Review of Middle Men (2009) by Michael C — 07 Feb 2011

For Fans Of: Boogie Nights, Giovanni Ribisi, Luke Wilson.

Date Night: Nope.

Art Factor: Low.

Fun Factor: Medium.

Emotional Factor: None.

Intelligence Factor: Low.

Essential Viewing: No.

The Plot: Based on a true story about the men who really made the internet and what they made it with- Porn.

10 Quick Hits.

1) My god it was so refreshing to see Luke Wilson in a movie with balls.

2) Giovanni Ribisi is starting to fall into a pattern of playing only a certain type of character. You know what? I don't give shit because he is that good at playing that smug, low down character.

3) We had a James Caan sighting and it really wasn't half bad.

4) Yes, there is a bit of nudity in this film. Deal with it.

5) No, there is not alot of sex. Deal with it.

6) Is it as deep as Boogie Nights? No. But you also don't see a 100 grade on it either.

7) The script is quick paced and makes up for a lack of depth with a certain frantic energy that really keeps this film zipping along.

8) Director George Gallo must be a huge fan of Martin Scorsese and Guy Ritchie because he rips off their style every chance he gets. I don't really find this to be a problem. Hey, he could have decided to rip off Michael Bay.

9) Kelsey Grammer has a very short but killer cameo in the flick.

10) Kevin Pollack also has a small role and it just kills me we can't get this guy in more flicks.

Final Thought:

Coming out near when that other internet movie did was horrible for Middle Men. It is nowhere as deep or "filmy" as The Heartless Network, but what is a fucking face paced story about guys who got rich off of something we all enjoy on the internet from time to time but only about 1 in 10 of us aren't to chicken shit to admit. I gave this the same score I gave Heartless Network not because I put them in the same class of film but because at the end of the day it just worked out that way and I find it funny as hell. When all of you are done fawning over Network and just want to enjoy a bit of history about something a bit more provocative on the internet, really do give this a check. It will never win a single award, but I bet you'll enjoy the hell out of it.