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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 date; UK critics are listed first)
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Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
Reviews
Tomatometer Critic Review Category
splat

J. R. Jones

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: | comment Comment | Jul., 28 2009 03:01 PM

Chicago Reader

splat
1.5/4

Tom Meek

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 23 2009 03:16 AM

Boston Phoenix

tomato
3/5

Brian Marder

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Nov., 20 2008 03:16 AM

Hollywood.com

splat
1.5/4

Stefan Birgir Stefansson

evern less funny than brothers solomon

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 24 2008 12:07 PM

sbs.is

splat

Ryan Cracknell

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: | comment Comment | Jun., 21 2007 07:39 PM

Calgary Movies

splat
2/4

David Nusair

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | May., 17 2007 03:15 AM

Reel Film Reviews

tomato
2/4

Kam Williams

Though sloppily edited like a bad B-movie, this poor man's version of Trading Places will undoubtedly resonate for anyone with a taste for gruesome gallows humor, and a desire to see a spoiled, rich kid get a taste of how the other half lives.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 27 2007 08:00 AM

NewsBlaze

splat

Frank Lovece

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 01 2007 03:43 AM

Film Journal International

splat
2/5

Jesse Hassenger

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 15 2007 07:33 PM

Filmcritic.com

splat
1/5

Jim Lane

Oh gee, let's not.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 04 2006 12:24 AM

Sacramento News & Review

splat
1/4

Linda Cook

Let's not. And say we did.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 03 2006 11:09 PM

Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

splat
D

Nathan Rabin

Prison makes its 84-minute running time feel like a five-year sentence with no chance for parole.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Nov., 27 2006 12:55 PM

AV Club

splat
D

Nathan Rabin

It's an indifferently filmed pitch-black comedy shrouded in a pervasive grey funk that swallows up what few meager chuckles it manages.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Nov., 25 2006 06:38 AM

AV Club

splat
D

Gregory Kirschling

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Nov., 23 2006 07:07 PM

Entertainment Weekly

splat

Mark Palermo

Life's too short.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Nov., 22 2006 09:11 PM

Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

splat
0/5

Marc Savlov

Consider this one disarmed and extremely pointless.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Nov., 21 2006 02:10 PM

Austin Chronicle

splat
1.5/4

Larry Ratliff

If movies could be punished, Let's Go to Prison would be sent to solitary confinement for impersonating a prison comedy.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Nov., 20 2006 04:34 PM

San Antonio Express-News

splat
D

Mark Pfeiffer

As crazy and subversive as Let's Go to Prison's makers might believe it to be, it's too undisciplined and predictable to amount to anything

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Nov., 20 2006 02:13 PM

Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema

splat

Frank Scheck

Arnett underplays to the point where he seems as shellshocked as his character, while Shepard seems to have forgotten that the film is supposed to be a comedy.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Nov., 20 2006 12:21 PM

Hollywood Reporter

splat
1.5/5

Michael Ordoña

Because the movie can't bring itself to take that leap into full-on absurdity, the characters and comic opportunities stay confined to their cells.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Nov., 20 2006 11:10 AM

Los Angeles Times

 
 
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