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Jon Foster, Peter Sarsgaard, Sienna Miller, Nick Nolte, Mena Suvari ... see more see more... , Rawson Marshall Thurber , Omid Abtahi , Keith Michael Gregory

A recent college graduate desperate to have one last fling before launching himself into the real world falls into a strange love triangle with a charismatic couple in director Rawson Thurber's featur... read more read more...e adaptation of Michael Chabon's freshman novel. Peter Sarsgaard, Mena Suvari, Nick Nolte, Sienna Miller, and Jon Foster star in a film that was adapted for the screen by director Thurber. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Flixster Users

27% liked it

2,260 ratings

Critics

12% liked it

41 critics

R, 1 hr. 35 min.

Directed by: Rawson Marshall Thurber

Release Date: April 10, 2009

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DVD Release Date: May 9, 2006

Stats: 178 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (178)

  • gator681
    June 23, 2010
    gator681
    In "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh," at first glance, Art(Jon Foster) might seem to be committing career suicide by having sex with his supervisor Phlox(Mena Suvari) all over their workplace. But then this is just a summer job for Art at the Book Barn while he considers his next mo... read moreve, so where's the harm? His father(Nick Nolte), a gangster of ill-repute who he has dinner with once a month in a swanky restaurant, has his next five moves planned which include passing his stock trading exam and working in Baltimore. That's where his career comes in. Where Jane(Sienna Miller) comes in is at a party, after which they go eat pie. After that, Jane's boyfriend Cleveland(Peter Sarsgaard) takes Art for a ride.

    "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" is a disappointingly inert adaptation of Michael Chabon's novel(I don't remember that much about it except its ending and that I liked it). In its depiction of a transitional year of 1983, it is about a person caught between the respectability he dreads and the eccentric friends he loves. On the one hand, the movie keeps the central relationships intact, but also manages to lose a lot of the book's offbeat energy in its move to the screen which is best exemplified by the casting of non-entity Jon Foster in the lead. That's not to mention too much reliance on daddy issues and droning narration which does eventually disappear. The supporting cast is very, very good but even they cannot save a movie where there is no center.
  • danieljparsons
    October 24, 2009
    danieljparsons
    It's A Home At the End of the World all over again - i.e., one of my most favorite books (which coincidentally also centres on, but is not limited to, a complicated love triangle) is simplified so much that not only are almost all sub-plots removed, but the main plot is so... read more diluted that nothing much of any consequence seems to happen. Even though, in actuality, a lot does happen. Simply put, this is a mediocre adaptation of a superior novel. What elevates this slightly above A Home are some excellent performances. Peter Sarsgaard handles his ambisexual (my term) character with skill, and Jon Foster comes close to matching this, although his monotone delivery can be hard to follow. It's little wonder this failed to set the box-office on fire but it still remains a big disappointment, particularly since Michael Chabon's works lend themselves very well to adaptation (Wonder Boys is evidence of that).
  • trisarahtops22
    August 26, 2009
    trisarahtops22
    I always have high expectations for movies involving or set in Pittsburgh because that's my hometown, but this one was highly disappointing. The storyline was weak, and it just seemed like there was no point to watching it. A waste of time...
  • liquidstone14
    August 3, 2009
    liquidstone14
    There's nothing exceptionally rotten about this critically-panned adaptation of Michael Chabon's well-received novel; it simply translates into a pretty flat coming-of-age story in cinematic form. Director Rawson Marshall Thurber manages to get a few moments of genuine human emot... read moreion, most of them involving Peter Sarsgaard in an enigmatic and thoroughly engaging star turn, but other than that... let's just say he doesn't elevate a dull and obvious screenplay from mediocrity. Jon Foster is an okay choice for the role of Art, but his too-obvious narration gets tiresome rather fast. The women in the cast don't fare much better, with Mena Suvari barely having a character to inhabit and Sienna Miller showing a rather alarming lack of naturality.

    The Mysteries of Pittsburgh is not a film I'd recommend to anybody, but then again, it isn't the type of film that's worth lamenting on. Just like Art Bechstein should... let's move on to something else, kids.
  • Hamee
    January 20, 2012
    Hamee
    The cast was brilliant in this. There may not have been much real life application to the plot, but it was a solid idea with a realistic ending.
  • egyptiansushi
    March 21, 2010
    egyptiansushi
    watched it cuz i live in pittsburgh yo

    mmm homoeroticism with peter sarsgaard never gets old

    mmmmm boring movie
  • filmguy450
    November 19, 2009
    filmguy450
    A well-acted, odd, off-beat coming-of-age movie based upon the Michael Chabon book. Parts feel undercooked, but overall this was engrossing and interesting, even when in some of the cliches of typically coming-of-age movies.
  • lennyd44
    September 5, 2009
    lennyd44
    A very forgettable flick. The film has little substance and the acting is pretty flat. The story has the feel of "been there, done that... way too many times." A narration can be effective if used cleverly but it was utilized poorly. The setting could have taken place in any cit... read morey. I'm sure there are lots of mysteries in Pittsburgh but this movie reveals none. Rent "Garden State" instead.
  • bonasjsb
    August 22, 2009
    bonasjsb
    I have really had enough of the comedic dramas about a twenty something slacker that doesnt know what he wants to do with his life. This mvie is garbage, the only redeeming thing is the periodic shot of Pittsburgh landmarks.
  • jam233
    August 2, 2009
    jam233
    Nicely acted, but the movie is just fair. It's well enough done, it has a polished and professional look to it. The story just didn't always hold my interest. Nice cinematography.

View All The Mysteries of Pittsburgh Reviews

Critic Reviews

Dan Zak
April 16, 2009
Dan Zak, Washington Post

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh seems to be missing an essential element of drama, of risk, underneath its glossy, golden sheen. Full Review

Ben Lyons
April 13, 2009
Ben Lyons, At the Movies

The movie is all over the place and it loses its focus. Full Review

Ben Mankiewicz
April 13, 2009
Ben Mankiewicz, At the Movies

I can't imagine the novel's characters were this flat, formulaic and puzzling in their behavior. Full Review

Lou Lumenick
April 10, 2009
Lou Lumenick, New York Post

The real mystery about The Mysteries of Pittsburgh is how writer-director Rawson Marshall Thurber could turn Michael Chabon's delightful debut novel into such a bore. Full Review

Joe Neumaier
April 10, 2009
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News

When characters say things like "It's gonna be a great summer," or call someone "Old sport" and act oh-so-beautifully doomed, it's time to call the cliché police. Full Review

Rick Groen
April 10, 2009
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

When a director has an overinflated conception of the adapted book, we stand a pretty good chance of being really underwhelmed by the completed movie. Full Review

David Wiegand
April 10, 2009
David Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle

The charm and drily pointed cultural observations that made Chabon's 1988 debut so auspicious are largely missing in action throughout this earnest but unconvincing film. Full Review

A.O. Scott
April 10, 2009
A.O. Scott, New York Times

A clumsy and confused adaptation of Michael Chabon's 1988 novel.

Colin Covert
April 9, 2009
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

At any middling arthouse festival, films like this are four for a dollar. Full Review

Michael Phillips
April 9, 2009
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh is a coming-of-ager that nearly slaughters you by minute 30 with the relentlessness of its protagonist's voiceovers, as scripted--with reverence and without cinematic wiles... Full Review

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