Average Rating: 5.8/10
Reviews Counted: 94
Fresh: 46 | Rotten: 48
As quirky as Being John Malkovich but not as funny, Human Nature feels too forced and unengaging.
Average Rating: 5.4/10
Critic Reviews: 25
Fresh: 9 | Rotten: 16
As quirky as Being John Malkovich but not as funny, Human Nature feels too forced and unengaging.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 11,800
Video director Michel Gondry and scriptwriter Charles Kaufman -- who shot to fame after penning Being John Malkovich -- collaborate on this bizarre fable about human behavior in and out of society. The film opens by quickly introducing the three leads -- Lila (Patricia Arquette) who is locked away in prison; Puff (Rhys Ifans) who is testifying before Congress; and Nathan Bronfman (Tim Robbins) who is sitting in a glowing white afterlife waiting room with a bullet hole in his head. Rewinding to
Apr 12, 2002 Wide
Dec 10, 2002
$0.7M
Fine Line Features
All Critics (105) | Top Critics (28) | Fresh (46) | Rotten (48) | DVD (15)
Tries for both civilized wit and primitive joy -- and mostly misses both.
The simplicity with which it depicts these [animal] forces eternally at war with each other is sometimes sublimely evocative.
For all its highfalutin title and corkscrew narrative, the movie turns out to be not much more than a shaggy human tale.
It's all squeamishly pathetic in a freaked-out way, as the actors are reduced to primates and the movie makes no sense at all.
It's way out there, but not effective enough.
I could have used my two hours better watching Being John Malkovich again.
[Kaufman and Gondry] dive right into the subject [of sex] to lay bare the pain of it, and to have us laugh at it.
Human Nature cleverly satirizes our most ridiculous- and in many ways, our most tragic- impulses, and finds a unique balance between light-hearted humor and abject farce.
Not for everyone, but oddly charming. Great scenes with trained mice.
A ton of cute ideas do not a satisfying movie make.
Plays as a sophomoric exercise in the art of satire.
Risky, totally insane, at times brilliant, and absolutely original, Human Nature is a trip. A wonderfully wacky, weird satirical comedy that is hit and miss.
Although a few moments are hilarious, this would-be romp remains laboriously earthbound when it should be swinging gaily through the trees.
Its really something different. Kaufman is a genius but this direction he made for Human Nature asks a question but never fully answers it. It picks on human sexuality but never truly explores it. Its kind of an open ended question of a film.
December 27, 2011
Super Reviewer
A Kaufman film unlike his usual repertoire, the first pairing between himself and director Michael Gondry was a premature effort. The subtle humor was there, and the story was obviously solid, but the vibe of anachronisms that were flouted made for a less than interesting movie watching experience. Still, the
October 14, 2010Super Reviewer
| 35% | The Hangover Part II |
| 25% | Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Par... |
| 81% | Kung Fu Panda 2 |
| 44% | Cowboys & Aliens |
| 83% | Rise of the Planet of the Apes |
| 25% | Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Par... |
| 88% | Lady and the Tramp |
| 69% | A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas |
| 21% | Fireflies in the Garden |
| 45% | The Rebound |
Journey 2 Not Worth the Trip
What are his 10 best movies ever?
See the all-new action-packed trailer!
Five new Marvelous pictures