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Movies / On DVD / S1m0ne
S1m0ne

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S1m0ne (2002)

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Reviews Counted:154

Fresh:78

Rotten:76

Average Rating:5.8/10

Consensus: The satire in S1m0ne lacks bite, and the plot isn't believable enough to feel relevant.

Runtime: 1 hr 57 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: "I can't work with a fake." -- Viktor Taransky In Hollywood, the land of illusion, never have those words rung so true… until S1M0NE. She is the ultimate director's fantasy. Unlike her flesh... "I can't work with a fake."
-- Viktor Taransky

In Hollywood, the land of illusion, never have those words rung so true… until S1M0NE. She is the ultimate director's fantasy. Unlike her flesh and blood colleagues, she won't get old, won't gain an ounce. She won't get drunk, will never need rehab. She doesn't have an agent, manager, entourage or religious guru. She won't demand a bigger trailer or a private jet. She does all of her own stunts. She doesn't need a body double. She has no problem with nudity - clothes are simply an option. She's programmed to love any script she's offered. She's not interested in money. The only power she craves comes from an electrical outlet.

Meet S1M0NE.

Viktor Taransky (Al Pacino) is a down and out Academy Award -nominated director who just lost his last shot at a comeback when his temperamental flesh and blood actress (Winona Ryder in a cameo role as Nicola Anders) walked off his movie Sunrise, Sunset. And when she left, so did Taransky's self-respect. Fired by his ex-wife and studio head Elaine Christian (Catherine Keener), Taransky just lost any hope of recapturing his former life with Elaine and their daughter Lainey (Evan Rachel Wood). But then computer genius Hank Aleno (Elias Koteas) shows up…

Although Hank is not long for this world, he is certain his creation will be in the right hands - Taransky's. Although Taransky initially rebuffs Hank's insane proposal, Hank has the last say. He bequeaths the software to Taransky that will change his life forever: Simulation One. Just a few key strokes and an overnight sensation is born: S1M0NE. Suddenly, Taransky has a taste of the success he always craved and the world's most beloved star under his thumb.

Or does he?

An intrepid tabloid reporter, Max Sayer (Pruitt Taylor Vince), is doing his best to challenge that. And his pursuit becomes a little sweeter when Taransky's immaculate matrix starts to take on a life of her own.

In a twist of comedic consequences the Omniscient Taransky never anticipated, the creation…or creature… is about to show the creator the meaning of "Eternity Forever." Suddenly, real never looked so good.

New Line Cinema presents S1M0NE, written, directed and produced by Academy Award nominated screenwriter Andrew Niccol (writer/director of Gattaca, and writer/producer of The Truman Show), a comedy about one man's truth found in the great lie perpetuated by celebrity culture. It stars Academy Award winner and multiple nominee Al Pacino (Scent of A Woman), Academy Award nominee Catherine Keener (Being John Malkovich), Evan Rachel Wood (ABC's "Once And Again"), Jay Mohr (Pay It Forward), Emmy Award winner Pruitt Taylor Vince (Nurse Betty), Elias Koteas (Exotica), Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore) and Stanley Anderson (Armageddon). And introducing S1M0NE as herself.

Bradley Cramp (Gattaca) is executive producer. The creative team includes Director of Photography Edward Lachman (Erin Brockovich), Production Designer Jan Roelfs (Gattaca), Costume Designer Elisabetta Beraldo (Frequency) and Editor Paul Rubell (The Insider).

New Line Cinema releases S1M0NE (rated PG-13 by the M.P.A.A. for "some sensuality") nationwide on August 23rd, 2002.

-- © New Line Cinema [More]

Starring: Al Pacino, Catherine Keener, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Jay Mohr

Starring: Al Pacino, Catherine Keener, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Jay Mohr, Rachel Roberts, Jason Schwartzman, Tony Crane, Elias Koteas, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos

Director: Andrew Niccol

Director: Andrew Niccol
Screenwriter: Andrew Niccol
Producer: Andrew Niccol
Composer: Carter Burwell
Studio: New Line Cinema

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for S1m0ne

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101 - 120 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

What should have been a cutting Hollywood satire is instead about as fresh as last week's issue of Variety.

Full Review Source: Citysearch | comment Comment
08/23/02
Bill Pearis
Bill Pearis
Citysearch

It's fitfully funny but never really takes off.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
08/23/02
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A ragbag of promising ideas and failed narrative, of good acting and plain old bad filmmaking.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
08/23/02
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe

Rather than script a dark send-up of our modern take on narcissism -- a Dr. Strangelove of celebrity, Niccol is tentative, making for an uneven satire.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
08/23/02
Jerry Weinstein
Jerry Weinstein
culturevulture.net

A concept that is much better in theory than it is in practice

Full Review Source: Planet Sick-Boy | comment Comment
08/23/02
Jon Popick
Jon Popick
Planet Sick-Boy

Despite Pacino's formidable skills, it's not very interesting to watch him tap at a keyboard and mumble.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
08/23/02
Bill Muller
Bill Muller
Arizona Republic

there is truth here

Full Review Source: Norman Transcript | comment Comment
08/23/02
Jim Chastain
Jim Chastain
Norman Transcript

Pacino looks as tired as this tale that slowly goes nowhere, and the digitally created Simone is totally underwhelming.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
08/23/02
E! Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
08/23/02
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Nitrate Online | comment Comment
08/23/02
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
Nitrate Online

The ironic commentary on show-biz superficiality is sabotaged by Niccol's failure to make his own story seem real.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
08/23/02
David Sterritt
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor

The film ultimately didn't deliver enough balls to back its ballsy premise.

Full Review Source: JoBlo's Movie Emporium | comment Comment
08/23/02
JoBlo
JoBlo
JoBlo's Movie Emporium

Staggers between flaccid satire and what is supposed to be madcap farce.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
08/23/02
Jonathan Foreman
Jonathan Foreman
New York Post

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
08/23/02
Leigh Johnson
Leigh Johnson
Hollywood.com

Pacino is so exuberant that you can feel his glee even in Viktor's darker moments.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
08/23/02
Pam Grady
Pam Grady
Reel.com

If this is satire, it's the smug and self-congratulatory kind that lets the audience completely off the hook.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
08/23/02
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
08/23/02
Arizona Republic
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Bounces around haphazardly, at some moments steeping in its juvenile irony and bitterness, at others trying to become exactly the kind of Hollywood light entertainment it decries, and all without any relationship to the real world.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
08/23/02
Andrew O'Hehir
Andrew O'Hehir
Salon.com

A pleasing, often-funny comedy.

Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
08/23/02
Robert Denerstein
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News

(Niccol's) screenplay for The Truman Show explored similar themes, though that film worked from a better blueprint to reach a more satisfying conclusion.

Full Review Source: Eclipse Magazine | comment Comment
08/23/02
Sean O'Connell
Sean O'Connell
Eclipse Magazine
 
 
101 - 120 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
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