Play Dead (I) (2009 Video) User Reviews

Nothing outstanding, but not as bad as all that.

[Heislegend · 5/10 · 13 October 2009]

If you're like me, the mix of Chris Klein, Jake Busey, and Fred Durst doesn't exactly spell success. As such, I popped this movie in with few expectations. What I got was a bit of a pleasant surprise, but not much of one. That being said, after I saw the laugh-out-loud awful performance of Chris Klein in Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun Li, I had pretty much counted him out for good. So I suppose it's always good to see someone get back up and at least dust themselves off.

The premise of the film is pretty basic. A washed up TV actor (Klein) falls on a streak of bad (really bad) luck and gets stranded in a small town in the middle of nowhere. Problem is that the town is basically run by a small group of guys running drugs, so it's up to Klein and his old TV show buddies to save the day. That's all fine and good, but it's basically the same plot from Three Amigos and, let's face it, there's little chance anyone will ever do a movie similar to that and do it better. But, with that in mind, it's not too bad. Fred Durst does a good job as the (perhaps appropriately cast) idiot and everyone seems like a total doofus with the exception of Klein and the main antagonist. There really isn't a whole lot of action here so I'm not sure why that's listed as the primary genre, and the comedy isn't so much laugh-out-loud as it is the kind that will give you a chuckle and make you say "What the...?".

All in all it's not bad...I certainly don't think it deserves it's current 2.9 rating. It's not great but you've seen far worse. But then again that's just me. I'd say it's not a bad way to waste an hour and a half.

Small town Nevada ...... Population 132 .... average IQ 66

[merklekranz · 4/10 · 4 March 2010]

Dumb is as dumb does, in this thoroughly uninteresting, supposed black comedy. Essentially what starts out as Chris Klein trying to maintain a low profile, eventually morphs into an uninspired version of "The Three Amigos", only without any laughs. In order for black comedy to work, it must be outrageous, which "Play Dead" is not. In order for black comedy to work, it cannot be mean spirited, which "Play Dead" is. What "Play Dead" really is, is a town full of nut jobs. Fred Dunst does however do a pretty fair imitation of Billy Bob Thornton's character from "A Simple Plan", while Jake Busey does a pretty fair imitation of, well, Jake Busey. - MERK

No playing, this film is dead

[dbborroughs · 4/10 · 19 October 2009]

Once big action star who fell off the face of the earth ends up in a small town with a problem with drug dealers and a dead body of a federal agent. Reuniting with some former co-stars to clean up the town.

Low key, often to the point of blandness, "action" comedy mostly just doesn't work. Part of the problem is the casting Chris Klien as a former action hero. he's not bad, but he's really not believable as some one who was taken to be a tough guy. As I said he's not bad, he's just just miscast for what his back story is. The real problem here is the combination of the script, which really isn't funny and seems artificial at times, and the direction which is pedestrian to the port of dullness. There is no life in the way things are set up. Its as if the director had a list of shots and went by that list. It makes for an un-engaging film. And yet the film occasionally springs to life, such as the in the final show down that ends the film. That sequence works, but because the earlier parts of the film floundered its drained of much of its power.

I can't really recommend the film. Its worth a shot if you're a fan of the actors or are a huge fan of independent cinema in all its forms, but otherwise this is just a disappointment.

This is no Comedy. This is an amazingly bad movie.

[8ung · 2/10 · 5 July 2010]

I'd classify it as a Drama and nothing more. The story is a drama, the acting is a drama, the script is a drama, ...

The worst thing is that the scenes do not fit together. The characters act upon knowledge they cannot possibly have acquired or just plainly cannot have. If you take away reason then everything seems arbitrary.

Someone here compared it to the Three Amigos. The only thing in common is that there are three guys and *nothing* else!

And the end? One of the worst ever! A failed statement of "Everything is fine, everybody is happy".

Spoiler warning: In the end a useless arm is whole again and even someone shot dead miraculously stands up, walks around and smiles.

Bland, is the best summarising word.

[danielspooner · 2/10 · 2 October 2009]

In a movie that follows a struggling actor, played, evidently, by a struggling actor, this does no favours for Chris Klein. He struggles to bring anything memorable to the role and meanders on through the shallow script managing to display, what could only be described as, a bland leading man. The story exists, but that is all, and fails to show any basic start, middle and end and the viewer is left shrugging his shoulders feeling as though nothing in the past hour and three quarters has really happened.

One bright light in the midst of this is Fred Durst, who manages to stand out above his seemingly averagely talented co-stars and does a semi-decent job of bringing the backward character of Legde to life. Whether Fred can re-create this when working with a higher calibre of cast remains to be seen but I'l be watching out for him in future.

Unwatchable

[ilziite · 2/10 · 4 October 2009]

It's been a long time since I last saw a movie this bad.. The acting is very average, the story is horribly boring, and I'm at a loss for words as to the execution. It was completely unoriginal. O, and this is as much a comedy as Clint Eastwood's a pregnant Schwarzenegger!

One of the first scenes (the one with the television show - where the hell are you?) got it right - the cast was 80% of let's face it - forgotten actors. If they were hoping for a career relaunch, then I think it might never happen with this on their CV! The script had the potential, but neither 80% of the actors nor the director (who's an actor and clearly should stick to being an actor) pulled it off. Fred Durst was the only one who seemed better than any of the rest.

I'm sorry, but if you ever consider watching this - I highly recommend you turn to something less traumatic, because not only it's a total loss of time, but also a weak example of what bad cinema looks like.

Mindless duh

[MarplotRedux · 1/10 · 9 May 2012]

Why did I watch this movie all the way through? All, all, dreadful all? Because I wanted to write a review of it for you nice people at IMDb , that's why. Begin with something positive? Okay: like Desperation and the several Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies, this one is a valuable reminder to big city folks like me … well, Topeka is a sorta-big city … to ride clear of isolated small towns. Especially ones without cell- phone service (nor internet service!). Folks in them can be kinda inconsiderate. Negatives? Well, starting with a little one, even in my rootin'-tootin'-backpackin' days, had I suffered even a small part of the beatings that some of the characters received I would have been out of things for the rest of the hour and a half. A bit more serious: repeated use of the f word, including in seemingly-unwarranted incestuous accusations. Much more serious: again and again I was baffled by what motivated both the behaviors and failures to do anything of both the Good Guys and the Bad Guys. No spoiler, but this bafflement reached Bottomless Pit depths with the Bad Guys' behavior at the film's climax. The one exception was the behavior of the Retard,who was also portrayed by the only good actor. Couldn't this last say more about me than the movie? Maybe, but it seems only fair to warn others. When I was a lad there was a famous often-banned novel about ladies who chose to live an Alternative Lifestyle. It was called The Well of Loneliness. This movie is the Sump of Emptiness.

Great dark comedy...

[curbsquerl · 10/10 · 30 September 2009]

I was very surprised at how good this film was. First of all, anything with Jake Busey deserves to be watched. Anytime he was on screen I laughed out loud. Chris Klein was very funny as usual, and the plot was original. But the very best part of this film was the character Ledge, played by Fred Durst. That man can act... and Ledge is possibly one of the quirkiest characters I've seen in a film. Great stuff! I laughed, I cried.... well, I didn't cry at all, but I did laugh. I will be surprised if this movie doesn't become a cult classic, in the vein of Donnie Darko, or Boondock Saints. Any movie that makes violence as funny as this movie gets an A in my book.

Not just bad - strange as well

[Wizard-8 · 30 December 2011]

I like watching genre movies made by low budget filmmakers, because not only do they often try harder to deliver the goods so their films will stand out from the crowd, you can often find a love of filmmaking absent from many big budget Hollywood films. But "Play Dead" reminded me that there are a lot of BAD movies made by low budget filmmakers. The script is bewildering - it often plays like each scene was written by one person part of a large committee, with each subsequent filmmaker often ignoring what was written before in order to do their own thing. There's a lot in this movie that makes no sense. The movie suffers in other aspects as well, ranging from underwhelming acting to incompetent cinematography. Obviously made on the real cheap, you have to wonder how director / co-writer / producer Jason Wiles managed to convince the semi-famous cast to appear in this shabby production. The only explanation I can think of is blackmail.

We have to rememorize the script.

[nogodnomasters · 6/10 · 13 December 2018]

Ronnie Reno (Chris Klein) is an actor down on his luck. He was once played a superhero called "Blue' as part of the "Hero Team." While traveling through rural Nevada, his car breaks down in the middle of meth country and he sees too much. He has to outsmart the mentally challenged Ledge (Fred Durst). In order to save himself, he must reunite the "Three Amigos" and save himself and the town.

This film was not fun like the "Three Amigos," but it had its moments. Not part of a three pack.

Guide: F-word. Sex. No nudity.

The Three Amigos....but 2009 with better jokes!!!!

[suissenavy · 10/10 · 1 October 2009]

I loved this film. I can remember someone saying that anyone who found 3 Amigos to be a good film was probably just stoned on a Saturday afternoon, truth is, I found many scenes in this film comparable, but much, much funnier. We have great character development, especially Ledge, who is indeed a lovable and sympathetic weirdo who's character steals the show with his blissful ignorance. The whole thing is extremely entertaining, especially the two actors who are at each others about the technicalities of their trade, no matter how dire or dangerous the situation. Overall a must see if you want a chuckle a minute and you don't look for too much reality. It's one of those it could never happen like this films, but releases a great story in sacrifice of this element. Acting, plot, cinematography and settings are all above par in my opinion, and you will truly feel a sense of attachment to the characters, as long as you have a pulse that is. 10 stars for the jokes. Especially the one about forgetting to load the gun, LOL, and never speak your plans into a megaphone whilst staking out potential killers, especially when your just acting as DEA. almost died laughing!!!!!