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The Independent (2000)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 6/10
Reviews Counted: 48
Fresh: 29 | Rotten: 19

No consensus yet.

Average Rating: 6.3/10
Critic Reviews: 13
Fresh: 9 | Rotten: 4

No consensus yet.

audience

liked it
Average Rating: 3/5
User Ratings: 1,234

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Movie Info

Imaginary Z-grade 1960s exploitation film producer Morty Fineman (Jerry Stiller), who was responsible for such faux-works as Buddy Cops V: Hayseed and Toughnut, sci-fi blaxploitation flick The Foxy Chocolate Robot, and, of course, Heil Titler , is the focus for this mockumentary co-written and directed by Stephen Kessler). While Fineman struggles to make his latest effort, Ms. Kevorkian, about a gun-toting babe who's passionate about assisted-suicide, the bank wants to foreclose on his hallowed

R, 1 hr. 33 min.

Comedy

Directed By: Stephen Kessler

Written By: Mike Wilkins, Stephen Kessler

In Theaters: Nov 30, 2001 Wide

On DVD: Sep 30, 2003

Arrow Releasing

Cast

Critic Reviews for The Independent

All Critics (52) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (29) | Rotten (19) | DVD (2)

When it's trying to be a more conventional comedy, it's mostly pretty bad.

July 20, 2002 Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune

| Comment

Michael Wilmington

Chicago Tribune

Top Critic

A charming and funny look at the independent filmmaking business and the thin line between a masterpiece and a $9 nap.

June 28, 2002 Full Review Source: Boston Globe

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Erin Meister

Boston Globe

Top Critic

While [Stiller] and everyone else look like they're having a great time working on a shoestring, their movie too often retells the same joke.

April 26, 2002 Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press

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John Monaghan

Detroit Free Press

Top Critic

A mockumentary that is as endearing as it is silly.

April 26, 2002 Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News

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Gary Dowell

Dallas Morning News

Top Critic

Garofalo, wary but indulgent as the director's estranged daughter, has great comic rapport with Stiller.

April 24, 2002 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle

| Comment

Carla Meyer

San Francisco Chronicle

Top Critic

Morty Fineman ... doesn't really exist. But the cheese whiz with a camera makes for a hilarious subject.

January 24, 2002 Comment

Carrie Rickey

Philadelphia Inquirer

Top Critic

Stiller should get an Oscar for his performance as Fineman and that's no joke. This is a role of a lifetime and Stiller relishes the opportunity.

August 16, 2008 Full Review Source: KPBS.org

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Beth Accomando

KPBS.org

Really, truly, one of the funniest movies of the last decade.

November 11, 2004 Comment

Rob Thomas

Capital Times (Madison, WI)

has enough raw talent to elevate it above the usual mockufare

August 3, 2003 Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com

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Christopher Null

Filmcritic.com

Now this is what I'm talking about right here. We need more films like THIS!

December 8, 2002 Full Review Source: Film Threat

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Ron Wells

Film Threat

A lot of fun, thanks in no small part to the wonderfully over the top performance of Jerry Stiller

September 10, 2002 Full Review Source: Montreal Film Journal

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Kevin N. Laforest

Montreal Film Journal

Hollywood loves to satirize itself, wanting to reassure us it doesn't take itself too seriously. The Independent is worlds away from The Player (1992), but it's still one joke hammered over and over, hitting more often than missing.

July 5, 2002 Full Review | Comment

Jeffrey Bruner

Des Moines Register

It's cute and amiable, maybe easier to cherish if you don't recall Russ Meyer or Matinee or Ed Wood.

May 3, 2002 Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune

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David Elliott

San Diego Union-Tribune

Good but not great.

May 3, 2002 Full Review Source: Seattle Times

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Melanie McFarland

Seattle Times

Ranks right up there with Silver, John Waters' Cecil B. Demented and Christopher Guest's The Big Picture as terrific spoofs of the business of moviemaking.

May 2, 2002 Full Review | Comment

Jon Popick

Planet Sick-Boy

Despite laughs, the movie only sporadically works.

May 2, 2002 Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer

| Comment

William Arnold

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Independent

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It's just plain stupid in every sense of the word, but Stiller is hilarious and the film exceeds any expectations. The scene where the reporter is interviewing Stiller and asking him about his career is one of the funniest scenes I've ever seen.

August 15, 2011