Review of The Ten

Wasted Talent: The Movie

David Wain, the writer/ director/ comedian behind the amazing Stella, brings together a big ol' gang of his friends for ten scenes representing each of the ten commandments. And yeah, it feels like a big ol' gang of friends sitting around, riffing, and trying to make each other laugh. I'm sure it was an awesome time on set, but its not much of an experience as an outside viewer.

There are a whole whack of talented actors and comedians in this film. To name just a few of them: Rob Corddry, Paul Rudd, Oliver Platt, H. Jon Benjamin, Gretchen Mol, Winona Ryder, et cetera, et cetera. The stuff that works is funny, but far too little of it works. Paul Rudd, Jessica Alba, and Famke Janssen share the funniest scenes in the film, but they only have minutes on screen as the framing device between sketches.

There are so few good comedies out there that I absolutely hate seeing great people do mediocre work. I am not sure how Wain could turn out such bizarre and terrific comedy for cable television and then get cold feet when he helms a feature film allowing him greater freedom. I think the technical name for that is Strangers with Candy Syndrome.

Aaron.
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Posted on 01/23/08 by: Aaron 01:56 PM