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Simpatico (1999)
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Reviews Counted:18
Fresh:3
Rotten:15
Average Rating:4.4/10
Consensus: Critics say Simpatico's lengthy plot is too unfocused; the movie becomes confusing and tedious to watch.
Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: The story of three old friends, Lyle, Vinnie, and Rosie (Bridges, Nolte, and Stone), whose lives have unfolded very differently. Lyle has married Rosie and become a successful horse breeder in... The story of three old friends, Lyle, Vinnie, and Rosie (Bridges, Nolte, and Stone), whose lives have unfolded very differently. Lyle has married Rosie and become a successful horse breeder in Kentucky, and Vinnie is a down-on-his-luck California barfly with no real options. Thirty years earlier, when the pair were into fixing races -- and Vinnie was dating Rosie -- Lyle was responsible for unfairly ruining the career of Mr. Simms (Finney). Vinnie has kept the negatives and pictures from the set-up (a graphic hotel encounter with none other than Rosie) and has used this as bait for Lyle, who has financially supported him for years in exchange for Vinnie's silence. Vinnie naively believes that the only way to redeem himself and conquer his inner demons is by blackmailing Lyle and clearing Mr. Simms' name, while winning back Rosie in the process. After Vinnie convinces Lyle into flying out to California, he leaves him behind with his girlfriend Cecilia (Keener), and flies to Kentucky to track down Mr. Simms. Upon confronting Simms, who is now operating under a different name, he discovers that not everyone holds grudges from the past. Simms wants nothing to do with Vinnie's schemes, nor is Rosie interested in his love. He dejectedly returns to California only to find that Lyle has adopted his own worn, beaten persona. Together, the two must confront their present lives head on. [More]
Starring: Nick Nolte, Jeff Bridges, Sharon Stone, Catherine Keener
Starring: Nick Nolte, Jeff Bridges, Sharon Stone, Catherine Keener, Albert Finney, Shawn Hatosy, Kimberly Williams, Liam Waite
Director: Matthew Warchus
Director: Matthew Warchus
Screenwriter: Matthew Warchus, David Nicholls
Producer: Dan Lupovitz, Jean-Francois Fonlupt, Timm Oberwelland
Composer: Stewart Copeland
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Reviews for Simpatico
Warchus seems as at ease with the complexity of the style as he is with directing actors.
Warchus' accomplished handling and the stars’ flavorful performances lend Simpatico a bittersweet grace.
Simpatico never pulls together long enough to amount to much more than a series of prematurely aborted encounters, scenes from a movie sketched but unfinished.
Instead of permitting its characters to be developed naturally, Simpatico manipulates them to fulfill the needs of its heavy-handed plot.
First-time feature director Matthew Warchus can't keep the plot from bewildering and even distancing the viewer.
Stone doesn't show up until the film is half over and seems to be trying rather hard to make up for the lost time.
Much effort and expertise have gone into the making of Simpatico, but, while it's entertaining, it's not as persuasive as it needs to be to succeed fully.
It's a shame Nolte and Bridges weren't cast as brothers, because the two have similar rumpled-suede faces and irritated-bark delivery.
Improbabilities and all, Simpatico still boasts wonderful scenes and a cast that is truly superb.
Although the central offense of the past is certainly sordid enough, it's not terribly interesting, and no laborious montage can alter that.
The movie is so careless about its horse-selling subplot that its melodramatic payoff feels cheap and abrupt.
| 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 |
| 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 |
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