Whipped
Scam or be scammed. Mia tempts the boys...
dir-scr Peter M Cohen
with Amanda Peet, Brian Van Holt, Zorie Barber, Jonathan Abrahams, Judah Domke, Bridget Moynahan, Callie Thorne, Aviva Gale, Taryn Reif, Kurt Williams, Montse Viader, Karen Kozlowski
release US 1.Sep.00; UK 13.Jul.01
00/US 1h25

1 out of 5 stars
R E V I E W   B Y   R I C H   C L I N E
Is it just me? Am I becoming a cranky old film critic? Or is this yet another in a seemingly endless string of vulgar romantic comedies that isn't remotely funny or romantic? OK, so romance isn't the point of this film ... but shouldn't it at least have a point? It's about four womanisers, best pals who meet for breakfast every Sunday to regale each other with their tales of conquest. Brad (Van Holt) is the investor, blond and cute, and he knows it. Zeke (Barber) is the slightly nebbish writer who thinks he's God's gift to women. Jonathan (Abrahams) is the shy nice guy. And Eric (Domke) is the chubby dufus who's taken the plunge and got married. Then in one week, Brad, Zeke and Jonathan all meet the girl of their dreams, someone they might actually be able to settle down with. Trouble is: they've all met the same girl (Peet). What are the odds? Erm, do you suppose she's playing them at their own game?

Crude, annoying and not remotely humorous, this film assaults the senses in its attempt to offend everyone in the audience. If there was even a spark of humanity inside it we might enjoy the romp, but it's bereft of a single authentic moment or character, or even an astute observation of male society. And the acting isn't good enough to make us believe the characters anyway (Peet alone emerges with any dignity, and only just). The script is absolutely terrible, trying far too hard to be tasteless and goofy, but emerging as just pathetic. It doesn't even have the courage of its convictions--the nasty moral (that women are scammers too) is undercut with a whiff of emotion, eliminating even any blackly comic possibilities (a la The Company of Men). It's an unmitigated disaster on every front, painful to sit through, abysmally unfunny, dull and stupid. Have I forgotten anything?
adult themes and situations, strong language, vulgarity cert 18 10.Jul.01

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