Small-town indie crime comedy is short on laughs.
Live Free or Die (2007)
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Reviews Counted:15
Fresh:6
Rotten:9
Average Rating:5.2/10
Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Former SEINFELD writers Gregg Kavet and Andy Robin make their directorial debut with this offbeat comedy about a wannabe criminal toughing it out on the rough-and-tumble streets of New Hampshire.... Former SEINFELD writers Gregg Kavet and Andy Robin make their directorial debut with this offbeat comedy about a wannabe criminal toughing it out on the rough-and-tumble streets of New Hampshire. John "Rugged" Rudgate (Aaron Stanford) is on a mission to become a legend for committing unspeakably bad acts, but the reality is somewhat less dramatic. It turns out the hot items he's fencing were legitimately acquired, and he didn't kill the guy he says he killed. Nonetheless, he forges ahead, and when he reunites with childhood friend Lagrand (Paul Schneider), who has taken over his family's storage business along with his sister (Zooey Deschanel), Rugged has his new right-hand man. Unfortunately, Lagrand is as hapless a character as the world has ever seen, which only adds to the hilarity. Along the way, Rugged and Lagrand must contend with two small-town cops (Michael Rapaport and Kevin Dunn), a goofy hardware store proprietor (Judah Friedlander), and a loose-cannon safe cracker (Ebon Moss-Bachrach). In a film that features stellar performances across the board, it is Paul Schneider who steals the show. Sporting one of the worst hairdos in cinema history, Schneider's Lagrand is a cartoon character come to life if there ever was one, yet he still infuses Lagrand with a sympathetic humanity that makes the performance a downright miraculous achievement that must be seen to be believed. LIVE FREE OR DIE World Premiered at the 2006 South by Southwest Film Festival, where it won the Festival's Narrative Jury Prize. [More]
Starring: Aaron Stanford, Paul Schneider, Michael Rapaport, Kevin Dunn
Starring: Aaron Stanford, Paul Schneider, Michael Rapaport, Kevin Dunn, Zooey Deschanel, Judah Friedlander, Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Director: Gregg Kavet, Andy Robin
Director: Gregg Kavet, Andy Robin
Screenwriter: Gregg Kavet, Andy Robin
Producer: Daniel Carey, John M. Limotte, Doug Bernheim
Composer: Stevie Salas
Studio: ThinkFilm
Reviews for Live Free or Die
... low-key black comedy stars Aaron Stanford as a two-bit blowhard and small-time scammer swimming in the shallow end of the New Hampshire gene pool.
just isn't very funny, too wrapped up in its wild plot and loser lead character to ever get around to delivering a punch line
The best aspect of Live Free or Die is its unpredictability. From Rugged pulling a gun out of a kitchen drawer to the sight of his rusty blue van rolling away without anyone inside, you never quite know what's going to happen next.
None of the movie's flaws negate its many remarkable little performances and casually insightful script.
A Will Ferrell/Steve Carell-style comedy that lacks the charm associated with those actors' films.
[Live Free or Die] is a mildly entertaining little flick but a slight effort.
a lightweight film, sort of a less gruesome, slacker take on 2005's "The Ice Harvest" crossed with a common man's "Garden State," that is elevated by a cast that maintains interest when the plot lags.
There are some solid chuckles in the lowbrow crime comedy Live Free or Die but they're not enough to sustain its slight story for a whole 90 minutes.
Live Free is a comedy of vastly diminished criminal expectations. That's the fun of it, and the frustration, too.
The filmmakers have a nice grasp on the visual despair of the piece, and they use it wisely to augment the idiocy of the participants.
Very much like its hapless lead character, a small-town, small-time hustler who yearns to present himself as a dangerous outlaw, Live Free or Die tries too hard, to little effect.
It just feels contrived when a good comedy like this should feel clever.
There are many small laughs, two or three big ones, and a lot of wide open space in between where the film ambles along unremarkably.
Live Free or Die -- opens and closes zippily, but in between frequently stalls out, and the wannabe-hoodlum antics of Rugged and LaGrand -- play with diminishing returns.
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