Trust the Man (2005)

Too much of everything

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

This was another DVD rental that my girlfriend wanted to watch. I wasn't expecting much more than a typical run of the mill romantic comedy. What I noticed in the beginning of Trust The Man, was that it tried soooo hard to grab the interest of the male audience by creating a couple fart jokes in the beginning and it was kind of pathetically executed. I will admit that it was absolutely painful to sit through the first 15 minutes of this film. Then it did start to grow on me a little bit with teasers of sexual innuendo to keep me laughing sporadically. For example hearing the suggestive horse theme on the laptop was classic. Over all, the film was hit or miss on keeping me entertained. When there weren't any funny parts, it was pretty sluggish. Acting wasn't bad, the story felt a little too unreal with the anticipation of a "happy ending" after everything the two main couples go through. I swear the ending couldn't get any more clichéd. With a pair of "I love you"'s and a pair of romantic kisses in front of an opera audience, I felt like becoming Rob Schneider, saying in the background "You can do it!"As stressed before, this is a typical romantic comedy. There were some parts that I liked and some parts that I couldn't stand. I would dissect this movie a little more if I think this is a great movie. But honestly, it would be hard for me to recommend this movie. But if you want to study a movie for its pros and cons, then this is the one for you.

Trust The Man isn't groundbreaking or inspiring, or even all that intelligent, but I don't think it has to be. It is exactly as you'd expect from it; an average rom-com with some entertaining moments, a few clichés and a fairly-ridiculous ending. That doesn't make it hard to enjoy. Duchovny, Moore, Gyllenhaal and Crudup played their parts well, the script was passable, the plot was unoriginal but not awful. I actually enjoyed this film, it's light entertainment, and whoever said that romantic comedies have to be realistic? The end, without giving too much away, was a bit overly saccharine for my tastes, but most in this genre are. I watched Trust The Man for some mild entertainment and the eye-candy that is David Duchovny: it delivered on both parts, so I don't have much to complain about. What were you expecting, the next Schindler's List?

CONTAINS SPOILERS This is the kind of movie that I would normally like-great cast, cute premise, gorgeous NYC scenery. But all in all, I thought it was a jumbled mess.Billy Crudup, woefully miscast as Tobey, a "36 year old slacker," comes off as an effeminate (what was that silliness with Eva Mendes's character in the restaurant???), self-centered jerk who only acts like a decent person when his girlfriend Elaine (a cute and perky Maggie Gyllenhaal) rightfully leaves him. But her new boyfriend is a stereotype of the European pseudointellectual who is one of the most unlikeable characters ever to grace the screen in this decade. Given the choice between the "Sprocket" and her lovesick, obsessed ex-boyfriend, it's no wonder she chooses to go back with a guy who at one time refused to drive her to work because he didn't want to move his car from the opposite side of the street.Julianne Moore plays Tobey's sister Rebecca, a successful but insecure actress who is married to David Duchovny's stay at home husband Tom. Duchovny, who is a terrific actor, doesn't have much to work with, and his character is so schlubby and whiny you wonder why a gorgeous divorcée (another stereotypical Manhattan newly divorced single mom on the prowl just waiting to pounce on Mr. Mom) and a glamorous actress would want to spend even ten minutes in his company. The irony is that this seemingly asexual man is actually a sex addict who joins a support group called (stereotypically of course) Sexaddictsrus. Of course he makes a mockery of his first session, making up a preposterous story about being wrapped in deli meat in order to be satisfied. Oh, and of course he uses a fake name. Eventually he does come clean and admit that he has a real problem because he can't have a meaningful relationship with his sexy and dynamic wife, and his affair ends just like that. Naturally, his wife forgives him after he pulls a crazy stunt on the opening night of her play, and Elaine dumps her Eurotoyboy after Tobey screams out his undying love for her in the theater on the very same night. None of the issues are ironed out on screen, and a sweet and tidy ending is in store for the viewer who dares to stick it out.The film was supposedly modelled after the Woody Allen films like Annie Hall and Manhattan, but it's light years away from them because it's boring and the characters are completely unlikeable. The conversations are totally pretentious, with the characters making sweeping generalizations about the nature of their relationships and very existences.Overall, it's a lousy, stereotypical movie that is a 4 out of 10.

I rented this movie because of the great cast. I finished it amazed that any established actor would have accepted a role in this thing based on the script, which was lame, unoriginal, and mildly offensive in its attempts at humor. Rarely has a battle of the sexes been so predictable. The story was filled with stereotypes and stereotypical behavior. The men came off as overgrown children. In any real world, their female counterparts wouldn't have put up with them for two weeks, much less years. It was painful to watch a game cast try to breath some humanity and originality into these characters. Moments intended as funny or telling merely smelled bad. Woody Allen covered the same ground years ago in a much better way. Try Hannah And Her Sisters. This particular would-be Woody update added nothing to the genre.