Darwin Awards

The fun part was saying, "Oh, that's so-and-so" during the movie. And any movie that casts the Mythbusters as arms dealers is OK by me. I thought Ryder and Fiennes were good--but I would watch Joseph Fiennes read the Yellow Pages, so I may not be a good source. Excellent use of Ferlinghetti and Metallica as well. The murder mystery plot line was a little weak; I would have liked to see more examples of Darwin-ish behavior. All in all, it was a good way to spend 1:34 of my time, and I recommend it to anyone to watch instantly. I don't know if I would wait for it to come in the mail but as an impulse, it was good. Netflix should add more like this.

This is obviously one of those quirky "indie" films that somehow manages to slip down the cracks & is quickly forgotten, until it turns up in video shops to quietly gather dust on some obscure shelf in the corner. This is one of those examples. The film proposes to make known the fatal examples of those idiots that try stupid stunts (kind of like the case studies in either of the 'Jackass' films). About the only different thing about this is the fact that the stunts are not real, and there's something of a plot line about an ex cop (Joseph Finnes), turned insurance investigator, who is obsessed about the actions of these mental dwarfs who seem to have a thing for acting really dumb. Wynonna Ryder has some nice time as a fellow investigator,who is on board to find out pretty much the same. There is an unnecessary romance subplot going on that only manages to pad the film out. The film does, however manage to get some nice screen time with some juicy cameos from the likes of Chris Penn (his last film before his unfortunate death some time ago),John Doe (from the L.A. punk band X),legendary Beat era poet & publisher Lawrence Ferlingetti,performance artist/writer Josh Kornbluth,and even Metal Gods, Metallica. Despite this,this is a 3rd tier film that may do o.k. as a late night film (if there are any cinemas that still screen midnight flicks),but it won't lose anything if viewed on the small screen.

This was the coveted ticket at Sundance, apparently. We arrived 2 1/2 hours before the screening and were shocked to find that we were nearly 90th in line! We luckily got into our screening,but unfortunately, the movie was a disappointment. The cast is stellar; Joe Fiennes and Winona Ryder are the headliners, and there are many cameos, including Tim Blake Nelson and Robin Tunney, who starred in director Finn Taylor's last movie, Cherish. In addition, Chris Penn (who unfortunately passed away just the day before the premiere of this film at Sundance), Wilmer Valderrama, Alessandro Nivola, Ty Burrell, Juliette Lewis, Tom Hollander, and David Arquette were some of the other cameos included.

Joe Fiennes plays a police detective who is thrown off the squad due to his propensity to faint at the sight of blood. He and Ryder's character get together and try to find out what makes these "Darwin Award" winners tick. I am not sure that point is ever resolved in this film, which is part of the reason why it is uneven. Also, there is just no chemistry between Ryder and Fiennes. I really didn't care whether or not the two of them "got together" or not.

There are a few laughs in the film as the Award "winners" demonstrate what they did to "win." The problem is that they just didn't effectively sum up the movie. It was a little confusing. I will probably rent the DVD when it comes out so that I can see if I just missed it. Another problem is the documentary "filmmaker" who tags along. Why? He seems pointless.

All in all, we had a great time at the screening; Fiennes, Valderrama, Burrell, and Brad Hunt, as well as Finn Taylor, and the author of the book (The Darwin Awards) led the Q and A session afterward. That was the best part of the screening! My recommendation is that if you want to see a good Finn Taylor film, rent "Cherish".

While quite original in it's concept of studying people who kill themselves in incredibly stupid ways, the delivery is jumbled and not as entertaining as it might have been. If you were to lose the totally unnecessary documentary film maker and the ridiculous, cartoon-like serial killer, the movie would have benefited. When it is describing one of the outrageous idiots and their stunts, the film is in high gear. Unfortunately it repeatedly bogs down and this starting and stopping ruins the whole tone of "The Darwin Awards". I recommend simply checking out the idiotic segments and skipping the rest. This would have made a superior short, but as a feature it fails, because there is too much going on at once. Less would have been best. - MERK

Definitely a great entertaining film. Not saying that because I'm a child or have little intelligence (thank you previous commenter for that insightful look into my iq). This movie was pretty simplistic...did the people who rated it that bad want this to be an in-depth soul searching look into the darwin awards? Did they want more politics thrown in for more intellectual fare? Why were they bothered so? I'm really getting annoyed with how some people will tear apart a movie so voraciously you'd think the movie's creators killed their dog for something. I mean, hell, tear apart real fluff like "wild hogs" or something. So it didn't live up to your super high expectations, but hell, not every movie is going to move your soul. And this one was named "darwin awards" what did you expect??? It's like thinking the movie "Idiocracy" will change our education system for the better. This movie was not pee your pants funny, but it was funny on par with "America's funniest videos". Not going to rock your world, but gives you pleasure for about 1.5 hours. Me and my husband liked it and would definitely recommend it. (And not just because my father-in-law may someday qualify for the Darwin Awards. ;) ) So it was filmed documentary style, I think it added a bit of spice-especially when he wouldn't call 911. The love interest thing well, at least we didn't get full on cheese. I don't know if anyone knows this...but anytime you travel with a good looking man or woman and they are single and you spend every waking moment with them, lust or love will ALWAYS come up. That's what humans do.