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Clay Pigeons (1998)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 6.2/10
Reviews Counted: 51
Fresh: 32 | Rotten: 19

No consensus yet.

Average Rating: 5/10
Critic Reviews: 10
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 8

No consensus yet.

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Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 9,011

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Movie Info

David Dobkin made his feature directorial debut with this comedy thriller about an ordinary guy mistakenly viewed as a serial killer by the FBI. In small-town Mercer, Montana (population 1,536), easy-going gas station attendant Clay Bidwell (Joaquin Phoenix) endures a comical nightmare that gets underway when Clay's best buddy Earl (Gregory Sporleder) learns Clay slept with Earl's wife Amanda (Georgina Cates). Earl commits suicide as a horrified Clay watches. Amanda would rather see Clay in

R, 1 hr. 44 min.

Drama, Art House & International, Mystery & Suspense, Comedy

Directed By: David Dobkin

Written By: Matt Healy

In Theaters: Sep 25, 1998 Wide

On DVD: Apr 27, 1999

Gramercy Pictures

Clay Pigeons Trailer & Photos

Cast

Vince Vaughn
Lester Long
Janeane Garofalo
Dale Shelby
Joaquin Phoenix
Clay Bidwell
Georgina Cates
Amanda
Phil Morris
Reynard
Scott Wilson
Sheriff Mooney
Vince Vieluf
Deputy Barney
Nikki Arlyn
Gloria
Monica Moench
Kimberly
Joseph D. Reitman
Glen
Gregory Sporleder
Earl
Jeff Olson
Jesse Bennett
Wayne Brennan

Critic Reviews for Clay Pigeons

All Critics (54) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (32) | Rotten (19) | DVD (2)

Slanted as a black comedy, but fails to secure the sufficiently outre tone (let alone any real suspense) needed to make it more than a middling retread.

March 26, 2009 Full Review Source: Variety

| Comment

Dennis Harvey

Variety

Top Critic

"You've got a sense of humor, I like that," Lester Long proclaims at one point. Well, we all like that, but would it be asking too much to have a little coherence to go along with it?

February 14, 2001 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times

| Comment

Kenneth Turan

Los Angeles Times

Top Critic

Within Clay Pigeons is a smaller story that might have involved us more, but it's buried by overkill.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times

| Comment

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

It's got unpredictable plot twists and unexpected laughs coming out of dark corners.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle

| Comment

Bob Graham

San Francisco Chronicle

Top Critic

This is one of those motion pictures where the director (David Dobkin, in his feature debut) and the writer (Matt Healy) are so concerned about developing a clever, serpentine plot that they forget that there has to be a credible ending.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: ReelViews

| Comment (1)

James Berardinelli

ReelViews

Top Critic

A film that delights by confounding expectations.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: New York Times

| Comment

Stephen Holden

New York Times

Top Critic

This quirky comedy thriller, produced by Ridley Scott, is both blackly funny and, at times, tensely disturbing and quite macabre.

February 9, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

| Comment

Derek Adams

Time Out

Vince Vaughn may play the two best movie serial killers this year if his Norman Bates rendition can match his performance in Clay Pigeons.

December 6, 2005 Full Review Source: Film Threat

| Comment

Ron Wells

Film Threat

An okay little High Plains Noir, but it unravels at the end.

May 27, 2005 Comment

Rob Thomas

Capital Times (Madison, WI)

The boyishly braying laugh Vaughn punctuates his conversations with is a true actor's finesse on his character.

April 9, 2005 Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews

| Comment

Laura Clifford

Reeling Reviews

Twisted and quietly addicting crime flick.

April 2, 2005 Comment

Scott Weinberg

eFilmCritic.com

Great performance by Vaughn

December 31, 2004 Comment

Jon Niccum

Lawrence Journal-World

It's hard to put a finger on what exactly this film is, and, for a while, it seems as if the filmmakers aren't sure what they're after, either.

January 1, 2004 Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com

| Comment

Michael Dequina

TheMovieReport.com

Brilliant direction.

December 16, 2003 Comment

Nell Minow

Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

This is not your classic whodunit. It's blacker, funnier, and edgier.

May 14, 2003 Comment

Jeanne Aufmuth

Palo Alto Weekly

Mr. Vaughn is possessed not only of long limbs and an attractive face, but also of a distinctive voice that he uses to command attention, even when his material is routine.

October 15, 2002 Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer

| Comment

Margaret A. McGurk

Cincinnati Enquirer

Actually brings a clean, new and very funny edge to the weathered genre of crime and sleaze.

June 5, 2002 Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine

| Comment

Jon Alon Walz

Boxoffice Magazine

It's a beautifully structured piece with a high quotient of neat, shocking twists. Director David Dobkin exercises welcome restraint; although the movie is full of macabre touches, it's witty rather than grotesque.

January 9, 2002 Full Review Source: Movieline

| Comment

Stephen Farber

Movieline

The performances are simply wonderful.

August 28, 2001 Full Review Source: Blunt Review

| Comment

Emily Blunt

Blunt Review

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Clay Pigeons

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Clay Pigeons is a very odd but good indie thriller. It's David Dobkins; who would later go on to direct the more commercially successful Wedding Crashers, debut film. The plot is entertaining but what really makes the movie is Joaquin Phoenix. Vince Vaughn seems like a weird choice for Lester but does do a decent job.

June 2, 2011

Melvin White

Super Reviewer

A very unlikely cast of people in an unlikely production from Scott Free makes for good bedfellows. First and foremost, this is a discussion film. You are NOT given all of the answers at the end of the movie, only the outcome. After you watch it, you'll want to discuss with someone's whose seen it to make sure that

January 5, 2009

Tim Salmons

Super Reviewer

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