This is a story about the benefits of just showing up. Even at its most sentimental, Riegert's pet project possesses a lived-in integrity that nearly offsets the staleness of the material.
Comment
08/17/05
King Of The Corner (2005)
70
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:40
Fresh:28
Rotten:12
Average Rating:6.3/10
Consensus: Riegert makes this low-key, rueful comedy about mid-life angst appealing.
Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: Actor Peter Riegert stars, directs, and co-wrote the mid-life crisis comedy KING OF THE CORNER. Riegert plays Leo Spivak, whose middle-class existence slowly seems to be unraveling at the seams, as... [More]
Starring: Peter Riegert, Isabella Rossellini, Dominic Chianese, Eric Bogosian
Director: Peter Riegert
Reviews for King Of The Corner
It's a warm, unexpectedly moving portrait of a man on the verge of what could either be a dreadful or delightful second chapter.
09/22/05
The marketing focus groups, product testing, and even a pre-planning visit to the funeral home provide a lot of laughs, but then you get little surprises.
09/12/05
Riegert doesn't pretend to have answers, but he does have a unique point of view and the sort of rueful humor you need if you're going to make it through a lifetime's worth of difficulties.
06/02/05
The pic is amiable, kinda charming, visually routine, and incisive in individual sequences.
06/24/05
Top CriticI've never quite figured out what the poker-faced Peter Riegert does as an actor, but his matter-of-fact minimalism is always funny and affecting.
07/28/05
Amusing, but not the sort of transcendent human comedy that it wants to be. It is, instead, a middling one, certainly watchable but by no means special.
08/08/05
Despite a tendency to ramble and some uncomfortable shifts of tone, overall the picture generates a quiet humor and warmth that are quite appealing.
09/10/05
As a portrait of an average guy who makes average mistakes, it conveys wit and wisdom without leaning too heavily on schmaltz.
02/10/06
King of the Corner has a fine cast, some funny lines and situations and good cinematography by Mauricio Rubinstein, but no originality or profundity, nor a real point other than, perhaps, count your blessings. But maybe that's sufficient.
08/13/05
An engaging character study that is carried by its talented performers.
06/02/05
Try to imagine Woody Allen mounting a production of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, and you'll have some idea of what King of the Corner is like.
04/11/05
Wry, screwy and existentially gleeful.
08/25/05
Although it's not a flashy debut, Riegert demonstrates an unfailing generosity toward his fellow actors that takes him far.
09/30/05
Thanks to Riegert's obvious passion for the project, it succeeds even when individual scenes play like bits from an actors' workshop.
06/24/05
Warm and wise comedy of middle-age malaise.
07/28/05
Top CriticA pleasant comedy with plenty of heart and a cast that makes it worth the price of admission.
02/10/06
A witty and wise midlife comedy.
08/20/05
We've seen the midlife-crisis comedy a hundred times before, but the smarts and the gentle wit of this one makes it a standout of the genre.
01/03/06
Riegert is comfortable playing a character much like himself, but two moments lift his performance and the movie into higher territory.
05/06/05
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