It's a wonderful premise, but -- perhaps due to the shoestring budget -- the execution is terrible: visually ugly, with inadequate sound recording/mixing, and performances that rarely seem well coordinated.
Comment
10/19/06
Sleeping Dogs Lie (2006)
64
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:50
Fresh:32
Rotten:18
Average Rating:6.1/10
Consensus: Though Sleeping Dogs Lie treats its subject and characters humanely, it's unable to overcome the low-budget production and Bobcat Goldthwait's pedestrian directing.
Theatrical Release:Oct 20, 2006 Limited
Synopsis: Bobcat Goldthwait, the frantic, shrieking comedian who gained fame in several POLICE ACADEMY films, follows up his debut feature as a writer-director--1992's SHAKES THE CLOWN--with SLEEPING DOGS... [More]
Starring: Melinda Page Hamilton, Bryce Johnson, Geoffrey Pierson, Colby French
Director: Bob Goldthwait
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Reviews for Sleeping Dogs Lie
This shabbily shot comedy about the limits of being truthful is essentially a one-joke premise that spirals into an uncomfortable series of situations.
11/15/06
stays on the periphery of the issues and never attempts to really plunge into the psychosis of these situations
10/19/06
Amy's sin never for a second rings true, and eventually grows tiresome.
10/19/06
Leaves us with the less than satisfying disturbing message it's best to let sleeping dogs lie.
08/30/09
There really isn't much of a premise in this flat romantic sex comedy which tends to lose its way as it goes along.
10/19/06
[Director] Goldthwait explores his themes more thoughtfully than you'd expect, but ultimately, we know just how things will end. And what's subversive about that?
10/20/06
But being neither fish or fowl, the thing just doesn't work.
10/06/06
The final line of the film is far wiser than the person who first discovered that 'honesty' and 'policy' rhymed. It's too bad it's an afterthought instead of an exclamation point.
01/27/06
Toys with the notion that keeping mum is often best policy, but the movie's ugly photography threatens to sink the story.
08/16/06
An inexplicable sleeper hit on the festival circuit, this one-joke movie's bestiality premise is all you'll remember after the credits roll.
10/21/06
There are no laughs to be had here, unless you count nervous titters and frat-boy sniggers at the very thought of, you know.
10/20/06
There’s no way around it, but the movie’s modest success is undercut by its micro budget and Goldthwait’s pedestrian direction.
10/20/06
It's not like Amy was a serial canine abuser, for crying out loud. Had she been, the movie would be much more disgusting but also a lot more interesting and potentially more funny.
11/03/06
Top CriticYou can rely on Goldthwaite to demolish sentimental notions with the power of a force ten gale, but clumsy filmmaking seriously hampers his idea's own effectiveness, resulting in a rather plodding black comedy.
03/13/07
Sleeping Dogs Lie is worse than offensive, it's boring, and these busy days that's really unforgivable.
10/20/06
Top CriticWafer-thin -- it has about as much depth as your average sitcom -- Sleeping Dogs Lie mixes standard dysfunctional family comedy with sappy romantic moments, albeit none too successfully.
10/20/06
[The film] far exceeds the limits of how far a one-joke comedy can be extended.
01/23/06
Top CriticDespite being thin on laughs and light on conventional romance, Sleeping Dogs manages to be both warm and witty.
03/16/07
This low-budget comedy-drama may not have the glossiest of coats, but nor is it the dog you might be expecting.
03/16/07
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