Neo Ned

2005

1 hr. 37 min.

Drama

List

67%

6 Reviews

Tomatometer

74%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Ned (Jeremy Renner) is a bigoted young man whose antisocial behavior lands him in a mental hospital. There, Ned, who believes that racial minorities are inferior, meets Rachael (Gabrielle Union), an African-American patient who thinks Adolf Hitler has taken up residence within her. Ned spews racial slurs in her presence, but when it becomes clear that Rachael, though disturbed, isn't actually a bigot, they embark on a relationship that confounds everyone around them.

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HAL 9

I saw the title of this film and was as horrified by it as the next person. I thought this film would be out of touch and horrible, it wasn't. It was actually REALLY good. It just has an unfortunate title. The is a movie that shows why racism is stupid and it explains of prejudice is born. It does so with Ned, a guy who never had a family and find community with the skinheads he meets in prison. He hadn't even known any black people or Jews etc yet was racist only because he was told to be by his found family. The film is how he meets Rachel and realizes these beliefs he has are stupid and don't even make sense. This isn't a Romeo and Juliet type of story either, because no one is trying to keep the two apart. It's more like a psychological drama that uses a romantic subplot as a catalyst for pushing their message, which that is racism is stupid. That's truly the message of this movie. And it did a good job expressing that message. This film is not as problematic as it seems by the title I promise

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/12/23

Full Review

Gen L

terrible concept. terrible acting. seriously who thought this was a good idea. the glorification of n@z!$ was wildly uncomfortable. the pacing was terrible. unions acting atrocious and the overall movie probably the worst thing i have ever watched

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

08/19/22

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Audience Member

Sweet and heartbreaking at times

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

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Audience Member

This movie was just okay in my opinion and very low budget. Based on a lot of reviews I was expecting the movie to be better than what it was. Plus all the racial was disturbing, overall it was decent nothing to brag about. Jeremy Renner acted his role pretty well though I liked that. So for this being a not very good film, but liked the performances from the leads, I give "Neo Ned" a D.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Neo Ned (Van Fischer, 2005) A fun if forgettable little film that is saved from Lifetime Original Moviedom solely by well-above-average performances by the two leads, The Hurt Locker's Jeremy Renner and 10 Things I Hate About You's Gabrielle Union. Renner plays the title character, a goofy, happy-go-lucky neo-Nazi (yeah, I was wondering about that too) at the opening of the film who is forced to question his beliefs when he finds himself falling for African-American hearttthrob Union. Despite her better judgment, she returns his affection, and the two of them set out to see if they can make a life for themselves despite their obvious fractured beginnings. It is very rare to see white power played for laughs, and any director who's going to attempt it has to be prepared to walk a very fine line; I get the feeling that's one of the reasons why this movie never went much of anywhere, but it seemed to me Van Fischer (Blink of an Eye) did a pretty good job with that aspect of the film, using the comedy aspects of it to keep the movie light while it strayed into some very dark places. It lacks subtlety in a lot of areas, and it pays lip service to American History X a time or two without ever approaching the depth or gravity of that one. Still, as a lightweight and surprisingly funny film about the redemption of a white-power skinhead, well, it would be pretty hard to do better, if only because it has been so rarely done before. ***

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie is different from the norm which is probably why I liked it so much. Jeremy Renner shined brightly in this film and really helped to develop the plot. Gabrielle Union's performance, although not as comedic as Jeremy's was equally well played. I would recommend this film to anyone, it is such as a treat to see. Stamp of Judgment: Badass

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

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Van Fischer

Director

Jeremy Renner

Ned

Gabrielle Union

Rachael

Ethan Suplee

Johnny

Cary Elwes

Dr. Magnuson

Sally Kirkland

Shelly

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Mark Olsen

Los Angeles Times

It's a little rough around the edges, to be sure, but with such strong lead performances there is something irresistible in the film's audaciously straight-faced portrayal of such an unlikely relationship.

Rated: 3.5/5

Sep 8, 2006

Full Review

John Anderson

Variety

Neo Ned may be ludicrous on paper, but it has what fans of independent film are looking for -- atmosphere, humanity and just a dash of fantastic drama.

Sep 7, 2006

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Jas Keimig

The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

The disgust over Neo Ned is rightfully deserved. The movie carelessly throws around the n-word and other acts of violence for humor.

Dec 8, 2021

Full Review

Keith H. Brown

Eye for Film

Rated: 3/5

Dec 7, 2007

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Mark Bell

Film Threat

Never boring, never pretentious, never preachy, Neo Ned could find its place alongside some of the great independent romance films of all time, if enough people are able to catch a glimpse of it.

Rated: 4.5/5

Sep 7, 2006

Full Review

Matthew Duersten

L.A. Weekly

The problem lies in the film's inability to decide whether such loaded images are funny in a Farrelly Brothers/Dave Chapelle kind of way or if they mean something deeper.

Sep 7, 2006

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Synopsis

Ned (Jeremy Renner) is a bigoted young man whose antisocial behavior lands him in a mental hospital. There, Ned, who believes that racial minorities are inferior, meets Rachael (Gabrielle Union), an African-American patient who thinks Adolf Hitler has taken up residence within her. Ned spews racial slurs in her presence, but when it becomes clear that Rachael, though disturbed, isn't actually a bigot, they embark on a relationship that confounds everyone around them.

Director: Van Fischer
Executive Producer: Harmon Kaslow
Screenwriter: Tim Boughn
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (DVD): Dec 30, 2008