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Movies / On DVD / Fay Grim
Fay Grim

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Fay Grim (2007)

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Reviews Counted: 84

Fresh: 37

Rotten:47

Average Rating: 5.4/10

Consensus: Fay Grim is too concerned with its own farcical premise to present a coherent, involving story.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language and some sexuality

Runtime: 1 hr 58 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:May 18, 2007 Limited

Box Office: $61,817

Synopsis: Hal Hartley's 1997 film HENRY FOOL tells the story of Simon Grim (James Urbaniak), a garbage collector in Queens whose burgeoning talent as a poet is spurred on to greatness by Henry (Thomas Jay... Hal Hartley's 1997 film HENRY FOOL tells the story of Simon Grim (James Urbaniak), a garbage collector in Queens whose burgeoning talent as a poet is spurred on to greatness by Henry (Thomas Jay Ryan), a failed novelist with a shady past. Though the film gave Hartley art-house success, it was an unlikely candidate for sequeldom--let alone one that's a spy thriller--but, years later, that what he's given us with FAY GRIM. Henry has been missing for seven years, and Simon's sister, Fay (Parker Posey), is a single parent raising her and Henry's 14-year-old son, Ned (Liam Aiken), in Woodside, Queens. Simon is in prison for helping Henry escape from the law, but Fay is given a chance to spring him when she is approached by CIA agent Fulbright (Jeff Goldblum), who asks her to go Paris to obtain Henry's "confessions," a series of notebooks he filled with international political secrets. Once in Paris, Fay is preyed upon by operatives other than those she is meant to deal with, and things don't go as planned. An unwitting pawn in a complex international scheme set in motion by her missing husband, Fay finds herself traveling to Turkey for answers. Fans of Hartley's work will be pleased with this oddball take on the espionage genre, in which a permanently tilted camera mirrors the loopy proceedings. Though Posey's Fay is a stereotypical "clueless American abroad" in designer duds, and her adventure seems at first to be a silly game, bodies begin piling up, and the tale gathers real weight. FAY GRIM is a unique addition to Hartley's singular body of work, and a treat for indie film fans regardless of their familiarity with HENRY FOOL. [More]

Starring: Parker Posey, Jeff Goldblum, Leo Fitzpatrick, Chuck Montgomery

Starring: Parker Posey, Jeff Goldblum, Leo Fitzpatrick, Chuck Montgomery, James Urbaniak, Saffron Burrows, Liam Aiken, Elina Lowensohn, Thomas Jay Ryan

Director: Hal Hartley

Director: Hal Hartley
Screenwriter: Hal Hartley
Producer: Hal Hartley, Michael S. Ryan, Martin Hagemann, Jason Kliot, Ted Hope
Composer: Hal Hartley
Studio: Magnolia Pictures

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Release:

May 22, 2007

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Reviews for Fay Grim

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Peter Keough
Boston Phoenix

Slyly, almost imperceptibly comedic, Fay Grim is indeed a film by Hal Hartley, who wrote, directed, edited and scored the film. But it's also Parker Posey's film

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
03/14/09
Andrew L. Urban
Urban Cinefile

Without a good quality story, all the eccentricity is just window dressing.

Full Review Source: ReelzChannel.com | comment Comment
08/23/08
Heather Huntington
ReelzChannel.com

Hartley pretzels his faux spy plot into "Syriana"-like knots and ends up with a fascinating if somewhat flawed absurdist romp.

Full Review Source: CinemaBlend.com | comment Comment
05/05/08
Brian Holcomb
CinemaBlend.com

The nicest surprise of the movie is how long and how well Fay Grim works as a contemporary screwball comedy, a genre from which Hartley's diffuse yet severe sense of irony would seem to disbar him.

Full Review Source: Nick's Flick Picks | comment Comment
01/03/08
Nick Davis
Nick's Flick Picks

Posey's fans will love her performance, even if they have a little trouble following the rather contrived adventure ... which is so talky, it's tiresome.

Full Review Source: Looking Closer | comment Comment
08/22/07
Jeffrey Overstreet
Looking Closer
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
07/28/07
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

FAY GRIM turns out to be something of a disappointment.

Full Review Source: Murphy's Movie Reviews | comment Comment
07/14/07
Ted Murphy
Murphy's Movie Reviews

Luckily, there is Hartley's immense wit to carry it through, but wit can be a dangerous gift, especially when the capacity to be clever overwhelms all else.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
07/10/07
Beverly Berning
culturevulture.net

It's odd, endearing and weirdly funny for an hour, and after that it's a bit of a self-conscious mess.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
06/23/07
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies

Overall, though, Fay Grim only occasionally connects with the viewer. It is a film so caught up in its own cleverness and cheekiness that -- despite the solid work by its cast -- it forgets to make you truly care about its characters.

Full Review Source: IGN Movies | comment Comment
06/22/07
Stax
IGN Movies

The story is deliberately perplexing, and while the logic of the serpentine narrative surely makes sense, Hartley is more concerned with the cadences and rhythms of the spy movie itself.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
06/14/07
John Thomason
Orlando Weekly

Nothing short of a comic feast.

Full Review Source: Zertinet Movies | comment Comment
06/13/07
Steven Snyder
Zertinet Movies

"Fay Grim" is the most inarticulate and grueling of all Hal Hartley's films, and a complete waste of time.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
06/07/07
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

A stunningly abysmal sequel to 1998's very interesting Henry Fool. Even the appealing Posey can do little to redeem this totally misguided, convoluted disaster.

comment Comment
06/03/07
Chuck O'Leary
FulvueDrive-in.com

In the end, it turns out to be an interesting film, but it takes forever to work up enough steam.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Insiders | comment Comment
06/02/07
Eric Lurio
Entertainment Insiders

Oy Fay! Starts out a winner but takes a left turn in Europe and turns out pretty Grim.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
05/30/07
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

Fay Grim is less concerned with the details of contemporary spy-craft and global deception than with broader moral questions.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
05/30/07
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

Movie sequels rarely work as well as literary serials, but the Henry and Fay movies have the ring of a satisfying trilogy in the making.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
05/25/07
Susan Walker
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Hartley has been on a spotty run; his last film to get a proper theatrical release in Portland was made nearly a decade ago. But he recovers nicely with this witty, crackpot comedy about love, espionage, trust and secrecy.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
05/25/07
Shawn Levy
Oregonian
 
 
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Latest News for Fay Grim

June 13, 2007: More Posey for "Superman" Sequel?
While out and about talking about her newest indie "Broken English," Parker Posey was asked if she'll be returning for the "Superman Returns" sequel... More...

May 17, 2007: Critical Consensus: Third Time's Not the Charm for "Shrek"
America is going green this week: "Shrek the Third" (featuring the voices of Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, and Antonio Banderas) is our single new wide release. Critics... More...

May 04, 2007: SFIFF Report: Red Carpet, Parker Posey, Capsule Reviews!
It's been half a century since the San Francisco International Film Festival began (making it the longest-running domestic fest of its kind) and its lineup reflects that history... More...

April 28, 2007: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
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