The Ten (2007)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

David Wain

Writers (WGA):

Ken Marino (written by) &
David Wain (written by)

Release Date:

21 August 2008 (Russia)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

If He'd meant the commandments literally, He'd have written them in stone.

Plot:

Ten stories, each inspired by one of the ten commandments.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Love Triangle | Singing | Mother | Marionette

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Paul Rudd	...	Jeff Reigert
Adam Brody	...	Stephen Montgomery
Jon Hamm	...	Skydiving Guide Chris Knarl
Winona Ryder	...	Kelly La Fonda
Ken Marino	...	Dr. Glenn Richie / Cartoon Voices
Todd Holoubek	...	Camera Man Stuart Blumberg
Mather Zickel	...	Louis La Fonda
Ali Marsh	...	'Entertainment Beat' Host George Reardon
Raisy Pereyra	...	Dorothy Sheen
Edmund Genest	...	Governor Beaumont Hutchins (as Edmond Genest)
Ron Silver	...	Fielding Barnes
Heidi Neurauter	...	Helen Campbell-Holland
Michael Ziegfeld	...	Harlan Swallow
Jason Antoon	...	Salazar 'Fred' McBairn
Andrea Rosen	...	Polly 'Carol' Samuels

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive strong crude sexual content including dialogue and nudity, and for language and some drug material.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Italy:T | Singapore:R21 (cut) | Portugal:M/16

Filming Locations:

Mexico

Company:

City Lights Pictures

Trivia:

Purchased at the Sundance Film Festival for $4.5 million by THINKFilm and City Lights Pictures.

Quotes:

Judge Sophia R. Jackson: If I could, I'd sentence all twelve of you to death by my foot up your ass.

Movie Connections:

References One Crazy Summer (1986)

Soundtrack:

Morro Ma Prima (Un Ballo in Maschera)

About 3 commandments worth of comedy

There were some good ideas for the sketches but it seems like the writers couldn't figure out how to develop them. The result is something you might see at a high school production with a single sight-gag or punchline stretched to fit the allotted time. It's not that the gag is bad or stupid (though sometime it is) - it's just that you can't fill 10 minutes of dead time with one joke.

There are a couple of funnier commandments that got more than half a laugh. Winona Ryder is a scream - she of course is in the sketch about the do not steal commandment. (See how clever that is - this movie is full of them...) Unfortunately, the funnier sketches are at the end of the movie and you have to sit through an hour to get there.

This reminds me a lot of SNL - the current incarnation - not the "classic" incarnations. If you watch SNL you'll probably like this. If you find SNL an interminable bore, like I do - then avoid...