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 / Waydowntown
Waydowntown

Rate this Movie Help Icon

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

Waydowntown (2002)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
70 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:33

Fresh:23

Rotten:10

Average Rating:6.4/10

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language, drug use and some sexuality

Runtime: 83 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:Jan 25, 2002 Limited

Synopsis: Tom, Sandra, Randy and Curt have all staked a month's salary on a bet to see who can stay indoors the longest. It helps that they live and work in a city's downtown where virtually all of the... Tom, Sandra, Randy and Curt have all staked a month's salary on a bet to see who can stay indoors the longest. It helps that they live and work in a city's downtown where virtually all of the buildings are connected by a maze of glassed-in bridges. Why, with all of the office towers, shopping malls and apartment buildings joined, they could stay inside until they retire! If it wasn't driving them all slightly crazy. Tom and Randy came up with the idea of the bet. Sandra joined to show she was a team player and Curt...well, there's just something wrong with Curt. Tom (Fabrizio Filippo) is not sure how much longer he can last in the bet or in his job. The occasional toke helps take the edge off, but the office environment is suffocating. It doesn't help that sitting in the cubicle next to him is the office drone Brad (Don McKellar), a 20 year veteran of the firm, who seems to spend a lot of time playing a computer game. And what's with the bottle of marbles? Sandra (Marya Delver) is the enthusiastic team player. She joined the bet to show her support, but since Tom planted the idea of the stale, recycled, downtown air in her head, she's one long anxiety attack waiting to happen. Sent to tail her elderly boss to stop him from shoplifting over the lunch hour, she is tortured by the thought of fresh air just on the other side of the glass. Curt (Gordon Currie) is the playboy go-getter...the long-engaged playboy whose fiancée won't "give him any juice" until they're married. He usually makes up for it by getting a little something outside, but being inside for 24 days has definitely cramped his style. He's certain his only impediment to winning the bet is the lack of sex. When Tom suggests Curt hit on their vulnerable co-worker, Vicki (Jennifer Clement) Curt jumps into action. Randy (Tobias Godson) is getting a little edgy. He can't remember conversations and is becoming irritable with his friends. One of those friends, Phil the Security Guard, (James McBurney) keeps finishing Randy's sentences for him. It's driving him nuts, but Phil might be the only solution to the prospect of Randy losing the bet. Oh, and Randy forgot to tell Tom and Sandra that Curt made it through a similar bet at University that lasted for a full year! Things definitely get strange as the lunch hour draws to a close. Tom has a tryst in a parking garage; Brad is making moves to go out the window; Curt and Vicki are caught checking out the plumbing in the ladies room; Sandra is crawling around on the floor in a department store and Randy has gone out in the trash. For better or worse, by the time the lunch hour is over, the bet is over and everyone's looking at life a little differently. -- © 2001 Lot 47 Films [More]

Starring: Fabrizio Filippo, Gordon Currie, Don McKellar, Marya Delver

Starring: Fabrizio Filippo, Gordon Currie, Don McKellar, Marya Delver, Tammy Isbell, Tobias Godson, Jennifer Clement, James McBurney

Director: Gary Burns

Director: Gary Burns
Screenwriter: Gary Burns, James Martin
Producer: Shirley Vercruysse
Composer: John Abram
Studio: Lot 47 Films

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

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

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Mar 15, 2005

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Waydowntown

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

The observations of this social/economic/urban environment are canny and spiced with irony.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
01/24/02
Arthur Lazere
Arthur Lazere
culturevulture.net

A cogent yet hilarious indictment of our soul-destroying urban existence.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/07/01
Barbara Goslawski
Barbara Goslawski
Boxoffice Magazine

Waydowntown is by no means a perfect film, but its boasts a huge charm factor and smacks of originality.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
05/02/01
Bruce Kirkland
Bruce Kirkland
Jam! Movies

It's funny, has something to say and moves along faster than many other films in the genre.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
07/09/01
Christabel Padmore
Christabel Padmore
Apollo Guide

...either you're willing to go with this claustrophobic concept or you're not.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
11/09/02
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

A smart and creative comedy that skewers cheaply dehumanizing architecture and self-absorbed yuppie mentalities in a series of skillfully assembled scenes.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
03/09/02
David Sterritt
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor

The perfect film for those who like sick comedies that can be snide.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
03/07/03
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Burns' comic sensibility is patently absurd but his message is pathologically frightening.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
08/02/01
Ed Gonzalez
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine

Canadian filmmaker Gary Burns' inventive and mordantly humorous take on the soullessness of work in the city.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
01/24/02
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

waydowntown manages to nail the spirit-crushing ennui of denuded urban living without giving in to it.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
05/02/01
Geoff Pevere
Geoff Pevere
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Often self-consciously surreal, this award-winner scores high for originality.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
05/02/01
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

The film's snags and stumblings are more than compensated for by its wryly subversive tone.

comment Comment
04/05/02
Jay Carr
Jay Carr
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Waydowntown just like most large cities, isn’t somewhere you’ll want to spend the rest of your life, but it sure is a fun place to visit for a while.

Full Review Source: Des Moines Register | comment Comment
07/05/02
Jeffrey Bruner
Jeffrey Bruner
Des Moines Register

With wit and empathy to spare, waydowntown acknowledges the silent screams of workaday inertia but stops short of indulging its characters' striving solipsism.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
01/22/02
Jessica Winter
Jessica Winter
Village Voice

A well-put-together piece of urban satire.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
01/25/02
John Anderson
John Anderson
Newsday
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There's no denying that Burns is a filmmaker with a bright future ahead of him.

Full Review Source: Planet Sick-Boy | comment Comment
08/16/01
Jon Popick
Jon Popick
Planet Sick-Boy

A subtly brilliant satire.

Full Review Source: Offoffoff | comment Comment
03/10/03
Joshua Tanzer
Joshua Tanzer
Offoffoff

It's Burns' visuals, characters and his punchy dialogue, not his plot, that carry waydowntown.

Full Review Source: Calgary Sun | comment Comment
05/02/01
Louis B. Hobson
Louis B. Hobson
Calgary Sun

You wouldn't want to live waydowntown, but it is a hilarious place to visit.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
01/25/02
Pam Grady
Pam Grady
Reel.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment Comment
09/09/02
Rob Blackwelder
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
14% 14% The Ugly Truth
98% 98% Up
36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
68% 68% Funny People
25% 25% Four Christmases
45% 45% Shorts

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

Total Recall

Total Recall

John Travolta's top reviewed movies

Disney Countdown

Disney Countdown

Look back on Disney's best animated movies!

RT's Gift Guide

RT's Gift Guide

Give the best movies, gear, and more!

What's Coming Out

What's Coming Out

Find movies for the holiday weekend!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Weekly Ketchup: Zombieland 2 in 3D?
54
  • First Look (Sort Of) at New Nightmare's Freddy Source: ShockTillYouDrop.com
24
  • First Look at Shrek Forever After Source: USA Today
48
  • Woody Harrelson Will Battle Zombies in 3-D Source: Moviehole
26
  • Natalie Portman Says Kat Denning Is in Thor Source: MTV
34
  • Disney Restructuring Has Broad Implications Source: Los Angeles Times
10
  • Joel Silver Talks Ninja Assassin, Sgt. Rock, Lobo, and More Source: Collider.com
1
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
128
  • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
112
  • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
32
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records
181
  • Total Recall: John Travolta's Best Movies
92
  • Ban Them All! 10 Infamously Controversial Movies
82
  • Friday Harvest: The Road, Avatar, and more!
81
  • 5 Facts About The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
70
  • Critics Consensus: Flee From Ninja Assassin
45
  • WB offers DVD to Blu-ray Trade-In Program
33
  • RT's Blu-ray Picks from WB
22
  • Five Favorite Films With Zombieland Director Ruben Fleischer
22
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Angels & Demons, Funny People, and Superman
19
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
16
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
11
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
21
  • 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
21
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Waydowntown at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Waydowntown at AskMen

Fresh Links

Featured
Wes Anderson on Fox
Wes Anderson on Fox External Link

The director talks about puppetry perfection and his film, Fantastic Mr. Fox

Animated Oscar?
Animated Oscar? External Link

Hollywood.com ponders whether or not an animated film could win Best Picture.

TIME's Holiday Movie Preview
TIME's Holiday Movie Preview External Link

Richard Corliss previews the season's best offerings and hottest tickets.

Scenic Routes
Scenic Routes External Link

The AV Club's Mike D'Angelo airs his beefs with Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men.

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.