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Movies / On DVD / Cleopatra's Second Husband
Cleopatra's Second Husband

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Cleopatra's Second Husband (2000)

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Reviews Counted:25

Fresh:13

Rotten:12

Average Rating:5.6/10

Consensus: Critics say Cleopatra's Second Husband is unappetizing to watch and moves too slowly. Also, you don't care what happens to the characters.

Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Robert Marrs (Paul Hipp) is about to give a whole new meaning to the phrase remote control. A lonely, weak-willed photographer, Robert gives in to everyone's desires except his own. His domineering... Robert Marrs (Paul Hipp) is about to give a whole new meaning to the phrase remote control. A lonely, weak-willed photographer, Robert gives in to everyone's desires except his own. His domineering wife Hallie (Bitty Schram) has literally commandeered their love life with dispassionate sex strategically scheduled to her ovulation cycle. Obsessed with the ticking of her biological clock, Hallie plans an extended country getaway for two, and now only needs someone to take care of the fish and the dog.

Friends of friends and new to Los Angeles, the charismatic Zack (Boyd Kestner) and his sensual girlfriend Sophie (Radha Mitchell) arrive to housesit, greeted by a suspicious Robert and an overruling Hallie. The two repair to the country, only to cut their holiday short when Robert receives an offer to publish his work in an influential photo magazine.

Back at home though, things aren't quite the same. Zack and Sophie seem to have taken over their home in nefarious, irresponsible, even cruel ways. Adding insult to injury, they ask if they can stay a few days longer, since they've yet to find an apartment. Hallie agrees, despite Robert's protest.

Sucked into the machinations of the three people living in his house, Robert is first seduced by the erotically perverse Sophie. Hallie discovers the dalliance and flees. With her gone, Robert agrees to let Zack and Sophie stay to assuage his loneliness, giving them control of everything; his food, his bedroom, his credit cards, practically his entire identity. Even Sophie cannot stand how far the arrangement goes, and she too leaves.

Now it's just Robert and Zack, Zack abusing their relationship at every turn. Until one day Robert, driven to the darkest edge of his psyche, gets an idea. Before this all began, he'd been planning an innovative photography project involving captured insects. But now he's got another, more fascinating subject in mind. [More]

Starring: Paul Hipp, Bitty Schram, Boyd Kestner, Radha Mitchell

Starring: Paul Hipp, Bitty Schram, Boyd Kestner, Radha Mitchell, Alexis Arquette, Jonathan Penner, Nancye Ferguson

Director: Jon Reiss

Director: Jon Reiss
Screenwriter: Jon Reiss
Producer: Jill Goldman, Jon Reiss, David Scott Rubin, Jacqui de la Fontaine

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Jul 30, 2002

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Cleopatra's Second Husband

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1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating)
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Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
06/15/02
Reel.com

Startling in its originality, and while it's only 93 minutes long, the movie feels epic in its scope, thanks to all the twists and turns.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

Brutality, poison, torture and other rainy-day fun rules the day and makes this somewhat derivative film an unhinged, sicko treat to watch.

Full Review Source: IFilm | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dave White
Dave White
IFilm

Taking a branch off the (early) Neil LaBute tree of filmmaking, Jon Reis has planted a fashionably disturbing offshoot, fertilized with heavy doses of "Rod-Serlingesque" irony

Full Review Source: Nitrate Online | comment Comment
01/01/00
Elias Savada
Elias Savada
Nitrate Online

For anyone who doesn't mind being exposed to something a little dark and unsettling, Cleopatra's Second Husband offers 90 minutes of intriguing cinema.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: ToxicUniverse.com | comment Comment
01/27/02
Jeremiah Kipp
Jeremiah Kipp
ToxicUniverse.com

A diabolically clever psychological suspense movie.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Kevin Thomas
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The transition isn't as smooth as it might be, but Reiss ... pulls it off better than you might expect, and Robert's revenge is genuinely chilling.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
01/01/00
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Unlike its Hollywood kin ... this scene from the class gurgle has the courage of its convictions -- which are misanthropic enough to make Neil LaBute wince.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
01/01/00
Mark Holcomb
Mark Holcomb
Village Voice

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
03/10/03
Marrit Ingman
Marrit Ingman
Austin Chronicle

It becomes a quite interesting tale of co-dependency, and the illusions of control people can construct in their lives.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/08/02
Ron Wells
Ron Wells
Film Threat

Shot in a house in an 18-day shoot, it still backs the wallop of a movie with much bigger stars and budget.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews

The execution of [Reiss's] nightmare ultimately moves too slowly to make this late-blooming freak-out worth waiting for.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
01/01/00
E! Online

Jon Reiss's script has trouble finding its footing, and the plot progresses in awkward jerks.

Full Review Source: Citysearch | comment Comment
01/01/00
Bilge Ebiri
Bilge Ebiri
Citysearch

A tough thriller to find enjoyable or completely satisfying no matter how well crafted the story is by writer-director Jon Reiss ...

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
10/15/02
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

It's a bitter pill to swallow, featuring a quartet of unsympathetic characters and an unrelenting air of misanthropy.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Edward Guthmann
Edward Guthmann
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
08/14/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

The story is so oddly executed that it frequently seems weird for weirdness' sake.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Laura Clifford
Laura Clifford
Reeling Reviews

One of those potentially interesting movies that takes its sweet time getting to the point -- by which time many audience members will likely have bailed out or dozed off.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating)
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