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Movies / On DVD / Let's Go to Prison
Let's Go to Prison

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Let's Go to Prison (2006)

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Reviews Counted:40

Fresh:4

Rotten:36

Average Rating:2.9/10

Consensus: Let's Go to Prison is guilty on all counts of cliched setups, base humor, and failure to ellicit laughs.

Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: When asked about prison movies, the film buff instantly calls to mind epochal pictures such as Cool Hand Luke, The Count of Monte Cristo and Birdman of Alcatraz — or perhaps classics in the making... When asked about prison movies, the film buff instantly calls to mind epochal pictures such as Cool Hand Luke, The Count of Monte Cristo and Birdman of Alcatraz — or perhaps classics in the making like The Shawshank Redemption, In the Name of the Father and The Green Mile. These important works of art have two things in common: 1) they explore the fears and triumphs of unjustly arrested men railing against a cruel system and 2) they serve as a cornerstone of American dramatic cinema. Well...Let's Go To Prison shares one of those tenets. Frankly, we felt obligated to contribute to this genre of filmmaking with our own take on the core issues that inmates routinely face in 2006. While overcrowding and recidivism are topical and vital issues to address, so are other unique themes. In this film, we just happen to have the soap dropping that Steve McQueen never discovered and toilet wine that Dustin Hoffman failed to manufacture in Papillon. Based upon a non fiction book about how to stay out of jail (and/or survive it once you know you're headed upriver), Let's Go To Prison is an uncompromising, no-holdsbarred revenge comedy helmed by BOB ODENKIRK, the director who brought sketchcomedy fans Mr. Show With Bob and David. And he's about to give us everything that's been missing from the typical prison movie in his fresh, probing look at our penal system—rife with plenty of sweet, cloistered, man love. Felon John Lyshitski (DAX SHEPARD, Punk'd, Employee of the Month, Without a Paddle) has figured out the best way to get revenge on the now-dead judge who sent him to jail: "help" the official's obnoxious son, Nelson Biederman the IVth (WILL ARNETT, Arrested Development, RV, Blades of Glory), try to survive the clink. John strikes gold when Nelson is wrongly convicted of a crime and sent to the same penitentiary he used to call home. He gleefully sells pot to undercover cops and gets sent back to become Nelson's cellmate, ensuring that his new buddy gets the full treatment common in American penitentiaries. Let the games begin. Lesson #1: The joint's a scary place, so you better make friends fast. Right away, Nelson offends the wrong cons and is sold—by John—to Barry (CHI McBRIDE, The Nine, The Terminal, Undercover Brother) for prison snuggling. But the moment that revenge starts tasting sweet, Nelson becomes Big Man in the Big House and turns the tables on John...changing the rules of his insane game. November 17, 2006 is the day to shower with thugs, sip toilet wine and sharpen your shivs as the locked-up are set up in Carsey-Werner Films' inaugural title and Strike Entertainment's latest production: Let's Go To Prison, a Universal Pictures release. --© Universal Pictures [More]

Starring: Bob Odenkirk, Dax Shepard, Will Arnett, Chi McBride

Starring: Bob Odenkirk, Dax Shepard, Will Arnett, Chi McBride, Paul Young, Dylan Baker, Michael Shannon, David Koechner

Producer: Marc Abraham, Matt Berenson
Studio: Universal Pictures

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Reviews for Let's Go to Prison

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
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There's an interestingly ugly social comedy to be made about jail, but Let's Go to Prison isn't it.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
11/20/06
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe

Let's not. And say we did.

Full Review Source: Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | comment Comment
12/03/06
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

The short and the sweet of it: Let's Go to Prison is one of the worst pieces of Hollywood garbage I have ever seen.

Full Review Source: Calgary Movies | comment Comment
06/21/07
Ryan Cracknell
Ryan Cracknell
Calgary Movies

Let's Go to Prison is a sly, very funny comedy that stays admirably deadpan every time you think its about to veer into gross-out territory.

comment 1 Comment
11/20/06
Neil Genzlinger
Neil Genzlinger
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This movie’s 90-minute run time definitely feels like too long of a sentence.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
11/20/06
Chad Greene
Chad Greene
Boxoffice Magazine

Let's Go to Prison feels like an overextended sketch-comedy idea insufficiently filled out by subsidiary characters (few significantly figure) or standout setpieces.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
11/20/06
Dennis Harvey
Dennis Harvey
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

its off-kilter wit is displayed with stinginess (or is it laziness?).

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/15/07
Jesse Hassenger
Jesse Hassenger
Filmcritic.com

Let's Go to Prison announces its desperation right from the opening credits, thanks to a montage of celebrity mug shots and arrest footage suggesting there are still laughs to be had at James Brown and Martha Stewart's expense.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
11/20/06
Jim Hemphill
Jim Hemphill
Reel.com

I cannot stress enough how unfunny Let's Go to Prison is.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
11/17/06
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

This really isn't a comedy. It's more of a woolly spoof, stretched out to criminal lengths.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
11/20/06
David Hiltbrand
David Hiltbrand
Philadelphia Inquirer

A comedy of tremendous miscalculation that doesn't even have the conviction of its own stupidity.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
11/18/06
Rob Humanick
Rob Humanick
Slant Magazine

Shepard's character periodically rattles off damning statistics about America's booming prison industry, but most of the gags are of the don't-drop-the-soap variety.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
07/28/09
J. R. Jones
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader

It is awful, unfunny and moronic. And that applies to the best bits. Most of the movie is even worse.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
11/20/06
Bruce Kirkland
Bruce Kirkland
Jam! Movies

It's hard to get laughs out of stuff that devolved into parody 10 or 20 years ago.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
11/23/06
Gregory Kirschling
Gregory Kirschling
Entertainment Weekly

Oh gee, let's not.

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
12/04/06
Jim Lane
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review

89 minutes that drag on like, well, a prison sentence.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
03/01/07
Frank Lovece
Frank Lovece
Film Journal International

The sad thing is that Arnett, Shepard and McBride quickly establish a loose, easy camaraderie that's a real pleasure to watch. The shame is that they're working with such unrewarding material.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment 1 Comment
11/17/06
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

As a comedy, Bob Odenkirk’s penitentiary send-up is bootless.

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Tom Meek
Tom Meek
Boston Phoenix

The elements of dark comedy, prison system satire, and juvenile gross-out gags eventually blend like the slop ladled out for inmates at feeding time.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
11/17/06
John Monaghan
John Monaghan
Detroit Free Press

...has its share of effective moments - most of which come courtesy of star Will Arnett...

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
05/17/07
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
 
 
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