RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
RT's Blu-ray HQ
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Putney Swope
Putney Swope

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Putney Swope (1969)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
60 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:10

Fresh:6

Rotten:4

Average Rating:5.3/10

Runtime: 88 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: For years, Putney Swope has been the only black executive at a major Madison Avenue advertising firm, and he's seen it all: the ins and outs of an industry that has unapologetically relegated... For years, Putney Swope has been the only black executive at a major Madison Avenue advertising firm, and he's seen it all: the ins and outs of an industry that has unapologetically relegated people of color to the commercial margins. When a twist of fate lands him in the executive's chair, Swope is determined to make some significant changes. He starts by transforming a previously all-white board room into an all-black meeting of dashiki-clad, Afro-sporting "brothers and sisters." But before long, Swope's ideas start to go stale--his plan to shake things up does little more than invert Madison Avenue's hierarchical structure--and all hell breaks loose. PUTNEY SWOPE is a loose, freewheeling satire on '60s corporate America from Robert Downey, Sr., arguably the master of underground film. [More]

Starring: Arnold Johnson, Laura Greene, Allen Garfield, Antonio Fargas

Starring: Arnold Johnson, Laura Greene, Allen Garfield, Antonio Fargas, Stan Gottlieb, Bert Lawrence, Pepi Hermine, George Morgan, Allan Arbus, Robert Downey

Director: Robert Downey

Director: Robert Downey
Screenwriter: Robert Downey
Producer: Ron Sullivan, Robert Downey
Composer: Charley Cuva

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

May 22, 2001

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Putney Swope

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 10 (sorted by critic A-Z)
Text View
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

A satire on American ways of life, written and directed by Downey and misfiring on most cylinders.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out

If you're in a silly enough mood, you might have a good time.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A way of giving the middle finger to Madison Avenue.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
07/14/07
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

The humor is occasionally forced, with some cliched comedic devices serving as satire. The commercial parodies, however, are devastatingly funny and right on the money.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
12/17/06
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The situations include political caricature, but disappointedly nothing much beyond marginal interest occurs. The comedy is only intermittently funny and the satire is mostly shallow and obvious.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
12/17/06
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Great drug-fuelled and flawed social commentary.

comment Comment
10/12/05
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

No review available.

comment Comment
01/09/04
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
02/20/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
06/07/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
02/07/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
 
 
1 - 10 (sorted by critic A-Z)
Text View
See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
44% 44% Night at the Museum: B…
32% 32% Terminator Salvation
36% 36% Angels & Demons
95% 95% Star Trek
25% 25% Four Christmases

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
88% 88% Inglourious Basterds
78% 78% The Hangover
49% 49% Taking Woodstock
26% 26% The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard
47% 47% The Girl From Monaco

More New Releases…

See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

Sam Worthington

Sam Worthington

A video interview with the Avatar star!

Sorcerer's Apprentice

Sorcerer's Apprentice

Throwing fireballs with Nicolas Cage!

Critics Choice

Critics Choice

Inglourious Basterds storm the awards noms!

RT on DVD & Blu-Ray

RT on DVD & Blu-Ray

Inglourious Basterds & The Hangover

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • New Iron Man 2 Clue Posted Source: Screen Rant
6
  • Gibson and DiCaprio are Going Norse Source: HitFix
18
  • Lord of the Rings Coming to Blu-ray April 6 Source: Hollywood Reporter
5
  • Tobey Maguire Rumored for The Hobbit Source: Latino Review
9
  • Mila Kunis Talks Aronofsky's Black Swan Source: Collider.com
12
  • Visiting the Set of The Sorcerer's Apprentice Source: ComingSoon.net
7
  • Weekly Ketchup: James Cameron Plans a Fantastic Voyage
93
  • James Cameron Talks Avatar Sequels Source: Collider.com
8
  • Natalie Portman Will Battle Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Source: Variety
36
  • Marvel Begins Iron Man 2 Viral Campaign Source: Superhero Hype
12
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Tomatometer Watch: Will Avatar Live Up To The Hype?
235
  • Total Recall: Keith David's Best Movies
82
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Girlpower Rules Again with Princess at #1
68
  • Awards Tour 2009: Inglourious Basterds Lead Critics Choice Noms
41
  • The Gimmicks That Changed Cinema: Part 1
37
  • Weekly Ketchup: James Cameron Plans a Fantastic Voyage
31
  • The Effects of Where the Wild Things Are
29
  • Awards Tour 2009: Avatar Best Picture at NYFCO!
28
  • Robert Downey Jr. talks Sherlock Holmes & Iron Man 2 - RT Interview
21
  • Critics Consensus: Princess, Invictus Are Certified Fresh
21
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Robert Downey Jr. talks Sherlock Holmes & Iron Man 2 - RT Interview
21
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
2
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
12
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
23
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
23
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Putney Swope at Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh Links

Featured
Best Sci-Fi This Decade
Best Sci-Fi This Decade External Link

Techland lists the best Sci-Fi films of this decade.

40 Worst Films of the 2000s
40 Worst Films of the 2000s External Link

Moviefone takes a look back at the biggest stinkers of the past 10 years.

10 Questions For Zac Efron
10 Questions For Zac Efron External Link

The Me and Orson Welles star answers reader questions on TIME.com.

Best Decade Ever!
Best Decade Ever! External Link

Hollywood.com's C. Robert Cargill offers his thoughts on what the best decade for film was.

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
Pee-Wee's Big Adventure External Link

In the AV Club's "Scenic Routes," Mike D'Angelo reminisces about the Tim Burton film.

Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Follow RT on Twitter External Link

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.