Review of State and Main (2000) by James W — 02 Jun 2008

This is the best movie about making movies that Ive seen. Those who have worked on an independent film crew or two will feel like they are reliving it all. In my opinion, it blows flicks like Living In Oblivion or The Player out of the water, but it is in the same vein.

The cast is great. It's a lot of fun hearing Philip Seymour Hoffman do the Mamet dialog. Sarah Jessica Parker (who I'm not usually a fan of) navigates the script with surprising dexterity. Mamet regulars like Alec Baldwin and William H Macy are as good as always.

Rebecca Pidgeon gives another strange performance. She's like a lovely and endearing deer trapped in the headlights. For those unfamiliar with David Mamet, expect no flashy visuals, just beautifully-awkward performances of dialog that feels totally unnatural because it's actually completely natural.

This is just so much easier to relate to for me than most of Mamet's work because it's guys talking about making movies rather than about selling real estate or conning the police. Plus, it's a comedy.

For Mamet fans, this is much more Wag the Dog than say, House of Cards. Favorite line: "Is that on the call sheet?!" You'll know when you get to it.