The Ten

Meaning this movie would get about a two.

I saw this at a matinée in a West Hollywood theater. There were maybe two dozen other people in the theater. One guy laughed. At everything. I think he even snickered at the stone tablets. Other than that, mostly dead silence throughout the entire movie.

The film simply wasn't funny and in some cases, it was virtually offensive. Making a joke out of anal rape isn't easy, as the movie makers proved here. The question is, why did they try? When is rape a suitable topic for comedy? Of course, maybe I am being closed minded and what we really need to do is take the stigma off rape.

The movie makers here seem to think they're some modern incarnation of Mel Brooks or Woody Allen with their abilities to satirize human foibles. Sorry, but they just don't measure up.

Great cast, but it was all sizzle and no steak, meaning most of them had little to do except trade on their celebrity. "Look at me, I'm a big star, but I can get silly in some quirky little movie."

The whole thing had "acting class exercise" written all over it,

This is the first film I have chosen to comment on so forgive me if my review is not on par with some of the more knowledgeable film buffs out there! I feel I should also point out that I have no prior knowledge of the director or any of his previous works.

Therefore, reviewing this as a stand-alone movie, I would have to say that it was somewhat below average. While there were some scenes that I did laugh at and in my opinion the acting was great (though it has to be said that the actors were playing rather shallow characters) all in all it was a rather disappointing film. As many people have said, the plots were VERY loosely tied to the Ten Commandments (in some cases I found it hard to find the link at all) and I actually felt embarrassed for the actors during some of the more cringe worthy scenes. It just felt to me as if they were trying too hard. In some cases the dialogue was highly commendable but in others it was just lacked subtlety. Don't get me wrong - I love humour that is intended to shock and appal but as I said earlier - this film just felt like it was trying too hard to do so and thus, for me, lacked integrity.

This movie was truly horrific. I like anything from black comedies to just very straight forward humor, but this wasn't funny at all. The writing seemed juvenile, forced and all over the place. I mean come on: the stories are based on the ten commandments. There has got to be some humor in ten random rules on which to base morality. Yet this didn't even come close to pointing out anything at all. I also can't seem to figure out how they got funding for this and all these normally very funny actors participated. I can understand how a movie can seem good on paper, but to not work on screen, but to know this wasn't going to work at all you barely have to be able to read. If you are planning to go see this movie: don't!

This film had a good premise with a load of good actors. How did it not come out great? I believe this film just entered into the "Envy" status.

Don't get me wrong there a few laughs (see Liev Screiber's phone call) But no where near enough to cover the patchy and downright stupid storyline. Why was Paul Rudd's story taking place in the TV studio in which he was filming a program? Surely thats not allowed.

This film lacks smarts and doesn't make up for it with all out laughs. The film could of been the next Anchorman or even Dodgeball but due to story getting lost somewhere and a couple of stories which were just stupid (see last story and story with the rhino) I think what sums this film up is the last scene you'll know what I'm talking about when you see it.

I had high expectations and was let down, thoroughly.

(Mild Spoilers)

Okay, David Wain's "The Ten" isn't attempting to redefine the genre of sketch comedy or satire, nor does it pass judgement on the religious iconography it uses as a template. It merely cheekily plays with the idea of the commandments in a smutty and more often than not, unique way. What I think the strongest part of this film is, is its pre-occupation with the perverse and how one can play that out on screen. The repetition of the Spanish word for vagina, Winona Ryder's hysterical relationship with that dummy, Oliver Platt's "Arnie" impression, Liev Schreiber's cat scan machines and the untimely death of hundreds of children, are all irreverent and interesting approaches to the lessons or moral codes of the ten commandments. Whilst some are better executed than others, I particularly appreciated the astute connection between the "Adultery" segment and Woody Allen's films. The use of the stamp jazz soundtrack as the camera moves down a busy New York street, the inclusion of Dianne Weist as a needy wife, and the self-indulgence of our two infidels all really hit the mark. Even their dialogue seems to be mocking Allen's neurotic adulterous characters. Which, as a Woody Allen fan, I really got into.

If for anything else, one should give "The Ten" a go for its wonderful utilisation of well- known actors for comedy. They seem to really be holding absolutely nothing back, and that is actually a thrilling experience to watch. Particularly the work of Winona Ryder, whose drive off into the sunset with no hands on her steering wheel, crying and laughing like a lunatic whilst sitting next to her lover, a wooden dummy, got me so giggly I couldn't breathe.