Mr. Nice

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Mr. Nice

2011

2h 1m

Drama

Biography

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53%

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47 Reviews

44%

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2,500+ Ratings

Oxford University student Howard Marks (Rhys Ifans) becomes an international drug smuggler with alleged connections to MI6, the IRA and the Mafia.

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Kevin Thomas

Los Angeles Times

Though the film takes a while to cast its spell, writer-director-cinematographer Bernard Rose's close observation of Marks and those around him becomes increasingly involving and allows Rose to comment on the widespread failure of the war on drugs.

Rated: 3.5/5

Sep 11, 2011

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Mark Jenkins

Washington Post

The writer-director tells the story with verve and small-budget ingenuity.

Rated: 2.5/4

Sep 9, 2011

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Wesley Morris

Boston Globe

Ifans looks 20 years too old for the part, and the problem with the movie is it seems so desperate to be made that it barely cares that he spends half of his time miscast.

Rated: 2/4

Sep 8, 2011

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Alistair Lawrence

Common Sense Media

Ifans does a credible job of showing us how Marks moved from one lucrative situation to another... But the movie suffers from the usual clichés and tropes of its genre.

Rated: 2/5

Sep 28, 2021

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James McMahon

NME (New Musical Express)

It's frequently funny, it's affable and charming in that way all the best British comedies always are and it's a retelling of a story quite remarkable in that someone undertook it and lived to tell the tale.

Rated: 3.5/5

May 20, 2021

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Molly Templeton

Eugene Weekly (OR)

Part of the problem with Mr. Nice is that the endless sequences of [Howard] Marks and company moving, packing, hiding or hiding drugs lead to a muddled, disconnected narrative that lacks emotional impact.

Feb 27, 2019

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Audience Member

Possibly one of the worst drug films ever made wouldn’t even waste your time.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

11/23/25

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Audience Member

Entertaining, but then lost it's sheen and became rather sad. Still, pretty good for Welsh content.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

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Audience Member

An entertaining movie with a fairly good story. Good performances and direction. The humour works quite well too

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

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Audience Member

Lots going for it, really enjoyable for the first hour but then it dragged. A tighter, slicker edit would have improved this film dramatically.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

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Audience Member

Drugs. A lot of them. Everywhere. All the time. 1.5 stars is no fault to Rhys Ifans but it just wore me out, all that dope.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

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Audience Member

I liked this more than the reviews led me to believe that I would. I suppose part of it is that I was a dope smoking hippy in 1968 too. Rhys Ifans carries it - he seemed ideal for the part. The style is very Britcom, but being a true story it doesn't really have the usual mythical narrative arc. Quite fun, if not earth shattering.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

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Bernard Rose

Director

Rhys Ifans

Howard Marks

Chloë Sevigny

Judy Marks

David Thewlis

Jim McCann

Elsa Pataky

Ilze

Crispin Glover

Ernie Combs

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Synopsis

Oxford University student Howard Marks (Rhys Ifans) becomes an international drug smuggler with alleged connections to MI6, the IRA and the Mafia.

Director: Bernard Rose
Screenwriter: Bernard Rose
Distributor: MPI
Production Co: Kanzaman, Independent, Prescience, Lipsync Productions
Genre: Drama, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 3, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 18, 2016
Runtime: 2h 1m

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