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Delightful performance from Robert Downey Jr. can't save The Singing Detective's transition from TV to the big screen. Read critic reviews
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Rent The Singing Detective on Vudu, Amazon Prime Video, or buy it on Vudu, Amazon Prime Video.
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The Singing Detective Photos
Movie Info
Hospitalized for a severe skin disease, a bitter writer (Robert Downey Jr.) imagines he is the gumshoe from his novel.
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Rating: R
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Genre: Drama, Musical
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Original Language: English
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Director: Keith Gordon
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Producer: Mel Gibson, Steven Haft, Bruce Davey
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Release Date (Theaters): wide
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Release Date (Streaming):
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Box Office (Gross USA): $336.5K
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Runtime:
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Distributor: Airborne Productions Inc., Paramount Pictures
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Production Co: Icon Entertainment International, Haft Entertainment
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Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby SR
Cast & Crew
Critic Reviews for The Singing Detective
Audience Reviews for The Singing Detective
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A great performance by Robert Downey Jr., an early Katie Holmes role and a small part played by a heavily made-up Mel Gibson do their best, but they don't save this film from its sheer weirdness. Four words: lip-synched ensemble musical numbers. When it cut to action from the novel our hero (Downey Jr.) has written, I really liked the visual style, and overall, the story told in flashbacks is well-done, near-perfect noir, in fact; when it steps outside the frame, however, and tells the present day story - with the characters from the books interfering in some strange meta-fictional way - it loses its momentum, getting downright hammy in places. And then, there are the musical numbers... An ambitious film, but I'm not sure I mean it as a compliment; Joe Baltake probably said it best when he called this one an "interesting failure." Check it out, if for no other reason than this: it's different than most everything else you're watching.
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Fragmented narrative, dreamy visuals, bizarre music scenes - none of that matters because no matter how confusing or stupid things get there's Mr. Downey Jr. letting everyone know this movie is his. His performance is remarkable as is the supporting cast. However, for all its gimmicky hipness that gets old fast and stays that way, sort of like Willie Nelson, 'The Singing Detective' doesn't seem to want to have depth or do much with the noir aspect, while treating the noir parts of the movie like a person who has seen maybe a dozen and read one Chandler novel. This could have been great.
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total mess of a film and a giant waste of talent
brendan n Super Reviewer -
The film is with the broad supports that are an exhilarating Robert Downey, Jr. and the solid lines he's given. However, the film unfortunately collapses under the pressure of little development, forced and poorly done musical numbers, repetition, inconsistancy and, of course, extreme underwhelmingness. In conclusion, the superb man of the hour doesn't quite keep the notes of "The Singing Detective" from falling flat.
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