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Julianne Nicholson, John Krasinski, Bobby Cannavale, Timothy Hutton, Dominic Cooper ... see more see more... , Christopher Meloni , Lou Taylor Pucci , Will Forte , Michael Cerveris , Malcolm Goodwin , Josh Charles , Frankie Faison , Clarke Peters , Will Arnett , Denis O'Hare , Rashida Jones , Ben Shenkman , Joey Slotnick , Chris Messina , Max Minghella , Corey Stoll , Benjamin Gibbard , Pucci Ben

Adapted from the book by David Foster Wallace, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men tells the story of Sara Quinn, a graduate student in anthropology who's left feeling lost after her boyfriend breaks up... read more read more... with her and offers little explanation as to why. With her dissertation looming, Sara begins a project to interview men, all sorts of men, trying to unearth the mystery of their bizarre behavior. As her personal life and her academic life continue to mingle, Sara uncovers some strange and disturbing things about the male perspective, but nothing could be quite as strange as what she learns about herself. ~ Cammila Albertson, Rovi

Flixster Users

33% liked it

2,795 ratings

Critics

39% liked it

36 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 20 min.

Directed by: John Krasinski

Release Date: September 25, 2009

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DVD Release Date: March 16, 2010

Stats: 284 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (284)

  • hunterjt13
    November 27, 2011
    hunterjt13
    A woman interviews men about their relationships with women and feminism.
    Throughout most of the first act of Brief Interviews with Hideous Men I had no idea where it was going, and worse, I didn't care. Julianne Nicholson acted like Julianne Nicholson usually does - awkw... read moreard and lost, drawn to expectation and thwarted by disappointment. And the stories in the first act were banal in the way one might expect - creepy in some cases, but overall, not extraordinary.
    Then, at the beginning of what should have been the second act (this film's structure is strange because it seemed like they skipped act two), there is a story about a man whose father worked as a bathroom attendant to support his family. John Krasinski's direction allows the older son to confront his younger father about his sacrifices, and the result is touching and compelling. The film takes off from there, the stories getting more and more interesting and the protagonist's goal more and more clear. Krasinski's final monologue proves him to be a strong dramatic actor.
    However, I did think that the dialogue, much of which must have been copied out of David Foster Wallace's book, seemed like it was written by an actor who wanted the opportunity to read what he read in public, not the result of a conscious dramatic choice.
    Overall, I liked the last half of this film even though it's a true "actors movie."
  • purplemegan
    September 27, 2010
    purplemegan
    Boring.
  • Stinger839
    August 10, 2010
    Stinger839
    It's quite simple really: I love it when a play is adapted to screen and maintains its stage-intended qualities. I usually loathe a multiplot; they are just too simple a trick. But in this this instance, it's not just a gimmick to garner awards, it's a conscious decision that cre... read moreates the disjointed nature of the overall piece. In other words, the multiplot approach serves this film and its themes very well. I can see many loathing it and viewing it as a waste of time, but I was reeled into these confessions and these candid stories these men tell. Really, there is no central story, and the "main character" is utterly flat and ultimately unlikable, but I really did not care because I was too entranced by the language and its delivery.
  • gator681
    February 16, 2011
    gator681
    In "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men," Sara(Julianne Nicholson), a graduate student, interviews various men about their sex lives for her thesis, even secretly taping a couple of them(Christopher Meloni & Denis O'Hare) talking about sexually harassing a woman(Lorri Bagley) at an... read more airport. And that's kind of the level of discourse she has to listen to, day in and day out. Added to that, as a woman, she is expected to be in a relationship with a man, hopefully not like her subjects but maybe like the one(Will Arnett) who is locked out of his apartment.(Or to take a more extreme example: In an early episode of "Homicide: Life on the Streets," Detective Kay Howard(Melissa Leo) confides to a therapist about her conflicting feelings about men, after, as a homicide detective, seeing the worst they have to offer.) Newly single, people comment on Sara's wardrobe and her haircut and her professor(Timothy Hutton) suggests she should be more sociable. As intriguing as this might sound and despite incredibly and inventively realizing the cinematic potential in such material, the movie sadly never quite goes beyond the conceptual level. And I think a lot of that has to do with never hearing Sara's questions to hear what she is so curious about, so she sadly remains little more than a cipher. Like "The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy" points out, sometimes the questions are just as important as the answers.
  • fb796967648
    December 8, 2009
    fb796967648
    Dear John Krasinski: You are a talented and charming actor. I love your work on TV and have started to believe you might be a movie star too. So I have to ask you something. Why must you also be good as a writer and director? It seems unfair, to say the least. You have adap... read moreted the unadaptable novel/essay collection/whatever by the much-missed David Foster Wallace with so much grace, humor and intellect that it makes me want to punch you in the nose a little. It helps a bit that the last 10 minutes of your film don't quite hit the mark, in the end feeling more literary than dramatic, but it only helps a little. I think you're probably going to make a great movie, because you've already made a very, very good one. When you finally do that, I may have to stop speaking to you.
    Sincerely,
    Jeff
  • xas5
    May 15, 2010
    xas5
    The film was overall alright. I was on the brink of laughing with Will Arnett, Will Forte, and a few other interviews, but was ultimately unimpressed by it all. The only interview I invested in was the airplane story and I am not even sure why... Ben Gibbard's (Death Cab For Cuti... read moree) was a pleasant surprise. Overall, my contempt for John Kransinski continues (not a fan of The Office... at all).
  • fb1025970122
    May 3, 2010
    fb1025970122
    I like Mr. Krasinski very much, he is an appealing guy who seems to have a very intellectual head on his shoulders. This film was made out of the love he had for David Foster Wallace's short story that he read in college. This is an easy fascination to understand, I have been ass... read moreigned many stories that I thought would make great films and so I applaud the director for being able to accomplish something I have such an affection for. That said, the style of Krasinski's directing here is quite simple. I say that in hopes that he intended it to be that way. The camera is very static most of the time and only ever so often do we get a moving camera. Most of the time it simply stys focused on the actor giving his highly intelligent and well though out monologue. There are some interesting points here and the concept is inspiring and gets credit for being different. The parade of actors all seem to be doing their friend a favor with no one person getting too involved in the process. Even when Krasinski himself drops in to give his speech it is quite brief and then the film is over. Some of the introspective interviews are more impressive than others, most notably, Frankie Faison's, but this kind of revolving door of stories never allows the audience to connect with one story or character. This connection is supposed to be supplied by the lone female in the film, the one conducting these interviews, but she is never really developed as a character. She is only present to be the object that allows all these smart, funny and interesting things being said to somehow connect and form a story. In the end, this ends up feeling more like an academic paper than a film. It gives us a main idea and plenty of examples to support the point its trying to make and while it is sometimes mildly entertaining, it never feels like we're watching this for the heck of watching a movie. We're watching it to feel more intelligent and listen to intelligent folk spout their ideas of women and the world.
  • mattsigur1
    December 20, 2009
    mattsigur1
    I'm very much into watching actors just spew monologues.
    Some of this is very emo. It doesn't get any worse than watching the guy from Death Cab for Cutie fumble around.
    But there are some great performances in here?Frankie Faison, Christopher Meloni, even the kid who writes th... read moree paper?all prove they're great at providing key emotions into these words.
    The film grew on me while I watched it, and it crescendoes into Krasinski's moment on the screen, which is pretty damn good.
    It's flawed for sure, but worth a watch. Here's to Krasinski's budding career.
  • kylegarvey6
    May 23, 2012
    kylegarvey6
    Amazing adaptation of Wallace's tender and brilliant words. I can't think of a more challenging, fun, crazy source material -- or one that's so eminently ready for translation into film. Though it sometimes slips into wonky abstraction, with static-seeming sociologizing and errat... read moreic what-women-want musings, the core of this movie has a cool, low-key charm and a creative fervor. It blends thoughtful drama and exciting comedy in a patient, always quirky way. There are reverent scenes within scenes, narrative on top of drama on top of narrative, all amounting to a blithely provocative but endlessly interesting stew of questions and ideas.
  • ThomasJayWilliams
    November 13, 2011
    ThomasJayWilliams
    David Foster Wallace's Brief Interviews with Hideous Men is brought to the big screen by first-time director, Office-star John Krasinski (who also has a small role in the film). Brief Interviews comes from literary and brainy subject matter ... but it didn't translate into a good... read more movie. The screenplay was my biggest complaint with the film since a larger-chunk of the actors were fine (Frankie Faison had a very nice scene as did Christoper Meloni who were probably my two standouts) while a few flailed about grasping for something to hold onto as they were lost in the too heady dialogue. Most of the actors in this film are ones you have seen before ... but we just don't know their names. I am a fan of Julianne Nicholson (Kinsey, Tully) but I had a hard time with her here because of the dreadful little boy haircut -- I don't get this fad at all! I absoultely hate when the words coming out of a character's mouth SOUND like written dialogue ... and that is most definitely what we get here. In a very short film (clocking in at a mere 72 minute runtime), I asked my self many times "who says that?" or "who talks like that?". I listened and what was said isn't terrible IF I were reading a book; but to come from ignorant, hideous men ... it was just too much. I think the director is trying for something he doesn't quite reach -- because the film is meaningless and it isn't supposed to be. Uh ... what? Uhm ... okay. Uh ... humm ... no, I don't think so. I think the film wants to shock us with some of its ideas; but it doesn't. I was never truly convinced with anything some of these people said. I don't think the men are the only thing hideous here ... happy viewing! :(

View All Brief Interviews with Hideous Men Reviews

Critic Reviews

Ian Buckwalter
July 4, 2010
Ian Buckwalter, NPR

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. Full Review

Steven Rea
November 12, 2009
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

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. Full Review

Michael Phillips
September 28, 2009
Michael Phillips, At the Movies

I worry that this film is static enough and stiff enough that it's going to keep people away from discovering David Foster Wallace if they haven't read him. Full Review

A.O. Scott
September 28, 2009
A.O. Scott, At the Movies

Tthough this experiment doesn't quite succeed, there's enough intelligence and insight in this movie to make it worth the attempt. Full Review

Mary F. Pols
September 28, 2009
Mary F. Pols, TIME Magazine

[Krasinski's] generosity of intent is really the main impression that remains. He read, he loved, and unfortunately, he did not conquer. Full Review

Elizabeth Weitzman
September 25, 2009
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News

Actor John Krasinski deserves credit for having the ambition to adapt material as difficult as David Foster Wallace's short stories. Full Review

Kyle Smith
September 25, 2009
Kyle Smith, New York Post

Everyone speaks in the sweatily polysyllabic, Look-at-This-Writing-I'm-Doing tone that makes a page of Wallace pass like an hour on the treadmill, and the men are dopes or creeps. Full Review

Claudia Puig
September 25, 2009
Claudia Puig, USA Today

It's an undeniably ambitious, if uneven, effort. Some of Krasinski's directorial flourishes are inspired, such as Christopher Meloni's imaginative re-telling (and offbeat re-enacting) about a woman he... Full Review

Stephen Holden
September 25, 2009
Stephen Holden, New York Times

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.

Owen Gleiberman
September 23, 2009
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

Krasinski preserves Wallace's whooshing roller coasters of words, powered by the fuel of confession. Full Review

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