The Deal (2008/I)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Steven Schachter

Writers (WGA):

William H. Macy (screenplay) &
Steven Schachter (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

20 November 2008 (Russia)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Cut To The Scam.

Plot:

A down-and-out film producer agrees to make his nephew's film about 19th century English statesman Benjamin Disraeli...

Plot Keywords:

Filmmaking | Hollywood | Screenwriter | Suicide Attempt | Jewish

US TV Schedule:

Thur. Nov. 12	4:35 AM	SHOW
Tue. Nov. 17	12:00 AM	SHOW
Thur. Nov. 19	7:30 AM	SHOW

Cast

Kate Blumberg	...	Linda
John Carson	...	Nigel Bland
Jeremy Crutchley	...	Ian Chadwick
Jose Domingos	...	Mark Rovner
Adrian Galley	...	Andrei
Fiona Glascott	...	Fiona Hicks
Elliott Gould	...	Rabbi Seth Gutterman
Brett Granstaff	...	Peter
Sydney Hall	...	Assisitant
Sean Higgs	...	Hans
David Hunt	...	Grier Clark
Aiden Lithgow	...	Skip Miller
LL Cool J	...	Bobby Mason
William H. Macy	...	Charlie Berns
Darron Meyer	...	Talent Agent
Tere Morris	...	Catherine Oxenmoor
Mudi Mudau	...	SA A Air hostess
Jeanne Neilson	...	Young British Actress
Sharon Raginiano	...	Levy Rosenwald
Natasha Rees-Davies	...	Maya
Jason Ritter	...	Lionel Travitz
Matthew Dylan Roberts	...	Vladimir (as Matthew Roberts)
Meg Ryan	...	Deidre Hearn
Shawn Tanaka	...	Brad's Assistant
Anton Voster	...	LA limo driver
George Worthmore	...	Danny Turner

Also Known As:

Entente et mésentente (Canada: French title)
Start Shooting (Europe)
Atraídos Pela Fama (Brazil) (DVD title) [pt]
Diili (Finland) (DVD title) [fi]

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content and language.

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English | Hebrew

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Finland:K-11 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:M18 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Cape Town, South Africa

Company:

Berk/Lane Entertainment

Trivia:

In addition to playing the role of Charlie Berns in the film, William H. Macy also reads the audio book upon which the film is based.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Deidre and Charlie start arguing in the Czech studio, Lionel and the girl get up and leave - twice.

Bad, Bad, Bad!

I'm so sorry to have to post negative comments about this movie, which stars two of my favorite actors, Meg Ryan and William H. Macy. From their other works, I can say without question that the reason this movie was so bad had nothing to do with their raw acting ability.

To be honest, I'm not sure where to place the blame for this stinker, but OTHER than raw acting ability, there is plenty of blame to go around, but the bulk of the blame goes to the director of this flick.

I had never heard of this movie when invited to a friend's house to watch it on DVD. I thought I was in for a treat, but from the first frame to the last, the movie made absolutely no sense. I couldn't understand the story line, the character's motivation or even why the leading characters were attracted to each other. Editing was extremely choppy and character dialogue was too rapid to to listen to with any understanding and too hard to follow even when you knew what was being said. Many times it was difficult to hear even over the chatter of other characters.

As to makeup, I'd never seen Meg Ryan look so awful. Her eyes were dead, her hair looked like blonde straw and her lips were overdone. This was supposed to establish her character, but it was so badly done that it even distracted me from watching or understanding her character. Of course, she was supposed to be a powerful movie producer (I guess - I could never figure that out either.) The whole movie was just so bad, that it tortures me even now just trying to figure out what the main story line was even supposed to be.

I love William H. Macy. To see the work of a masterful actor, watch his performance in a made-for-TV movie, "Door to Door." His acting wasn't bad in The Deal, but his character just made no sense to me.

If you decide to see this movie, I sincerely hope you enjoy it more than I did.