SnoReptilePlenty
Memorable, crazy movie
FirstWitch
A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
Bea Swanson
This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.
Ashleymyers
With David Duchovny's brilliant writing, sense of humor and the late Anton Yelchin shining bright in this early role you barely even notice Robin Williams. Not dissing Robin Williams at all - he does a fabulous job as always but the real unsung hero and often overlooked talent in this movie is Anton Yelchin - the world lost an incredibly talented young man when he passed unexpectedly. After reading a couple of Duchovny's books, watching Californication, The X-Files and even Aquarius - I went back and rewatched this and can hear his words throughout the entire film. If you haven't seen this and you're a fan of David Duchovny then you have to watch and rewatch this!
Rodrigo Amaro
I remember Spielberg quoting something that goes something like this: "Everything's already filmed, there's nothing much to do nowadays in terms of film". Regardless if I quote him rightly or not, what's he saying is quite right. There's no stories left to tell anymore, and I add this, if there is maybe the studios are not interested in developing, or writers are not selling their materials the way it should be, they always have to alter something. What's "House of D." has to do with this statement? Well, it's a film that looks, sounds and resonates as something already made far too many times before. So, here's another coming of age flick with a good cast, thoughtful messages to present, heavily dosed with corny moments.Directing and acting in this, David Duchovny begins his story with his character, a young musician living in Paris, telling stories of his youth (now played by Anton Yelchin) and his friendship with a mental disabled man (Robin Williams, wait a minute. "Jack" again? That was better though), and the many things that occupies a boy's mind and body when he reaches the adolescence. No surprises, you can guess all sorts of problems he'll face here. First love, friendship tested, disagreements in the family because the boy's growing up, etc. All of that exists in so many (and better!) flicks that the only new pleasure in seeing "House of D." is some of the performances and some of the unreal situations presented.Audiences can enjoy this and see much more than just a simple film? Sure, they can. There's valuable life lessons in all what happens with the main character when young, that made him what he is in the future, through long talks with a woman in a penitentiary (Erykah Badu), best moments of the film where she teaches many things about life. There's plenty of cute and pleasant moments enriched with a potent and wonderful soundtrack (the highest point of the film is when Allman Brothers Band's "Melissa" starts to play, Yelchin's character selected it to dance with a crush of his named...Melissa!) but there isn't much life in this. The clichés are wasted, I've seen it enough times. If you haven't it, of course you'll enjoy it more than I did and maybe call it one of the greatest films ever made, thinking why it wasn't so much of a hit. Answer: because of everything I've said.If "House of D." works with some efficiency is because of Anton Yelchin, who carries the film with a certain innocence, rare to find these days, and some aspects that makes us remind of ourselves in a distant part of our lives. Duchovny, Frank Langella, Badu and Téa Leoni have all good roles, they make of this something more than decent. The wrong note comes to Yelchin's big partner that behaves like a kid Robin Williams, with wrong facial expressions/excessive make up to look younger. He's quite forgettable here despite having some good scenes.It's something good but never great. 6/10
Petri Pelkonen
David Duchovny plays in his debut direction Tom Warshaw, who starts reminiscing his childhood.Now he is an American artist living in Paris, in 1973 he was a 13-year old kid living in Greenwich Village, New York.Tommy (Anton Yelchin) lives with his troubled mother (Téa Leoni) and delivers meat with his best friend, the mildly retarded school janitor Pappas, played by Robin Williams.Tommy gets his best, or worst advice from an inmate he calls Lady (Erykah Badu).Tommy also starts liking a girl called Melissa (Robin's daughter Zelda Williams).The X-Files guy David Duchovny is also the writer of House of D (2004).With this movie he proves to the world he can move beyond Fox Mulder and The X-Files.The casting is perfect.Anton Yelchin is a true find for the role of young Tommy.He may be a bigger star in the future.Also the young Zelda Williams has talents.In Robin Williams's character tragedy and comedy are very well mixed.Mark Margolis does the part of his father.Ms.Badu is known as a singer who can also act.Frank Langella does the part of Reverand Duncan very well.This movie is a very fine nostalgia piece.As a movie it has that originality you would like to see in more movies today.I certainly recommend House of D.
jpschapira
Rule: No Robin Williams film is bad. Now we can begin talking about "House of D", the film written and directed by David Duchovny about a man reviving his past so he can find himself. This is Tommy, in the skin of Duchovny as an older man and in that of Anton Yelchin as a young boy. The plot line the director has created is not what we could call original; it's what we know as refreshing.In one of New York's many neighborhoods Tommy spends time with his best friend Pappas (Robin Williams), a retarded man who works as a janitor in Tommy's school. "Pap-ass", Tommy calls him, and of course the man calls the boy "Tom-ass". They both deliver food and play baseball with the kids of the different schools.In his first full-length script, Duchovny experiments with adolescent love and friendship in his own way, as he puts the main characters through a test. What the actor writes and directs seems to be very personal, very urgent for some reason. The film looks like if it was done in a hurry; the cinematography is too simple, the edition is too forced.Going back to the script, there are lots of things the viewer could ask Duchovny, like the speech from the beginning of the movie, which is pretty weird; like the title reference, which we understand, but we don't see it as crucial to the story as it is supposed to be for Yelchin's character. The story itself has something out of place; like if it had no reason of being (you'll see what I mean). The figure of the mother, played passionately by Tea Leoni, doesn't seem to fit completely.But the movie is watch able and moving at times and there are other things we find inspiring between the silly moments of the screenplay. What is silly sometimes becomes incredibly funny; mostly the material Robin Williams has to deal with, which lies in a fine line between comedy and drama. I may sound stupid but he actually looks like a retarded individual and he shines eventually throughout the film and we are as grateful as ever.Erykah Badu has one of the most powerful characters I've seen in a long time and her performance is equally powerful. And Alton Yelchin is one in a million. His voice is so peculiar, his manners are so carefully measured, the film lies on his shoulders and he doesn't care. This is an actor so talented that he hasn't turned twenty and you can trust him a whole movie.Duchovny doesn't even act in the film, but he shouldn't because this project means for him as a director; as a storyteller. And it's difficult to classify his piece: full of power but difficult to understand, exciting but incomplete. I had a lot of expectations with "House of D"; in the end most of them were fulfilled, but I'm sure next time around Duchovny will find something really worthy inside his house and we will be amazed. Rule: No Robin Williams film is bad.
