Peep World

2011
Peep World
5.5| 1h19m| R| en| More Info
Released: 25 March 2011 Released
Producted By: Occupant Entertainment
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.ifcfilms.com/films/peep-world-2
Synopsis

On the day of their Father's 70th birthday party, four siblings come to terms with the publication of a novel written by the youngest sibling, that exposes the family's most intimate secrets.

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ThreeGuysOneMovie The movie opens up at a restaurant where the Meyerwitz family is gathering for the annual birthday party for their 70 year old father. This is no "normal family" and the drama begins as Mr. Meyerwitz brings his 20 something girlfriend to the dinner.Nathan Meyerwitz (Ben Schwartz) has just released a book called Peep World where he tells all of the families dirty secrets. This offends his siblings as they are portrayed poorly in this book. Cheri (Sarah Silverman) is suing Nathan for defamation of character although Nathan's representation is true. Joel (Rainn Wilson) is portrayed as a loser, and although this is true, he is hurt by his brothers thoughts of him. Finally there is Jack (Michael C. Hall) , who's wife is pregnant, his business is failing, and has a habit of visiting a peep shop downtown, tries to keep everything civil.The movie brings us back 18 hours before the dinner and we see what all the characters are doing prior to the dinner and then at the dinner. Without giving away too much every sibling has an issue and we as viewers get to know the characters through this process. Nathan is arrogant and self centered, Cheri is shallow and dumb, Joel is a loser, and Jack obviously has some issues. Mr. Meyerwitz is a rich dad that has not been there for his children but has financed their lives. This comedy is funny at times but mostly boring and I expected some more laughs considering the all-star cast they assembled. Peep World reminded me of Brighton Beach Memoirs but certainly did not deliver like it. The actors and actresses played their roles well but with such a thin script it would be difficult to stand out or steal the show. The movie was only 1 hour and 19 minutes which I appreciated.
Chrysanthepop Stories about dysfunctional families have always held great appeal to me. 'Arrested Development' is among my favourite television series and 'Eulogy' and 'Little Miss Sunshine' are among my all-time favourites. I was quite excited about 'Peep World', more so for its promising cast and the trailer had me laughing out loud. While it's not up there with the aforementioned titles, it's still entertaining.The main problem with 'Peep World' is that much of the humour felt forced and it didn't add much to the film. At times it tries to be too quirky. One example is Nathan's massive erection sequence which really didn't contribute much. Also 'Peep World' felt very short. Yes, the running time is less than the standard 90 minutes but it felt like a short film rather than a feature. It could have used more story development and I would have liked to have seen what happened to the Meyerwitz after the head recovers from the stroke.On the plus side, the comically intense sequences are well done and I also enjoyed the final dinner scene which wasn't overdone to the point of being not funny. Of the cast, Michael C. Hall, Judy Greer and Rainn Wilson are stupendous. Ron Rifkin is great. Alicia Witt and Ron Rifkin make full use of their two scenes. Ben Schwartz is very good. Kate Mara is charming. Vivacious Taraji Penda Henson is hot. Sarah Silverman is over the top but she does occasionally manage to make you laugh.While the writing and direction is overall decent, it is mainly the ensemble that makes it work. 'Peep World' may not be a classic but it's enjoyable nonetheless.
twilliams76 Peep World is like (almost) all of the other dysfunctional family movies I have ever come across. It has a very short tun-time (79 minutes) and a decent cast (with some surprisingly good dramatic performances turned in by some comedic actors). It also is NOT overly compelling as not many of the characters are endearing or engrossing.A terribly-cold and downright mean-mean-mean father (Ron Rifkin - LA Confidential, Boiler Room, The Sum of All Fears) is having a celebratory birthday dinner with his four adult children in attendance. None of the kids are overly fond of their financially-successful father just as he appears to be none-too-proud of any of his offspring.Setting the siblings at odds with one another is the success the youngest has found (Ben Schwartz - Everybody's Fine, The Other Guys) after writing a scathing novel that is being made into a movie that exposes and ridicules his entire family (save their father).Michael C. Hall ("Dexter", "Six Feet Under") plays the oldest brother who always "tries to be there for his siblings" even as his marriage is slowly falling apart (his pregnant wife is played by a surprisingly dramatic Judy Greer - 13 Going on 30, Elizabethtown, 27 Dresses); Rainn Wilson ("The Office", Super, Sahara) is the irresponsible and lazy middle brother while the lone girl is a Drama Queen actress played by a manic and most-angry Sarah Silverman (Funny People, Jesus Is Magic, School for Scoundrels). The youngest appears to be the father's favorite simply because of his recent success and each of the kids KNOW this.If the story had remained tight and dedicated to the family dinner, I think Peep World (the name of the exposing novel AND a strip club in the film) would have been more successful. As is (after the film's opening scene of the dinner toast, the film "rewinds" some 16 hours or so) the film easily loses itself and becomes more bitter at times than entertaining (Silverman's anger is understood; but it becomes trying and tiring).For a film of such short-length, the cast is too extensive as it also includes Lesley Ann Warren (Clue, Twin Falls Idaho, Victor/Victoria), Alicia Witt (Mr. Holland's Opus, Vanilla Sky, The Upside of Anger), Taraji P. Henson (... Benjamin Button, Hustle & Flow, The Karate Kid), Kate Mara (Brokeback Mountain, 127 Hours, Iron Man 2) and Stephen Tobolowsky (Groundhog Day, Freaky Friday, Memento) and they are spread too thin to become heavily concerned with/by any of them (although it is always nice seeing Miss Scarlet now and again).As there are TOO MANY dysfunctional family films in existence, one has to really stand-out to be worthy of recommendation ... and Peep World unfortunately does NOT. While there is a fun peek/peep here-and-there -- and Michael C. Hall and Judy Greer make an interesting/believable struggling duo (and woot! to Greer going dramatic again) -- Peep World isn't worth the price of admission OR the cost of the fictional book.It is short-enough for it to not be a waste-of-time for a viewer but not everyone will think it is worth a peep either.
Heislegend I watched this movie for a lot of reasons. I really like Sarah Silverman and Michael C. Hall, plus I was looking for a comedy that might offer a little something different. I guess on both fronts I got what I was expecting, but it still felt like a hollow victory.There's nothing really bad about this movie. The acting is done well and the pace is kept pretty good, but it always feels like something is missing and I still can't figure out what it would be. It seems to be one of the many comedies that tries to derive humor from awkward situations and subtle quirks in common situations. Though it's just a personal preference, that has always kind of bothered me. And the storyline of the horrendously dysfunctional family also feels a bit tired to be, especially as it's been done to much better effect.But the film isn't without it's charms. They're just a little hard to notice. Honestly, I thought this movie delivered more on the drama aspects than the comedy and perhaps that's how it was supposed to play. But hey...at least it wasn't terrible. That's really about all the endorsement I'm willing to give it.