Do Sloane and Darabont really think they can drop the complex blacklist agony into this vat of mush, and say something real?
The Majestic (2001)
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Reviews Counted:135
Fresh:56
Rotten:79
Average Rating:4.9/10
Consensus: Ponderous and overlong, The Majestic drowns in forced sentimentality and resembles a mish-mash of other, better films.
Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for language and mild thematic elements
Runtime: 2 hrs 30 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Dec 21, 2001 Wide
Box Office: $27,745,194
Synopsis: In THE MAJESTIC, Jim Carrey stretches his talents and proves that he can be a credible serious actor with his portrayal of Peter Appleton, a Hollywood B-movie screenwriter who is black listed... In THE MAJESTIC, Jim Carrey stretches his talents and proves that he can be a credible serious actor with his portrayal of Peter Appleton, a Hollywood B-movie screenwriter who is black listed during the McCarthy era. A car accident costs him his memory, and in the small coastal town where he ends up, he is mistaken for a local hero, presumed dead almost ten years ago in the war. Unable to recall anything of his "past" in the town, Appleton not only embraces his new identity, but becomes a pillar of the community, restoring hope that the residents lost along with many of their young men in World War II. In the process, he discovers new inspiration, new purpose, and a new life. Director Frank Darabont, true to form, tells a leisurely tale of a man's renewed faith in himself and in others. The film is an homage to old-fashioned values and proud-to-be-an-American patriotism, studded with rock-solid performances not just by Carrey, but by film veterans Martin Landau, Hal Holbrook, and Ron Rifkin, among others. Listen as well for cameo voice overs by Garry Marshall, Matt Damon, and Carl and Rob Reiner. [More]
Starring: Jim Carrey, Laurie Holden, Martin Landau, Jeffrey DeMunn
Starring: Jim Carrey, Laurie Holden, Martin Landau, Jeffrey DeMunn, Bruce Campbell, Bob Balaban, Brent Briscoe, Karl Bury, Amanda Detmer, Allen Garfield, David Ogden Stiers, James Whitmore, Hal Holbrook, Ron Rifkin
Director: Frank Darabont
Director: Frank Darabont
Screenwriter: Michael Sloane
Producer: Jim Behnke, Frank Darabont
Composer: Mark Isham
Studio: Warner Bros.
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Reviews for The Majestic
I think audiences will respond to what seems like the film's 'open heart,' but there's a naggingly insincere and overtly manipulative quality here that leaves an unpleasant aftertaste.
Never stirring, never funny, never romantic, and never less than stultifying.
The Majestic, an unabashed homage to Frank Capra. There's a reason even in the 1930's they called his movies 'Capracorn,' but, even though I argued withthe ending, this one got to me. The most Christmassy of all the holiday.
In truth, you'll be disturbed, wondering which is creepier -- the all-watching eyes of HUAC, or the zombie-like expectations of Lawson?
I never thought I'd say anything like this, but it makes you long for Ace Ventura.
With its fake burnished sunsets and wobbly high school band playing the national anthem, The Majestic wavers uncomfortably between blissfully old-fashioned and just plain maudlin.
Rarely has a film that's not all that original been so doggedly enjoyable and surprisingly endearing.
So, you're going along with your life as a rich Hollywood screenwriter, and BAM! You get amnesia. Ain't that the way it always goes?
[Darabont] makes us care about the characters and their dilemmas; he's made this old-fashioned tale vital and engaging.
Despite the direction and Landau's performance, The Majestic ends up shooting itself in the foot with nostalgia overload.
This 2½-hour celebration of small-town America, the magic of the movies and free speech is so broadly manipulative and simplistic, it risks giving all three of them a bad name.
Even for those to whom rank cynicism comes hard, The Majestic must seem hopelessly derivative, contrived, manipulative and, finally, insulting.
Even Capra would blanch, if he could stay awake, at Darabont's attempt to force-feed such hollow, phony and insincere sentimentality as infuses Majestic.
The ghost of Frank Capra haunts the movie so fiercely, audiences may pray for an exorcist.
No small town was ever this forgiving, no blacklist story turned out this triumphal and -- whatever other falsehoods we may fall for or even cherish -- few Americans are as gullible as The Majestic wants to think we are.
The Majestic is to Frank Capra what a '50s theme restaurant is to the '50s -- nostalgic, but artificial.
It tells a full story with three acts, it introduces characters we get to know and care about, and it has something it passionately wants to say.
Latest News for The Majestic
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December 21, 2005:
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August 20, 2001:
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