The Living Wake

PG-13

2007

1h 31m

Comedy

List

47%

17 Reviews

Tomatometer

71%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

After his doctor tells him he is dying, a self-important artist (Mike O'Connell) makes preparations for his inevitable demise.

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Audience Member

This is my favorite movie of all time. I named my dog Binew because of this masterpiece.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A self absorbed artist genius lives his last day as he wants, putting his best foot foward...

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

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Audience Member

One of the best characters in recent film. The charmingly narcissistic lead exercises a plethora of ridiculous nuances with such ballistic conviction-a bulldozer of eccentric emotion.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

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Audience Member

Quirky, a bit too quirky maybe, but not for me.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

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Audience Member

There are defiantly some acting awards to be one from this film.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

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Audience Member

An eccentric with a mysterious, fatal illness spends the last day of his life searching for his father who will deliver a "brief but powerful monologue" about life's purpose. Half of this film begs us to take it seriously, as though it has something profound and original to say about life and death, and the other half avoids any serious consideration in favor of broad and over-the-top comedy. The result is a mixed bag that falls short in both goals. The film's energy comes from the lead performance by Mike O'Connell; the set must not have had craft service because he chews the scenery like a starving orphan. The character K. Roth Binew is written to be larger than life, but O'Connell makes him even larger. I found myself wishing that Binew could have been played by Albert Finney, channeling his <i>Big Fish</I> character. Jesse Eisenberg is wonderful as Binew's eternally faithful and loyal assistant, a thankless character that Eisenberg mines for gold. Overall, despite O'Connell's over-the-top performance, there are a lot of little parts, moments of philosophical truth, that make this film worth watching even if the whole is inconsistent and flawed.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

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Sol Tryon

Director

Mike O'Connell

K. Roth Binew

Jesse Eisenberg

Mills Joaquin

Ann Dowd

Librarian

Jim Gaffigan

Lampert Binew

Diane Kagan

Marla

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Ted Fry

Seattle Times

In all, it's a peculiar piece of absurdist entertainment that occupies a singular niche in American indie cinema.

Rated: 3/4

Jun 3, 2010

Full Review

Robert Koehler

Variety

In the end, however, pic defies all categorization, joining a small pantheon of pics including "Withnail & I" and Peter Greenaway's "Drowning byNumbers" that whistle past the graveyard with aplomb.

May 21, 2010

Full Review

Kevin Thomas

Los Angeles Times

Sol Tryon's The Living Wake seems but a protracted act of stultifying self-indulgence -- but then maybe that's the point.

May 20, 2010

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

The film's production design feels like it got borrowed from a Wes Anderson set, both a compliment and an insult.

Rated: 2.5/4.0

Sep 14, 2020

Full Review

Don R. Lewis

Film Threat

Funny, touching, insane, ridiculous and brilliant are just a few words I would use to describe "The Living Wake." Films like this need to be seen so seek it out, you'll be glad you did.

Rated: 4.5/5

May 21, 2010

Full Review

Fr. Chris Carpenter

Movie Dearest

An out-of-the-blue delight...I found (central character K. Roth) Binew to be inspiring and damn funny in his lack of a psychological/vocal filter.

Rated: B+

May 21, 2010

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Synopsis

After his doctor tells him he is dying, a self-important artist (Mike O'Connell) makes preparations for his inevitable demise.

Director: Sol Tryon
Producer: Robert Bethge, Andy Cappuccino, Helen Cappuccino, Charlie Corwin
Screenwriter: Mike O'Connell, Peter Kline
Production Co: The Living Wake LLC, Drops Entertainment, Mangusta Productions, Script Pipeline, Truly Original
Rating: PG-13 (Sexual Material)
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 17, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $12.1K
Runtime: 1h 31m

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