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I had looked forward to seeing this film after reading about it, especially given Stanley Tucci's involvement. The first half of the film is quirky and interesting in it's "Tin Men" like overview of the home security sales business. However, the second half of the film veers sharply into post-Tarantino plot devices, none of which are remotely interesting or innovative. By the end of the film (and it's pointless prologue), I was thoroughly bored and ready to leave. Tucci is OK as the slimy proprietor but Arquette's one-note performance grew tiresome. Kate Capshwaw, who looks absolutely gorgeous, is wasted but Ryan Reynolds is outstanding as her son. His scene with Arquette in which he described his attempt at lovemaking was worth the price of admission. In fact, I would have preferred to see a movie about his character rather than Arquette's.

The first time I saw this movie, I joined in right before the mood got dark--during the overnight stay with the parents, and this movie knocked my socks off. Very quirky and interesting, but not "Tarentino-like" at all, as someone else has said. So tonight I rented the movie and watched it start to finish. Ugh! I feel like the first time I saw it, I only saw the very best of the movie! It's got one dark, nice twist, but otherwise, this is a mediocre movie at best. Stay away unless you're very bored!

It's rather sad to see that so many people seem turned off by this comedy. Just like Romeo is Bleeding, too many people seem to just give up when they're finally shown something that truly creates an original tone for itself. This movie walks a tight-wire between the absurd and offbeat while still seemingly plausible and realistic. The plot twists with wonderfully subversive glee. I could not help but fall hopelessly in love with this charming movie. Don't listen to all the negative comments. Rent it and judge for yourself. You just might be wonderfully surprised.

I was at this film's premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in 1997. After the screening, when the writer/director and some cast members offered to answer questions, no one could even be bothered to ask any. Rarely has a film been so poorly directed (why on earth were random frames snipped out of some scenes?), wretchedly acted (David Arquette, to paraphrase Dorothy Parker, does not run the emotional gamut from A to B. He parks at A and brings a lunch) and utterly pointless. Characters behave completely out of character for no reason except to force the plot to move in certain directions. At long last, the film comes to a completely random and pointless end that's supposed to "really make you think." Unfortunately, what it makes you think is, "Well, there's 90 minutes of my life I'm never getting back."

This was surprising, maybe I didn't expect much: just the usual somewhat stupid and sleazy comedy of today. Instead it was one of those films that IS a comedy for the most part, but in the last segment turns dramatic.

The comedy in here is more subtle than normal and David Arquette does a nice job with, especially in one scene that is not-so-subtle. Just his stupid grin throughout the film was worth a few laughs. Stanley Tucci, meanwhile, is very convincing as as less-than-ethical salesman. Kate Capshaw makes the female lead role an attractive one.

Without giving anything away, suffice to say this film is a bit different, not what you might think, and worth a look. I can say one thing for sure: it is no award-winner but it's better than most of these reviews would have you believe.

THE ALARMIST is so abysmally scripted that you have think to yourself why on earth did an up and coming actor like David Arquette agree to be in it. It has to be one of the weakest plots I have ever seen and without any humour at all, it borders on the brink of tedious. It staggers along to a dreadful conclusion which appears to only happen because the director got bored and just wanted to wrap up quickly in order to get home for his dinner. Stay away!.

Dark, humorous, quirky and melodramatic. The mix of this movie may not gel and disappoint some, but on the whole I found it fun and entertaining. Dave Arquette, Stan Tucci and Kate Capeshaw give fine performances in this very offbeat movie that starts dark but ends with a comedic twist. Perhaps the plot could be better but there's plenty enough to give viewers amusement and chuckles. A strange one you'd either hate or enjoy. For myself, I found it on the plus side.

Very poor effort that offers pretty much nothing to anyone but a hardcore fan of Stanley Tucci, who tries, but can not save the poor structure, dialogue, direction, or talent of our leading man.

Pretty much the only trick this plodding tale of a naive new salesman for an alarm company has, is its quirky side characters. But without a realistic backdrop, such characters are pointless.

Nothing to see here, keep moving...

"The Alarmist" has a pointless first half, with David Arquette's stiff acting getting in the way of any possible comedy, but gets better in the second half, when it enters darker territory and presents some unexpected plot developments. And yes, Kate Capshaw does look good for her age. (**1/2)

What begins as a fairly clever farce about a somewhat shady security monitoring company turns, almost instantaneously, into an uninteresting and completely inane murder mystery. David Arquette and the great Stanley Tucci try mightily to make this train wreck watchable, but some things are just not humanly possible.

What, for instance, causes Gale to turn suddenly from a sweet motherly figure into a drunken shrew at Tommy's parents house? Why would Heinrich, although admittedly a sleezebag, want to destroy the business to which he devotes his life, by robbing and possibly murdering his customers? Why does the seemingly sensible Tommy believe that Heinrich could be a murderer (based almost entirely on a dream), and even if that were believable, why wouldn't he go to the police? And why didn't Gale activate the alarm when she got home, especially after scolding Howie about it being off? Of course, all of these events are necessary for the plot (and I use the term very, very loosely) to unfold. And it might be forgivable if it resulted in even the slightest bit of comedy. But everything, from Howie's description of his date rape, to the coroner's misidentification of Gale, to the final "joke" about Gale and Howie still being dead, is more tasteless and pathetic than anything else.

I checked the box indicating that my comments contained "spoilers", but there's nothing more I or anyone else could do to spoil this thing that already stinks to high heaven.

Aside from David Arquette's irritating performance, this is solid and fairly competent work. Although the characters may be dead-hollow, the events that ensue during the 90 minute run of the film are both amusing and inspired. Genuinely good.

Pointless, humourless drivel.....meant to be a comedy; but not one laugh in the whole film. Gratuitous violence often with guns. What kind of warped mentality can either make or say this is a good film?! 1 out of 10.

There's really not that needs to be said about this movie, except perhaps that it is little more than an unbelievably average attempt by all parties involved, from scriptwriters to actors to the film crew Stanley Tucci within a tight timeframe, and this was the only project on the shelf. But how any producer could look at If there's one good thing I can draw from this movie is the increase in respect I offer towards the Cohen brothers; even in their weakest attempts, the characters themselves remain interesting and unique due to a successful blend of writing, acting and directing.

Why Evan Dunsky was handed this film to both write and direct is beyond me. One must imagine that the producers had to use Dunsky's record and see "My Demon Lover" as his career highlight is beyond me.

My guess is that Dunsky is stuck filiming commercials for the collect-calling companies, as his only use for David Arquette is to count the angles at which he can capture his smirks. Still, credit does go to Dunsky for making a feature length piece that is easier to watch than those 30-second commercials.

The rest of the cast is utterly forgetful; no surprise, as their characters are bland and without the ability to utter anything that might deamnd out attention.

The movie's strongest points lie in what starts out as the plot for the film -- residential alarm and theft-detection salesmen -- and the small tributary tales that grow from it. Unfortunately, many of these branches are severed quickly (most simply dry up and disappear) while the heart of the plot meanders onward.

As this film originated as a play, ultimate judgment must fall on Dunsky. His screenplay adaptation is as snappy as a train-of-thought piece written while on Riddelin, his direction little more than a poorly-lit theatre production taken outside and put on film.

in this case, with the Dunsky behind both the typewriter and camera, it's easy enough to point the blame. Still, this movie did not fall victim to the channel flip... perhaps it was because I was too busy counting the 20-odd members of the Arquette family involved.

What a horrible comedy. Totally lame. The supposed "humor" was simple and stupid. Stanly Tucci (a great actor) had the only parts worth chuckling at. And he was tied up and gagged at the time. Don't waste your time with this one. It deserves a 0/10.

Although the ending is likely to disappoint, this weakness should not dissuade one from watching THE ALARMIST. All the characters are appealing, the script witty, and the pacing tight. The interactions between Howard and Tommy and the family dinner scene are especially good. Stanley Tucci attacks his part with both barrels.

A word about Kate Capshaw: Wow! A forty-something grand multipara in real life, Kate is as attractive as a woman can be. While much credit is due the cinematographer for knowing how to shoot her in soft, warm light, her native charms give him a lot to work with. She endows her character with the sweetness of youth and the cynicism of maturity. I see from her filmography that she has been working pretty steadily since INDIANA JONES days, but I must have missed most of her films. Maybe the financial security Mrs Spielberg enjoys allows her to limit her work to small, low-key pictures with little marketing, but I sure would like to see her hit the big-time.

I was surprised by the number of times I caught myself smiling or laughing quietly during The Alarmist (AKA Life During Wartime), a film where the parts are definitely greater than the whole. Be prepared to all but ignore the plot, which is unnecessary except as a place to loosely hang some wonderful performances by everyone involved.

Loved it. Someone said the mark of a great mind is the capacity to hold two contradictory ideas in mind at the same time. It seems easiest for modern filmmakers to create a vision of humanity that is cynical/chilling or impossibly naive. I believe this film shares with Atom Egoyan's films, Milos Forman's late work, Sofia Coppola's Virgin Suicides and others, an essentially gentle but unclouded gentle view of humanity. From that, all things are possible: good satire, worthwhile commentary on the human condition, truly sexy scenes, all of which this film has. Consider the sex scene, once shocking, now a mainstay. When a film becomes trapped in either cynicism/dark brooding on one hand, or impossible romantic naivete on the other, it can no longer do anything but turn up the heat on accepted conventions. This film is not trapped in any such way. (See the scene in the kitchen when young Howard walks into the kitchen.)

This movie is not what it looks like on the cover. This is a very funny - yet very serious - movie. (Get ready for an emotional rollercoaster ride.) The writing is simply brilliant and while it is at times quite baudy, it is always wonderfully sweet. The performances are stunning (who knew Kate Capshaw could be so funny?). Evan Dunsky is a director to watch...