Brief Interviews With Hideous Men

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Brief Interviews With Hideous Men

Released Sep 25, 2009

1h 20m

Drama

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40%

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40 Reviews

32%

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2,500+ Ratings

After being dumped by her boyfriend, Ryan (John Krasinski), for no discernible reason, graduate student Sara Quinn (Julianne Nicholson) searches for answers by embarking on a unique research project. She interviews a variety of men about their impulses, motives and relationships with women. But, as she probes the perplexing psyches of unfaithful, womanizing and embittered males, she's unprepared for their often disturbing responses -- and what they say about the truth of human behavior.

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Critics Consensus

Ambitious but uneven, John Krasinski's adaptation of David Foster Wallace's Brief Interviews with Hideous Men tries hard but doesn't match the depth of the book.

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Ian Buckwalter

NPR

Faced with the unenviable choice between honoring his daunting inspiration and telling his own story, the director shoots straight down the middle -- and misses both targets.

Rated: 4/10

Jul 4, 2010

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Kimberley Jones

Austin Chronicle

Krasinski re-creates the interviews using Wallace's original, but this isn't exactly a letter-of-the-law adaptation -- he tightens the interviews and defangs some of the language.

Rated: 2/5

Nov 13, 2009

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Steven Rea

Philadelphia Inquirer

Offers is the opportunity for a bunch of actors, many of them tethered to TV series, to deliver theatrical monologues pulsing with misogyny and narcissism. It's like second-rate Neil Labute.

Rated: 2/4

Nov 12, 2009

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Troy Patterson

Spin

The urgency of the tales gets lost along the way, weighed down by staginess and an inconsistent tone, although Krasinski's ambition suggests a noble failure.

Rated: 2.5/4

Oct 25, 2019

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Mark Asch

Stop Smiling

[Brief Interviews] is within the limits of the medium, a rigorous record of the process of thought.

Dec 12, 2015

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...far more successful as an actor's showcase than as a fully-realized movie...

Rated: 1.5/4

Dec 9, 2011

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jacinto g

What a waste of resources.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

Boring and tedious. Skipped to the actor whose segment I watched this for and returned to to the library.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

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Audience Member

Moments of genius, but not a comprehensive piece.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/10/18

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Audience Member

It was just about exactly what I expected. Great, I mean epic, monologues, good acting, mediocre directing and a loose storyline that is difficult to follow. Overall, I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who wasn't specifically interested in the dialogue because that is definitely the focus. As it should be.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

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Audience Member

A sincere and thoughtful adaptation of a great novel, Brief Interviews With Hideous Men is a smart; albeit uneven; dark comedy with an incredible final monologue.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

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Audience Member

Brief Interviews is uneven and a bit grandiose, but Krasinski and company's enthusiasm for David Foster Wallace's great work shines through.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

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Synopsis

After being dumped by her boyfriend, Ryan (John Krasinski), for no discernible reason, graduate student Sara Quinn (Julianne Nicholson) searches for answers by embarking on a unique research project. She interviews a variety of men about their impulses, motives and relationships with women. But, as she probes the perplexing psyches of unfaithful, womanizing and embittered males, she's unprepared for their often disturbing responses -- and what they say about the truth of human behavior.

Director: John Krasinski
Producer: Eva Kolodner, John Krasinski, Yael Melamede, James Suskin
Screenwriter: John Krasinski
Distributor: IFC Films
Production Co: Salty Features, Sunday Night
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 25, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 15, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $27.9K
Runtime: 1h 20m