This quirky comedy thriller, produced by Ridley Scott, is both blackly funny and, at times, tensely disturbing and quite macabre.
Comment
02/09/06
Clay Pigeons (1998)
64
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:50
Fresh:32
Rotten:18
Average Rating:6.3/10
Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: Joaquin Phoenix is Clay, a young Montana man who is distressed over the suicide of his friend, the wife of whom Clay was having an affair with. When he befriends a charismatic serial killer (Vince... [More]
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Joaquin Phoenix, Janeane Garofalo, Georgina Cates
Director: David Dobkin
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Reviews for Clay Pigeons
You can do a lot with black comedy: show dead bodies, show naked bodies, juxtapose irony and fear, strike cultural poses, tell jokes -- and you don't need a big budget. You just need attitude. And, hopefully, skill.
01/01/00
This is not your classic whodunit. It's blacker, funnier, and edgier.
05/14/03
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.
01/01/00
Top CriticIf Vince Vaughn ever becomes the kind of legendary actor to whom repertory movie houses dedicate retrospectives, Clay Pigeons will be the movie everyone claims as their favorite from his early career.
01/01/00
An interesting effort that a bit of script polishing could have saved.
01/01/00
The performances are simply wonderful.
08/28/01
You love everybody you are supposed to love, and hate everybody you are supposed to hate. And Healy flips you back and forth on that for some characters.
01/01/00
The boyishly braying laugh Vaughn punctuates his conversations with is a true actor's finesse on his character.
04/09/05
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.
01/01/04
Within Clay Pigeons is a smaller story that might have involved us more, but it's buried by overkill.
01/01/00
Top CriticIt'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.
01/09/02
For all its artful plot turns and camera angles, the film is most interesting when it eases up on such techniques and observes the interactions among these principals, along with Scott Wilson as ultra-low-key Sheriff Mooney.
01/01/00
The darkly comedic melodrama is well-acted and entertaining, though a bit pale compared to some illustrious predecessors.
01/01/00
It's got unpredictable plot twists and unexpected laughs coming out of dark corners.
01/01/00
Top CriticTo call this a creepy black comedy is a serious understatement.
01/01/00
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.
03/26/09
Top CriticA film that delights by confounding expectations.
01/01/00
Top CriticVince Vaughn pulls off another dynamic performance as Lester the self-proclaimed "molester," and spices his character up with one of the honkiest laughs this side of Fran Drescher.
01/01/00
Clay Pigeons isn't a great film -- it's black and it's a comedy, but never enough of either -- but it is supremely interesting to watch.
01/01/00
Latest News for Clay Pigeons
April 11, 2006:
"Crashers" Director to Battle the Undead
Filmmaker David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers, Clay Pigeons) has his next project lined up over at Universal: Based on a comic book series by Peter Lenkov, R.I.P.D. is a sci-fi... More...
February 27, 2006:
Vince Vaughn Gets His "Claus" Into a New Holiday Comedy
According to Variety, funny guy Vince Vaughn will star in a new holiday comedy entitled "Fred Claus," a project that'll reunite him with his "Clay Pigeons"... More...
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