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Movies / On DVD / Sleeping Dogs Lie
Sleeping Dogs Lie

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Sleeping Dogs Lie (2006)

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Reviews Counted:50

Fresh:32

Rotten:18

Average Rating:6.1/10

Consensus: Though Sleeping Dogs Lie treats its subject and characters humanely, it's unable to overcome the low-budget production and Bobcat Goldthwait's pedestrian directing.

Rated: 18 [See Full Rating] for strong and aberrant sexual content, drug use and language.

Runtime: 89 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:16-03-2007

Synopsis: Bobcat Goldthwait, the frantic, shrieking comedian who gained fame in several POLICE ACADEMY films, follows up his debut feature as a writer-director--1992's SHAKES THE CLOWN--with SLEEPING DOGS... Bobcat Goldthwait, the frantic, shrieking comedian who gained fame in several POLICE ACADEMY films, follows up his debut feature as a writer-director--1992's SHAKES THE CLOWN--with SLEEPING DOGS LIE, a surprisingly tender romantic black comedy. Melinda Page Hamilton gives a terrific lead performance as Amy, a young woman with a deep, dark secret, something very stupid that she did in college. Eight years later, as her relationship with John (Bryce Johnson) intensifies, she considers telling him what she did, as he believes in total honesty. When she finally does, her entire world comes crashing down. Her rather strange mother (a very funny Bonita Friedericy) and hunk of a father (Geoff Pierson) won't speak to her; her drug-addicted loser of a brother, Dougie (Jack Plotnick), revels in her failure and agony; and John is not sure he can spend the rest of his life with someone who has committed such an outrageous act, even if it was a silly mistake that she regrets. Amy, a teacher, finds solace in Ed (Colby French), a coworker going through his own marital problems, but everyone else has abandoned her. Goldthwait has written and directed a very funny, very poignant film, one that looks seriously at the meaning and importance of truth and honesty--and when it is okay to keep some things to oneself. The supporting cast is excellent, including a wry turn by comedian Brian Posehn as Randy, Dougie's drug-addled dealer, who has a crush on Amy. The soundtrack features "You Got It" by Roy Orbison, who actually figures prominently in the rather twisted but charming plot. [More]

Starring: Melinda Page Hamilton, Bryce Johnson, Geoffrey Pierson, Colby French

Starring: Melinda Page Hamilton, Bryce Johnson, Geoffrey Pierson, Colby French, Jack Plotnick, Bonita Friedericy, Brian Posehn, Morgan Murphy, Steve Agee

Director: Bob Goldthwait

Director: Bob Goldthwait
Producer: Marty Pasetta Jr.
Composer: Gerald Brunskill
Studio: IDP Distribution

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Reviews for Sleeping Dogs Lie

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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An evenly paced, gently acted and subdued black comedy with a subversive moral at its heart.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
03/16/07
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Had me howling with laughter.

Full Review Source: Sun Online | comment Comment
03/16/07
Johnny Vaughan
Johnny Vaughan
Sun Online

Hamilton is wonderful as the bruised victim of an oedipal insanity for truth.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
03/16/07
James Christopher
James Christopher
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This low-budget comedy-drama may not have the glossiest of coats, but nor is it the dog you might be expecting.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
03/16/07
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Despite its vomit-inducing revelation, this is a surprisingly sweet romcom with a strong comic performance by Hamilton and some thought-provoking things to say about relationships.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
03/16/07
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

A bestiality rom-com with unexpected charm. Not quite the dog’s bollocks, but certainly no dog’s dinner either.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
03/16/07
Jane Crowther
Jane Crowther
Total Film

Despite being thin on laughs and light on conventional romance, Sleeping Dogs manages to be both warm and witty.

comment Comment
03/16/07
Little White Lies

You can rely on Goldthwaite to demolish sentimental notions with the power of a force ten gale, but clumsy filmmaking seriously hampers his idea's own effectiveness, resulting in a rather plodding black comedy.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
03/13/07
Sam Toy
Sam Toy
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A warm, mature, thought-provoking film that is, at times, surreal, often hilarious and ultimately very touching. Nice one, Bobcat.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
10/30/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An inexplicable sleeper hit on the festival circuit, this one-joke movie's bestiality premise is all you'll remember after the credits roll.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
10/21/06
Jamie Russell
Jamie Russell
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The jet-black comedy has a surprising sweetness that counter-balances the profoundly disgusting plot.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
09/30/06
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Leaves us with the less than satisfying disturbing message it's best to let sleeping dogs lie.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
08/30/09
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Anchored, and essentially redeemed, by a fearless performance from Melinda Page Hamilton.

Full Review Source: MovieMartyr.com | comment Comment
02/15/09
Jeremy Heilman
Jeremy Heilman
MovieMartyr.com

...ultimately an emotionally affecting and thoroughly accomplished piece of work...

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
02/28/08
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

Bobcat Goldthwait has produced a flm that understands something about the gulf between what men claim they want from women, and the way they behave when we give it to them.

Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment Comment
02/01/08
Karina Longworth
Karina Longworth
Cinematical

I liked the film but thought the bestiality theme held it back. A lot of people won't want to see the movie.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
04/04/07
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

There's an ingratiatingly quirky spirit which keeps bubbling up in Sleeping Dogs Lie and merrily propels it along

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
03/01/07
David Noh
David Noh
Film Journal International

I can't think of another film that so directly and actively tackles the question of the actual value of honesty.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
01/10/07
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

This shabbily shot comedy about the limits of being truthful is essentially a one-joke premise that spirals into an uncomfortable series of situations.

Full Review Source: Sympatico.ca | comment Comment
11/15/06
Angela Baldassarre
Angela Baldassarre
Sympatico.ca

Plays into an almost primal fear that there's something so awful in your past that if you spill the beans the other person will split -- no matter how much he or she professes that nothing you could say would ever have that effect.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
11/10/06
Ruthe Stein
Ruthe Stein
San Francisco Chronicle
 
 
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