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David Duchovny, Julianne Moore, Billy Crudup, Maggie Gyllenhaal, James LeGros ... see more see more... , Eva Mendes , Dagmara Dominczyk , Glenn Fitzgerald , Justin Bartha , John Ellison Conlee , Bob Balaban , Sterling K. Brown , Liam Broggy , Ellen Barkin , Garry Shandling , Sascha Gillen , Brianna Gillen , Scott Sowers , Sarah Knowlton , Brian Tarantina , David Greenspan , Caroline Schlobohm , Teresa Yenque , Kiran Merchant , Tom Riis Farrell , Caleb Freundlich , Jayne Houdyshell , Todd M. Hofacker , Peter S. Bencebi , Kate Jennings Grant , Frederick B. Owens , Jim Gaffigan , Steven Glenn , Paul Hecht , Steven M. Wargo , Sherry Ham , Gretchen Cleevely , Sean Dugan , Hollis Granville , Jimmy King , Chris Champeau , Francine Beers , Liv Freundlich , Noelle Beck

Two couples demonstrate that breaking up can be just as hard as staying together in this romantic comedy drama. Rebecca (Julianne Moore) and Tom (David Duchovny) are a seemingly happy married couple l... read more read more...iving in New York City -- she's a successful actress, while he stays home with the kids. However, beneath the surface, things are not going well. Rebecca is no longer amused with her husband's appetite for porn and constant sexual demands, while he's seriously considering having an affair. Rebecca's brother Tobey, (Billy Crudup), is in a more openly dysfunctional relationship; he's been dating Elaine (Maggie Gyllenhaal) for seven years but has no interest in marriage, while she's desperate to settle down and start a family. Tobey and Elaine decide to call it quits, as Tobey hooks up with an old friend from college (Eva Mendes) who is looking to cheat on her husband, and Elaine starts dating a handsome musician (James LeGros) who may be in need of a green card. Meanwhile, Rebecca and Tom go into couples therapy, which creates as many problems as it solves. Trust the Man also features Ellen Barkin, Garry Shandling, and Bob Balaban. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

37% liked it

25,197 ratings

Critics

28% liked it

101 critics

R, 1 hr. 39 min.

Directed by: Bart Freundlich

Release Date: August 18, 2006

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DVD Release Date: February 6, 2007

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Flixster Reviews (1,091)

  • hunterjt13
    July 14, 2011
    hunterjt13
    Two couples encounter various difficulties with commitment and fidelity.
    It takes an awful long time for this film to get started; it should be used in film classes to show how not to do exposition. During the first act of the film, I wasn't sure how I was supposed to feel about... read more these characters -- whether they were to be taken seriously or merely seen as farcical caricatures. But once the film establishes the various problems affecting these relationships, I think it's fairly entertaining. Even Julianne Moore, whom I hate, is tolerable. I especially liked the scene in which dinner guests overhear Elaine bragging about her new beau's manhood to her old beau. And there's a great two-shot in the third act of David Duchovny and Billy Crudup in tuxedos looking as though they're ready for anything but nonetheless clueless.
    The ending is, of course, cliche, and some of the supporting characters are too over-the-top to be believed (I'm looking at you Goren [Glenn Fitzgerald] and Dante [James LeGros]), but overall, though I have no idea why it's called Trust the Man, Trust the Man delivers a few laughs for the light-hearted fare it eventually attempts to be.
  • sanjurosamurai
    March 15, 2010
    sanjurosamurai
    i laughed like three times at this flick. the rest of it was nearly unbearable. it began well, for about 5 minutes, then turned into a pointless film full of unlikeable characters, then the end felt like some horrible teen comedy starring adults. truly pointless.
  • jjnxn
    March 25, 2009
    jjnxn
    Julianne Moore is good but the movie is just sort of blah.
  • Redlats
    April 20, 2008
    Redlats
    This movie follows two couples in Manhattan go through some turmoil. Do they stay with their significant others, or do they test the waters? I guess you have to live in NYC to get all the parking humour.
  • MidnightMadwoman
    December 6, 2007
    MidnightMadwoman
    Again, a movie that I liked a lot more than I thought I might have. Although, it profoundly bugs me when people in movies just don't know how to talk to each other, a problem that plagued the folks in this one. David Cuchovny is fantastic in comedies, and really clicks with Julia... read morenne Moore onscreen. (If you liked them in this, you should get a load of Evolution.) Billy Crudup and Maggie Gyllenhaal were a little less endearing, but it was a very funny and very human movie all around. Its quirkiness and down to earth quality save it when it isn't being funny. Great little flick.
  • flickfever
    August 29, 2006
    flickfever
    This is a movie that you could be a lot better than it is. But before you dismiss it as another piece of crap, you realize that it isn't meant to be taken so seriously. You see the movie for what it is: a romantic comedy about upscale New Yorkers who have difficulty coping with ... read moretheir love lives. Sure, the premise may lack orginality, but the actors bring heart and depth to characters that would, otherwise, be considered shallow, selfish and superficial. David Duchovny and Julianne Moore (my favorite) star as a sex-starved-stay-at-home-dad and a pre-meno-pausal actress, respectively. Their marriage is in shambles and needs a face lift (to which Moore's character suggests injecting with Botox). Maggie Gyllenhaal and Billy Crudup co-star as the younger couple with similar problems. Crudup plays the insecure, conflict-avoiding slacker who isn't ready to commit to Gyllenhaal's demands for a family of their own. The plot is somewhat predictable and is sprinkled with cheese here and there. But depending on your tastes in dairy products, that could be a good thing. The melo-dramatic storyline is offset by some pretty hilarious pranks (inluding Duchovny's subtle humor and sexual antics) and juxtaposed with some crass humor that are likely to summon some chuckles and even some whole-hearted belly laughs. The movie is smarter than it seems; has an amazing cast and oozes with good intention. Trust me on that!
  • gator681
    August 28, 2006
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]In "Trust the Man", Tom(David Duchovny) is a former advertising man, now playing househusband for his two young children and actress wife, Rebecca(Julianne Moore), who is about to star in a play at Lincoln Center. Her younger brother, Tobey(Billy Crudup), is... read more a sportswriter who would rather watch ESPN than his girlfriend of seven years, Elaine(Maggie Gyllenhaal), an editor who simultaneously wants to be a children's author and suffers from a serious case of baby fever.[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]"Trust the Man" is an occasionally funny but very predictable movie that is helped out enormously by its first-rate cast(yes, yes, even Duchovny). Billy Crudup stands out as a particularly dim bulb. The movie is not long on plot, and is made up mostly of set pieces, some working better than others. And it is nice to see a film where a man stays home to take of the children.[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]Note: Bart Freundlich also directed Billy Crudup, Julianne Moore and James LeGros in "World Traveler." Julianne Moore and David Duchovny also starred together in "Evolution."[/font]
  • Yinali
    October 6, 2008
    Yinali
    Awkward movie...
  • SunilJawahir
    February 28, 2009
    SunilJawahir
    There is nothing genuine about any of these characters.
  • ileo
    July 25, 2008
    ileo
    Hmmmmmm......I thought I just rated this movie. Oh well! Great cast. Good music. Interesting insight into the lifestyle and boundaries in: relationships, family, and the aspect of friendships. Great movie. A must-see.

View All Trust the Man Reviews

Critic Reviews

J. R. Jones
December 18, 2006
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

I saw this at a festival and hated it, then sat through it again a year later and decided it wasn't so bad, aside from the god-awful ending. Full Review

Roger Moore
September 1, 2006
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

Two couples in trouble, one with kids, another considering them. Writer-director Bart Freundlich's challenge is to stress them and find a resolution to their conflicts in ways that aren't banal, predi... Full Review

Amy Biancolli
September 1, 2006
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

I wish the film were true to itself and its quartet of puzzled, struggling lovers; their collapse into sitcom idiocy felt uncomfortably close to betrayal. Full Review

Terry Lawson
September 1, 2006
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

A lot more smug and a lot less insightful than writer-director Bart Freundlich apparently assumes, and it's burdened even more by its surfeit of unsympathetic characters. Full Review

Philip Wuntch
August 31, 2006
Philip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News

Screenwriter and director Bart Freundlich fails to offer fresh insights into the problems of contemporary relationships, and many of his comic targets are easy and conventional. Full Review

Bill Muller
August 31, 2006
Bill Muller, Arizona Republic

There's nothing terribly wrong with this comedy about the romantic dalliances of four New Yorkers, but there's nothing terribly right about it, either. Full Review

Colin Covert
August 31, 2006
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

The people behind this film would not recognize complex, honest emotion if it hit them in the face with a frying pan.

Richard Roeper
August 21, 2006
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

Trying to mimic the Woody Allen films is not a bad thing to do, but why not put a spin on it? Full Review

Wesley Morris
August 19, 2006
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

Is this farce, drama, satire? Who knows? Full Review

Claudia Puig
August 18, 2006
Claudia Puig, USA Today

This comedy about two self-absorbed New York couples feels like wan Woody Allen. Full Review

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Trust the Man Trivia

  • Name the actor/actress in "Once Upon a Time in The West" that said "How can you trust a man who can't trust his own pants;you wear both a belt and suspenders.  Answer »
  • Name the movie line: "It turns out you're a hard man to predict." "Me I'm dishonest, and a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest, honestly, It's the honest one's you want to watch out for because you never know when their going to do something...incrediably........stupid."  Answer »
  • Name two films where Julianne Moore and David Duchovny have starred together.  Answer »
  • Which Actress Was: -Sara In Hitch -April In Stuck On You -Monica Fuentes In 2 Fast 2 Furious -Ajedrez In Once Upon A Time In Mexico -Faith In Trust The Man  Answer »
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