each deliver brilliant performances as well--the Harris' character is filled with rage, and Arkin's character is basically a defeatist. Kevin Spacey plays the office manager, and his performance is fittingly cold-blooded.
In regard to the double disc DVD version, you get widescreen as well as full screen versions of the feature, plus some great bonus material including intriguing commentary from Baldwin and Arkin (individually, not together). Yes, it is a shame that Jack Lemmon's commentary featured on the SE Laserdisc version isn't included here, although do you get an interview segment with Lemmon from "The Charlie Rose Show". Considering the list price of this 2 disc package, and with the movie itself being so arresting and compulsively watchable, you really can't go wrong getting this.
Movie Review: Coffee is for Closers Only!!
Summary: 5 Stars
GlenGarry Glen Ross is a cinematic masterpiece!The movie tracks the competition between 4 real estate salesmen and their dealings with their boss. As the movie begins, all of the salesmen are fired for their poor performance. In order to get their jobs back, a sales contest has been created. As Alec Baldwin put it in his chilling speech in the beginning of the movie "First place is a Cadallic, Second place is a set of Steak Knives. Third place is....You're fired."
The remainder of the movie tracks the efforts of the salesmen to get their jobs back. There is competition, backstabbing, deceit, and everything else that you can imagine.
The most striking aspect of this movie is the dialogue. It is incredibly well written and this cast is first rate. Here is what you need to know:
**Alec Baldwin - The super sucessful salesman from "downtown." He drives a BMW and is sent on a mission of mercy to try and get the other guys to produce. He only has about 10 minutes in the movie, but his part will leave you stunned.
**Al Pacino - The young guy. Spends most of his time trying to smooth talk bar patrons into buying real estate. He is the up and comer and an extremely smooth talker.
**Jack Lemmon - The has been. Shelly "the machine" Levine spends his days clinging to his long lost glory. He used to be a major producer, but has hit a streak of bad luck and is in danger of losing his job.
**Ed Harris - The complainer. Spends most of his time complaining about hot he is not getting the good leads and that he has done everything he can with the leads he is given, but fails to produce.
**Kevin Spacey - The spineless office manager. Has no consideration for his employees and just does whatever "downtown" tells him too.
Buy this movie and watch it!
Movie Review: "...and third place? third place is you're fired!"
Summary: 5 Stars
It's a sad reflection on the state of the industry that this film took *so* long to make it to DVD in the U.S. One of the most fortuitous confluences of acting, writing, and production talent in any film that I know of, GGR is easily one of the greatest of its era. Mamet's dialougue often feels forced and contrived elsewhere (see "State and Main," a solid but mostly inferior script), but it is at its finest when coming from the mouths of these fast and foul-mouthed salesmen. Pacino, Lemmon, Harris, Spacey, and the rest of this truly all-star, perfectly-matched cast were obviously determined to take this project on as Actors, as some of the commentary shows, and they really did. We are never in doubt that this is a cinematic staging of a play, and in this sense it recaptures a nearly-lost sense of pacing and style that movie audiences took for granted decades ago. The film's production, although seemingly straightforward, provides some solid touches as well. The red-lights-in-the-rain motif is especially effective here, and it was very smart to move the story from Chicago to the desperate edges of NYC.
The DVD extras could have been *much* better. For as much as I liked the idea of exploring what "real" salesmen do, this scattershot of just-barely-related documentary material didn't do it for me. But you're not buying this for the extras, anyway.
This is an absolutely essential American film, as well as the one Mamet play with which every serious reader (or Simpsons fans, for that matter, who will immediately recognize Jack Lemmon's pathos as the source for "Gil") should be familiar. ABC!
Movie Review: a movie of Mamet proportions!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Al Pacino (People I Know, Looking For Richard), Jack Lemmon (The Odd Couple, Out To Sea), Ed Harris (The Human Stain, Just Cause), Alec Baldwin (The Aviator, The Cooler), Alan Arkin (Grosse Pointe Blank, The Jerky Boys Movie), Kevin Spacey (Se7en, Beyond The Sea) and Jonathan Pryce (Pirates Of The Caribbean, Ronin) act their asses off in tense and powerful performances. Pacino, Lemmon, Harris, Arkin and Spacey all work as salesmen and they have to sell leads to get big mucho money by the next day or their fired...that's what the dynamic Baldwin says to them...he has everything and they dont...he doesnt like losers. So, the gang embark on selling the leads that they have and if the others dont, most of them get canned in the end. Harris and Arkin devise a plan or stealing the good leads for themselves...share them. The next day, they all come to work and find out that the place has been robbed...the contracts and leads and even the phones are all gone. A detective questions them all as the tension builds up as the actors bicker and banter on one another. Who stole the leads? A superb array of characters with the actors channeling their brilliant talents to them....Pacino is pulsating as the offfice hotshot...Lemmon hits the mark as the office loser....Arkin and Harris deliver as well and Spacey is riveting as the boss. Jonathan Pryce has a nice role as one of Pacino's clients. The dialouge rolls off the screen like firecrackers in true David Mamet style. A masterpiece. I recommend it highly. Directed by James Foley (The Corrupter, Fear)