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Zero Patience

1993 1h 40m Musical List
50% Tomatometer 8 Reviews 48% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
The 19th-century English explorer Sir Richard Burton (John Robinson) meets the ghost of the first AIDS patient (Normand Fauteux), in Toronto.
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Zero Patience

Critics Reviews

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Marjorie Baumgarten Austin Chronicle Rated: 3/5 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Steve Warren Southern Voice (Atlanta) It tries to affect the viewer on so many levels that it doesn't really work on any. By the end of its 90 minutes, my patience was worn down to zero, too. May 8, 2023 Full Review Jim Merrett The Advocate A daring cinematic gem that contains at least three musical moments that deserve to go down in gay history. Apr 19, 2022 Full Review Lesley Thornton Independent on Sunday Its heart is in the right place. Its art, unfortunately, is not. Nov 30, 2017 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Jul 7, 2005 Full Review Rich Cline Shadows on the Wall Amid the farce there are moments of lucidity and informative dialog that's both telling and historically important. Rated: 3/5 Aug 12, 2004 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (21) audience reviews
Audience Member Zero Patience is an avant garde musical about the patient zero urban legend who was rumour to be the person responsible for bring AIDS to North America. The plot was actually not too bad despite being incomprehensible, the numbers were unimpressive, acting was awful. The redeemable element was the enthusiastic performance by John Robinson and the anachronistic production. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member Zero Patience has very important messages accompanying its intentions. But, its ridiculously out of control pacing and bizarre spectacle obscure the communication between the viewer and the film. The musical numbers seem to be done in spite of throwing them in within five minutes of each other without proper build-up. Additionally, the characters change their motivation so often that it becomes underwhelming. The themes are strong, but the execution is terrible. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Audience Member The film presents plenty of interesting ideas and sides to the origin of AIDS/HIV in North America via Patient Zero and how it's presented. The way that the ideas are presented go from wild and cheesy to harsh and chilling, sometimes within a span of a minute. The shift between the two have a tough time finding balance and sometimes the transition into a song is quite jarring. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Audience Member I don't even know what to say... Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Not bad at all. The film has a nice, irreverent tone that surprisingly works nicely with its rather grim subject matter. The musical numbers themselves are not hugely inspired though. There's some great production design in one of them (wherein Burton enters a fantasy world of papier mache airplanes and large needles), though overall, the direction of these segments is somewhat flat. That being stated, the music itself is phenomenal. The songs range from hilarious to wonderfully touching. The first song, wherein Zero begs for his story to be told, is fantastic. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member Funny and energetic, "Zero Patience" is a bit disjointed here and there and has a rather abrupt ending, but overall it's a decent enough flick. The songs are catchy and make you laugh, and the duet between two sleeping men's buttholes is pretty hilarious. You can tell this was made on a low budget, but that doesn't really hamper it. An enjoyable, if bizarre movie. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Zero Patience

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis The 19th-century English explorer Sir Richard Burton (John Robinson) meets the ghost of the first AIDS patient (Normand Fauteux), in Toronto.
Director
John Greyson
Producer
Louise Garfield, Anna Stratton
Screenwriter
John Greyson
Production Co
Téléfilm Canada, Ontario Film Development Corporation
Genre
Musical
Original Language
English
Release Date (DVD)
May 31, 2005
Runtime
1h 40m
Sound Mix
Stereo
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