Moustroll
Good movie but grossly overrated
SparkMore
n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.
Lachlan Coulson
This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.
Jay Raskin
This is a hit and miss comedy with four or five hysterical scenes and four or five too confused to be funny scenes. It has some sharply original moments, but it also copies too much from the television series "Monk" The television series "Pushing Daisies" also seems to have elements in common.It actually could have been good as a television series. Joseph Fiennes is much better here than he was on "Flash Forward". At least here, he laughs and shows some human emotions. Winona Ryder gives wonderful support as usual.There are lots of stars here, but unfortunately there parts are only four or five minutes each. It is nice to see people like Nora Dunn and Juliet Lewis who don't work enough these days.Sadly, this was Chris Penn's last major film. He accidentally died of a massive heart attack brought on by drugs like cocaine, and over-eating steaks and chocolate milk shakes at the rather young age of 40. It is quite ironic that his last major work should be a film about the stupid ways that people die. Not to be cruel, as Penn was a wonderful actor, but his death could be added quite easily to the five or six ridiculous deaths and accidents that the movie chronicles.My favorite scene in the movie is the one at the Metallica concert. I have a feeling that Heavy Metal music fans often win Darwin Awards (awards for bizarre and stupid deaths).There's a good selection of popular songs on the soundtrack.If you don't expect too much in the way of coherence and can get into the silly spirit of the film, it can be enjoyable.Incidentally, you should keep watching to the end of the credits for one last joke at the end.
L.W. Anderson
Lacking in substance and focus, The Darwin Awards is an undercooked concept of a film. Confusing, unnecessary and witless, its slow death surely qualifies for one of the awards it takes its name from.Fiennes gives a decent performance, although he wanders through most scenes looking uncomfortable, the smell of the screenplay too much to bear. Winona Ryder plays an insurance claims investigator who comes along for the ride. Why? Who cares. There are bright moments where the re-tellings of death-by-idiocy mini-scenarios the Darwin Awards became famous for are allowed to unfold without the presence of the silly romance sub-plot or mis-cast leads, but these are far to rare. Watch this movie purely to kill time or see Metallica in an unfortunate cameo, nothing more.
ergins
I saw this appear on Showtime and it looked like it was going to be interesting. I liked the way that the film paid homage to the web site and even showed it so that others not in the know could enjoy the delights of the site.I was a bit disappointed in the star billing of David Arquette, I expected him to have a bigger role. I know that he did take part in one of the more major "Darwin" stories but he wasn't really even close to being the main character.As far as the "awards" went, I would have liked to see more of them, maybe not as long as some of the big ones, little snippets like the one that starts the movie, I feel that this is the main reason people will want to watch the movie.The interpersonal relationship between the two main characters was somewhat interesting but I felt that it went a bit too far. Concerning the "documentary" film maker, that was just annoying and did not add much to the plot or the pace of the film; it was more of a distraction than anything else.Overall I gave this a 5 because I felt that it could have delivered much much more than it did but there is enough there to spend an hour and a half with.Finally the inclusion of the dudes from Muthbusters was great, they played it somewhat tongue in cheek which made it even funnier.
lastliberal
Now, I can say that I have sen two films with Wilmer Valderrama, both in the same week.I have always enjoyed reading the Darwin Awards, and it was interesting to see them on film. Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love) and Winona Ryder (Girl, Interrupted; Heathers) made a good team (with Valderrama in the background) to keep things interesting - and funny.This is clear evidence that explosives and military hardware should be kept far away from people who shoot guns, and foreigners with international drivers licenses should not be allowed on the road. Well, I had one of those in Europe, so maybe I'll rethink it.It was a funny film about accidents and how we cannot avoid them.
