David Duchovny wants to tell an important story. He wants his writing-directing debut to be the heaviest, most life-altering movie you've ever seen. He doesn't quite get there.
House of D (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:99
Fresh:10
Rotten:89
Average Rating:3.8/10
Consensus: A sincere but inept coming of age story.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for sexual and drug references, thematic elements and language.
Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Apr 15, 2005 Limited
Box Office: $371,081
Synopsis: A comical and touching portrait of a boy’s coming of age in 1970s Greenwich Village, Lions Gate Films’ HOUSE OF D is the feature film writing and directing debut of actor David Duchovny, and stars... A comical and touching portrait of a boy’s coming of age in 1970s Greenwich Village, Lions Gate Films’ HOUSE OF D is the feature film writing and directing debut of actor David Duchovny, and stars Anton Yelchin, Téa Leoni, David Duchovny, Robin Williams, Erykah Badu and Frank Langella. The year is 1973, and thirteen-year-old Tommy Warshaw (Anton Yelchin) is on the brink of becoming a man. While his bereaved single mother (Téa Leoni) continues to mourn the death of his father, Tommy escapes his own grief by causing trouble at school and making afternoon meat deliveries with his best friend Pappas (Robin Williams), a slow-witted janitor. Hoping to win the heart of Melissa (Zelda Williams), a precocious uptown girl, Tommy seeks advice and guidance from Lady (Erykah Badu), a prostitute incarcerated in the infamous Greenwich Village Women’s House of Detention. But just as Tommy enjoys his first taste of love, he is faced with an unexpected tragedy that will radically alter the course of his life – and compel the adult Tom Warshaw (David Duchovny), thirty years later, to revisit his unfinished past… Vividly capturing the spirit of youth in all its giddiness and intensity, HOUSE OF D examines with humor and pathos the harrowing journey every young boy must take into adulthood. Sensitively directed and bolstered by affectionate portrayals from a talented cast, it is a winning, hopeful story about overcoming loss and coming to terms with one’s past. © -- Lions Gate Films [More]
Starring: Robin Williams, Anton Yelchin, Tea Leoni, David Duchovny
Starring: Robin Williams, Anton Yelchin, Tea Leoni, David Duchovny, Erykah Badu, Orlando Jones, Stephen Spinella, Frank Langella, Michael Chapman, Mark Margolis, Alice Drummond, Willie Garson
Director: David Duchovny
Director: David Duchovny
Screenwriter: David Duchovny
Producer: Richard B. Lewis, Bob Yari, Jane Rosenthal
Composer: Geoff Zanelli
Studio: Lions Gate Films
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Reviews for House of D
The reasons to avoid House of D, David Duchovny's earnest, unwatchable coming-of-age drama, can best be summarized in a simple declarative sentence. Robin Williams plays a retarded janitor.
A heartfelt, if wildly uneven, character piece. When even Robin Williams seems vaguely embarrassed ... it should be taken as a clear sign to throttle back on the sentiment.
There is nothing particularly wrong with it, but there is little compelling to command your attention, either.
What should be a 10-minute anecdote turns into a sluggish and overly sentimental tale that won't hold the interest of anyone outside Duchovny's immediate family.
A loose-knit coming-of-age tale for which perhaps the best word is baffling...
It's a heartfelt production, and a tough one to kick around, but to recommend it on intentions alone would be making many innocent people suffer.
So ineptly written and directed by Duchovny, and so poorly performed by Duchovny and Robin Williams in particular, that it is embarrassing to watch.
Less successful with these sentimentally embroidered holy fools and fairy-tale damsels than with its nicely drawn relationship between Tommy and Melissa.
This movie tries so hard; it's practically begging for you to like it - but being earnest isn't enough.
This sort of tommyrot might make you cry, but so would getting smacked in the face with a bag of onions, which is what watching the movie is like.
The movie is Exhibit A of what can happen when an actor is allowed to pursue a vanity project without outside intervention.
There exists a difference between stylized dialogue and trite, hackneyed dialogue.
Duchovny displays a firm sense of time and place and genuine affection for all his characters, offering up plenty of amusing running gags and, most courageously, unabashed emotion.
Latest News for House of D
April 26, 2005:
Duchovny Tells a "Secret"
The Hollywood Reporter brings news of former "X-Files" agent David Duchovny's next big-screen project. The actor will take the lead role in Vincent Perez's "The... More...
April 11, 2005:
There's a Whole Lot of Robin Williams on the Horizon
More...
April 06, 2005:
Former Dracula to Play Superman's Boss
Thanks to the unexpected mid-season success of the Fox TV series "House," actor Hugh Laurie has been forced to give up the plum role of Perry White in Bryan Singer's... More...
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