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Brief Interviews With Hideous Men

Play trailer Poster for Brief Interviews With Hideous Men 2009 1h 20m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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40% Tomatometer 40 Reviews 32% Popcornmeter 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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Brief Interviews With Hideous Men

Brief Interviews With Hideous Men

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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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Critics Reviews

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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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review Mark Asch Stop Smiling [Brief Interviews] is within the limits of the medium, a rigorous record of the process of thought. Dec 12, 2015 Full Review 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 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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jacinto g What a waste of resources. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review 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 Full Review Audience Member Moments of genius, but not a comprehensive piece. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/10/18 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review Read all reviews
Brief Interviews With Hideous Men

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Cast & Crew

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John Krasinski

Director

Julianne Nicholson

Sara Quinn

Timothy Hutton

Professor Adams

Ben Shenkman

Subject 14

Christopher Meloni

R

Frankie Faison

Subject 42

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Brief Interviews With Hideous Men

Dominic Cooper as Daniel/Subject 46 in "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men." (L-R) Julianne Nicholson as Sara and Michael Cerveris as Subject 15 in "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men." (L-R) Julianne Nicholson as Sara and Timothy Hutton as Prof. Adams/Subject 30 in "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men." (Right) Josh Charles as Subject 2 in "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men." (L-R) Christopher Meloni as R/Subject 3 and Denis O'Hare as A/Subject 3 in "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men." Director/writer/star John Krasinski on the set of "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men." Director/writer/star John Krasinski and Julianne Nicholson on the set of "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men." Ben Shenkman as Subject 14 in "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men." (L-R) Lou Taylor Pucci as Evan/Subject 28 and Max Minghella as Kevin/Subject 28 in "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men." (L-R) Julianne Nicholson as Sara and Chris Messina as Subject 19 in "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men." View more photos

Movie Info

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