Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.

Harockerce What a beautiful movie!

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

eddie_baggins Whatever Don Verdean is, it certainly doesn't feel like a comedy, despite what the premise, cast and trailer may make you think.What Don Verdean certainly is, is another big old flop from Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess who here, much like his previous film Masterminds, squanders a vast array of comedic talents on material that is well suited to the bargain basement bin, not oddball comedy.Going for strange over outright belly laughs, Don Verdean never seems willing to make the most of its potentially humorous examination of its religiously tinged world and its abundance of oddball characters and when the likes of lead Sam Rockwell and the normally scene stealing Danny McBride can't get the laughs rolling along at a steady pace, you know your films material just isn't happening the way in which it should be.On somewhat of a career lull since his tremendous turn in low budget sci-fi Moon, Rockwell in particular seems both dull and bored in his turn as religious archaeologist Don Verdean. Imbuing Don with nothing but a luscious lathering of facial hair and a bad wardrobe, Rockwell can't get going and while the likes of McBride, Amy Ryan and Will Forte get little moments within the film, their roles are to slight to improve the overall success of Hess's misguided journey.Nothing that happens within Don Verdean, whether it's overseas digs, awkward press conferences or uninteresting love plots, the film feels forced, no better exemplified by Flight of the Concords star Jermaine Clements Borat-lite turn as Israeli conman Boaz, which ends up being a performance that has to be one of the most grating in recent memory. Had Hess been in tune with his film, a performance such as this would've never seen the cold light of day.Don Verdean might well have been a funny film had it been done differently but as it stands this almost laugh free experience is weird for the sake of being weird and when you've forgotten to bring the funnies to the weird party you're hosting, blame must lay at the feet of Hess, a director that once showed so much odd-ball promise, only to now be wasting the time of us and his cast members in dire ways such as this.1 large human skull out of 5

Fiurilli In this movie Sam Rockwell plays the titular character Don Verdean who is an amateur archaeologist hunting down religious artifacts. When Don is asked to retrieve the skull of Goliath things spiral out of control.Although the jokes did not always work that well the writers did a great job at implementing them in the movie as most of the dialogue based jokes came very naturally and never really felt out of place. The story itself is where the movie falls apart though. Characters almost never really act out of character and it really felt as if they were living in that world instead of on a comedy set. However it quickly becomes very clear that the story is artificially set up. In fact the events that happen in the end of the movie seems so out of place and sudden that it's clear the screenwriters didn't really know where to go and just needed an ending.The one redeeming factor about the movie is the acting. Although I think their acting qualities were severely underutilized Sam Rockwell, Jemaine Clement and Amy Ryan really put down a believable performance. The chemistry between the actors/characters does seem to be there but the director does not seem to be able to capitalize on that.I do think that the recipe behind 'Don Verdean' could have provided a pretty fun comedy movie. With a better director and a better story the movie could have been a pretty good comedy, sadly as of right now it is just a well acted flick paired with a very mediocre story with some good laughs here and there.My rating: 4/10

jean-guy-365-332696 I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It is uniquely funny, and even totally hilarious when Jemaine Clement lavishes his Hebrew brogue on the viewer. The movie is a universe in itself, and not just the story of one man Donald Verdean, a preacher turned conman. The whole Mid-West or Bible Belt is caricatured in such a way that you can only smile at the fondness contained in the implied criticism. It is never mean. Jared Hess rules! I'd been a fan since NAPOLEON DYNAMITE. I relish the sight of his little tribe, starting with Rockwell and Clement, and the way those guys make you believe in second degree, totally unbelievable tales. Way to go!

Prabhat_KS_1729 Don Verdean is a movie about a biblical archaeologist whose heart is in the ballpark of right place. But one act throws him in the vicious cycle of lies. It is a movie you can get into and get out quickly and the script does give you couple of hearty laughs along the way. The story is good too. But at the end of it all, the movie is a sheer waste of talent. I personally sought the flick for its cast itself in spite of the poor reviews. Sam Rockwell, Will Forte, Jemaine Claiment and Danny McBride are actors who can single handedly enact finest comedic material. Support from Amy Ryan and Leslie Bibb should have iced up the act. But the story loses steam a few minutes into the film and veers into banality by the second act. The events look forced and the humour gets generated only from dialogs. For example, when Don covers up for Goliath's head everything in that sequence looks concocted. The natural flow is absent thereafter and story seems to be forced towards an ending. Overall, the film deserves a one time watch- for its cast at the least.