Plays into an almost primal fear that there's something so awful in your past that if you spill the beans the other person will split -- no matter how much he or she professes that nothing you could say would ever have that effect.
Sleeping Dogs Lie (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:14
Fresh:10
Rotten:4
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.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for strong and aberrant sexual content, drug use and language.
Runtime: 89 mins
Genre: Comedies
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... 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 LIE, a surprisingly tender romantic black comedy. Melinda Page Hamilton gives a terrific lead performance as Amy, a young woman with a deep, dark secret, something very stupid that she did in college. Eight years later, as her relationship with John (Bryce Johnson) intensifies, she considers telling him what she did, as he believes in total honesty. When she finally does, her entire world comes crashing down. Her rather strange mother (a very funny Bonita Friedericy) and hunk of a father (Geoff Pierson) won't speak to her; her drug-addicted loser of a brother, Dougie (Jack Plotnick), revels in her failure and agony; and John is not sure he can spend the rest of his life with someone who has committed such an outrageous act, even if it was a silly mistake that she regrets. Amy, a teacher, finds solace in Ed (Colby French), a coworker going through his own marital problems, but everyone else has abandoned her. Goldthwait has written and directed a very funny, very poignant film, one that looks seriously at the meaning and importance of truth and honesty--and when it is okay to keep some things to oneself. The supporting cast is excellent, including a wry turn by comedian Brian Posehn as Randy, Dougie's drug-addled dealer, who has a crush on Amy. The soundtrack features "You Got It" by Roy Orbison, who actually figures prominently in the rather twisted but charming plot. [More]
Starring: Melinda Page Hamilton, Bryce Johnson, Geoffrey Pierson, Colby French
Starring: Melinda Page Hamilton, Bryce Johnson, Geoffrey Pierson, Colby French, Jack Plotnick, Bonita Friedericy, Brian Posehn, Morgan Murphy, Steve Agee
Director: Bob Goldthwait
Director: Bob Goldthwait
Producer: Marty Pasetta Jr.
Composer: Gerald Brunskill
Studio: IDP Distribution
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Reviews for Sleeping Dogs Lie
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.
Improbably, the movie manages to regroup after its outrageous opening and turn into an unpredictable, almost sweet, romantic comedy about the limits of candour.
Sleeping Dogs Lie is worse than offensive, it's boring, and these busy days that's really unforgivable.
Sleeping Dogs Lie does collar big laughs for anyone who isn't skeeved out by the whole idea.
[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?
Possesses a quick wit and an endearing tenderness toward Amy as honesty wrecks her life. It's sweet, doggone it.
Goldthwait -- his motives always suspect -- has made a very watchable movie out of a very strange subject.
The uncomfortable message sent by Bobcat Goldthwait's lean, subversive comedy Sleeping Dogs Lie is how easy it is to gross out people who think they're so swinging and cool.
Rather than the escalating gross-out spectacular it could have been, Sleeping Dogs Lie is an unexpectedly thoughtful look at what it takes to make relationships work.
A scrappily funny and observant takeoff on the secrets that complete even the ''normal'' among us.
[Goldthwait] handles it beautifully, crafting from such rough stuff something astoundingly sweet and sharply funny about forgiveness, unconditional love, tenderness, and the things we hide just to get ourselves from one day to the next.
We can hear the French barking "auteur" already... Beneath the profanely preposterous premise, Stay is a rather sweet and conventional love story that perambulates around the notions of trust and acceptance.
[The film] far exceeds the limits of how far a one-joke comedy can be extended.
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