The Naked Man

Quirky? You bet. This surreal tale of a man torn between two worlds is populated with supporting characters from both sides of the rainbow. The dialogue, the pacing, even the camera angles scream "Sit up straight for an evening of romance, revenge, and spinal integrity."

Of course, this isn't a Coen brothers film, but it does have a strong connection to their films with Ethan Coen contributing to the script (but not producing) and with the Coen's storyboard artist J. Todd Anderson directing and also co-writing. As to be expected, it's not as good as a full Coen brothers effort, but worth a look for anyone who is a fan of the Coens (as I am).

That said, it's not a great movie. It does have a pretty funny central concept, but to me, it never seemed to completely get off the ground. J. Todd Anderson directs the film in a similar style to Joel Coen, but he isn't near as good as writing funny dialog. There is some stuff here that people with a weird sense of humor (like me) will appreciate, but mostly the film is meandering and pointless.

Definately not on the same level as the Coen brothers' classics, but worth seeing for anyone who likes the Coens, or weird comedies in general.

This movie is great. I have rented it a couple of times now and find something new each time. It is HILARIOUS!! The acting is firmly tongue in cheek and well done. My favorite character of all is the police detective -- I'd love to see a movie just about him (hint-hint Mr. Anderson). I haven't laughed out loud at a movie in a long time. Bravo!

The director has, on a low budget, created a tight script, with beautiful timing. Rapaport plays a pro wrestler (whose persona is "The Naked Man")/chiropractor who is thrust into responding to an attempted gangland takeover of his small town. Wonderfully acted from the chain smoking cynical cops, to the paraplegic gangster, to his Elvis impersonating enforcer, and finally to the biker girlfriend follower. All the little bits were perfect and the movie was a hilarious comedy.

This movie is more than just a film co-written by Ethan Coen (of the Coen brother fame). And if your expecting a Coen brother movie, its different but it does have some familiar ties to films made by the Coen brothers. What else would you expect from Director J.T Anderson who has been the storyboard artist on almost all of the Coen brothers projects, and J.T's characters are every bit as interesting as any created by his co-writer and his brother. This movie lives on the dynamics between its characters, and of course great photography by Jeff Barklage. (I think every Coen brother film has had great photography that pushes the story and the characters.) But enough about Coens. This is a fun film and a good film, and I cannot understand why OCTOBER and UNIVERSAL did not release this sucker.