Portnoy's Complaint

Name: Portnoy's Complaint
Genre: Drama
Rating: 11
Cast: Richard Benjamin, Karen Black, Lee Grant, Jack Somack, Jeannie Berlin

Play trailer

Portnoy's Complaint

1972

1h 41m

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

Tomatometer

3 Reviews

11%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Philip Roth's neurotic Portnoy (Richard Benjamin) blames his mother for the hang-ups he acquired growing up in New Jersey.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

The other thing lacking in the movie is the book's sense of mischievous fun and the kind of joy contained in Roth's liberating message.

Rated: 2/4

Oct 23, 2004

Full Review

John Hofsess

Maclean's Magazine

It is no accomplishment that the film has been made with restraint and good taste. The Philip Roth novel was an attack on restraint and good taste.

May 13, 2020

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Ineptly directed.

Rated: C-

Apr 8, 2012

Full Review

Read all reviews

David K

What a terrible movie. Everything is off in it. Watched it as part of TCM's Special Theme: The Jewish Experience. What a terrible way to end a mediocre theme (I'm Jewish, so I can say this).

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/28/23

Full Review

Dave S

There is a good reason why writer and producer Ernest Lehmen only directed one film and that reason is Portnoy's Complaint. Philip Roth's fantastic novel about sexual obsession and Jewish angst is turned into an unwatchable mess, proving that some things are best left on the written page. While the cast is actually pretty decent (Richard Benjamin, Lee Grant, Karen Black, Jill Clayburgh), they aren't able to do much of anything with Lehmen's labored script, which manages to turn a perversely joyous book into a surprisingly sedate movie, filled with annoying characters who seem to do nothing more than scream at each other or mope in their own misfortune. It sounds trite, but just read the book.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

10/16/23

Full Review

Russ G

One word: Unwatchable. OK, two; add: "Gross." I bailed on this about 15 minutes in as it wasn't funny or entertaining in any way. No wonder the director had problems casting the lead; even Woody Allen didn't want it. They had to scrape the bottom of the barrel and go with Richard Benjamin.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Ernest Lehman

Director

Richard Benjamin

Alexander Portnoy

Karen Black

Mary Jane Reid

Lee Grant

Sophie Portnoy

Jack Somack

Jack Portnoy

Jeannie Berlin

Bubbles Girardi

Legendary Screenwriter Ernest Lehman Passes Away

View more photos

Synopsis

Philip Roth's neurotic Portnoy (Richard Benjamin) blames his mother for the hang-ups he acquired growing up in New Jersey.

Director: Ernest Lehman
Producer: Ernest Lehman, Sidney Beckerman
Screenwriter: Ernest Lehman
Production Co: Warner Bros.
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2009
Runtime: 1h 41m

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch!

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

Let's keep in touch!

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

Portnoy's Complaint

Where to Watch