Rijndri Load of rubbish!!

Konterr Brilliant and touching

Breakinger A Brilliant Conflict

pointyfilippa The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

Gurmeet Oberoi OK,Confession first. The only reason i watched this movie is because I wanted to see more of David Schwimmer after already having seen his other work. Plus, i just finished watching the 'The Last One' and was having withdrawal symptoms. I think I'm gonna get busy with the filmography of the entire Friends cast now. But still,David is different from all of them.Over time I have come to greatly admire all of David's work,be it acting or direction. He has a lot more to him then one could imagine looking at 'Ross' during his 'friends' run. As for the movie, David is great in this drama role and the movie itself is very touching,showing a fathers love for his daughters and just how the smallest of things can turn your life upside down. And of course what happens if you drive around drunk with your daughter in the backseat. Not a good idea,that one. All in all, its worth a watch for all David Schwimmer fans,like me.

Amy Adler Duane Hopwood (David Schwimmer) is distraught over his recent divorce and turns to the bottle for comfort. It is probable that his drinking problem contributed to his split from his wife, Linda (Janeane Garofalo). He maintains his job in an Atlantic City casino but, after hours, he is acting irresponsibly. One night, he is pulled over by a police officer, on suspicion of driving under the influence. It is all too apparent that Duane is, indeed, drunk, but complicating the matter is the fact that he has one of his young daughters in the back seat. Linda is fit to be tied and wants the court to decide if Duane's contact with the girls should be severed. This drives Duane into a further depression, for he is a good father when he is sober. Then, too, Linda has a new man in her life and Duane is upset over that, also, for he still loves his former wife dearly. How can Duane keep himself together? This is a touching film about alcoholism and its deep impact on those in its grasp. As Duane, Schwimmer gives an outstanding, heartfelt performance that clearly shows that a man under the influence can stand to lose it all, even though he is not a "bad" human being. A blonde and glamorized Garofalo, too, gives a strong turn as a woman who has reached the end of her patience with a topsy-turvy home situation. The rest of the cast is quite fine as well, including the two lovely little girls. As for the settings, costumes, and photography, they perfectly realize the Jersey shore and its mixed bag of poverty and affluence. In truth, Duane's descent into misery seems a bit harsh, as he demonstrates time and again that he is a good dad and that his DUI was his first criminal offense. Yet, where children are involved, their ultimate protection is the main determining factor, of course. In this light, Hopwood is a potent cautionary tale for those who like their drink a bit too much, for it can ruin lives. Yet, the film is not without hope and could serve as an inspiration for those who are in the grip of any addiction. All viewers who like Schwimmer, too, will find this a good watch, as his performance is very, very strong.

ray-280 Simple formula: take a sitcom star (David Schwimmer as the title character) looking to break type, put him in an indie film, add a B-list actress (Janeane Garafolo as Linda) who gets a leading role for a change, throw in a talk-show relic (Dick Cavett as Fred) who surprised people not only by being in the film, but reminding them that he's still alive, and you get little more than a useful reminder to Hollwood's snobbier diva types that you can make a movie on a low budget with a dialogue-driven script. This, however, does not mean that the movie is good, even if the intentions of those involved were.In Duane Hopwood, we get one movie more than a life like this deserves. Schwimmer brings the alcoholic lead to life, and we get to follow him around as he stumbles from one predictable, self-inflicted crisis to another. Schwimmer as a total bad boy would too much disbelief to suspend, so Duane is portrayed more as a likable loser, at least on his good days. We see that Duane loves his daughters, who love him back equally, and pines for the ex-wife who moved on to another man. The movie does correctly show the selfishness of her choice, as Linda puts her own happiness above that of her daughters, who clearly want their father around. Linda is a boring, predictable character played by an even more boring and predictable actress. Garafolo has many fans, but I am not one of them.Dick Cavett's "cameo" as the presumably gay neighbor was interesting, though it didn't add much to the film. Much of the action focused on Duane at his job, as if to send home the message that the world runs on people like him, people who manage to put aside their problems long enough to clock into work and do their jobs for us. Judah Friedlander (Anthony) is Duane's main sidekick, who moves in with him mostly for co-dependent reasons (he needs to get away from home and Duane needs a ride due to a DUI conviction).We see Duane continually getting in his own way, but to what end? To tell us that an alcoholic is going to hurt himself is not groundbreaking, the film was sorely lacking in a purpose that would convince the viewer that there was ever a reason to tell this story on film other than to put a few actors into an indie so that they might get better consideration for the big-ticket roles they ostensibly shunned to take this more "artistic" creation.Don't get me wrong; this is not a horrible film. The acting is decent, and far worse stories have made the big screen. The film just does not stand out or leave much of an impression on the audience beyond the novelty appeal of seeing Schwimmer playing what is essentially an alcoholic version of Ross. If he wanted to break type, he should have tried playing a mob boss rather than a wimpy pit boss.Of all the performances in the film, the one that actually stands out the most was Ramya Pratt as Mary. I wouldn't be surprised to see her getting Oscar nominations in another decade or two. She did incredibly well with limited material, and showed great timing, poise, and maturity handling material that would have been beyond most actresses her age.I wouldn't tell someone not to see this film, but I wouldn't go out of my way to endorse it, either. Purely a middle-of-the-road effort that does not accomplish what Schwimmer seems so desperately to want to, but he does get an A for effort.

Leenever I guess I missed it in theaters. Movies come and go so fast, it's like they expect you to pitch a tent and be first in line. anyway, I felt this movie shoulda gotten a helluva lot more of a look than it did cause I saw it on DVD a few nights ago with no idea it was as good as it was. You know, well there's no copies of The Family Stone, let's try this. First of all, The Family Stone is cute in spots (I got a copy last night) but no where near as good as Daune Hopwood. Not even close! How the hell can movies like this fall through the cracks, when all this other crap is in your face 24/7? Money, I guess. Little movies get screwed, big movies get big press. A shame. Check this out if you want to care about something cinematic for a change. Brandt Fayber Gainseville, Florida