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Movies / On DVD / Sleeping Dogs Lie
Sleeping Dogs Lie

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Sleeping Dogs Lie (2006)

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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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Release:

Apr 10, 2007

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Reviews for Sleeping Dogs Lie

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1 - 14 (sorted by date)
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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.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
11/10/06
Ruthe Stein
Ruthe Stein
San Francisco Chronicle
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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.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
11/03/06
Peter Howell
Peter Howell
Toronto Star
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Improbably, the movie manages to regroup after its outrageous opening and turn into an unpredictable, almost sweet, romantic comedy about the limits of candour.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
11/03/06
Liam Lacey
Liam Lacey
Globe and Mail
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Sleeping Dogs Lie is worse than offensive, it's boring, and these busy days that's really unforgivable.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
10/20/06
Stephen Whitty
Stephen Whitty
Newark Star-Ledger
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Sleeping Dogs Lie does collar big laughs for anyone who isn't skeeved out by the whole idea.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
10/20/06
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post
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[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?

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
10/20/06
Elizabeth Weitzman
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News
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Possesses a quick wit and an endearing tenderness toward Amy as honesty wrecks her life. It's sweet, doggone it.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
10/20/06
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
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Goldthwait -- his motives always suspect -- has made a very watchable movie out of a very strange subject.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
10/19/06
John Anderson
John Anderson
Newsday
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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.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
10/19/06
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
New York Times
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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.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
10/19/06
Mark Olsen
Mark Olsen
Los Angeles Times
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A scrappily funny and observant takeoff on the secrets that complete even the ''normal'' among us.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
10/18/06
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
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[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.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
10/17/06
Robert Wilonsky
Robert Wilonsky
Village Voice
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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.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
09/01/06
Duane Byrge
Duane Byrge
Hollywood Reporter
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[The film] far exceeds the limits of how far a one-joke comedy can be extended.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
01/23/06
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
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