Sour Grapes

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Even Seinfeld fans will probably shun this dreadful, nasty-hearted film by Seinfeld cocreator and writer Larry David. It's a tepid comedy about cousins--Richie (Craig Bierko) and Evan (Steven Weber)--who enter into a feud after one borrows two quarters from the other while on a vacation in Atlantic City, and then wins a $400,000 jackpot, which he refuses to share. His action fuels retaliation and one-upmanship that results in death, racism, and a general bad taste in the mouth (you'll have to see the film to figure that one out). Sour Grapes is a misanthropic movie about cheapness that's supposed to be clever in its play on the "Jewishness" that permeated Jerry Seinfeld's hit TV series. But it doesn't gel here, and the movie is full of more self-loathing than one might care to admit. It also introduces several subplots that go nowhere. All in all, its TV mentality doesn't translate to feature film. --Paula Nechak

Customer Reviews:

Lightweight entertainment.......2006-09-07

Larry David of SEINFELD fame made his directing and filmwriting debut with SOUR GRAPES, and you can sure tell it came from the mind that conjured that TV classic (and would later star in the unbelievably funny CUR B YOUR ENTHUSIASM). It takes a nasty "little" situation and makes it into a huge mess.

Two cousins/best friends (Steven Weber from "WINGS" and Craig Bierko) take their girlfriends for a weekend in Atlantic City. Bierko borrows a couple of quarters from Weber, puts them in his slot machine, and hits the jackpot. Weber believes Bierko should split the winnings, since no jackpot would have been won if he hadn't given the quarters. Bierko says, "Hey, it was my machine. Here's your 50 cents." Weber decides to get revenge. Bierko gets revenge for the revenge. And so on. And being a Larry David piece...you just know things won't turn out for the best.

My problem with the movie: It feels and looks just like a TV movie. It's 90 minutes long, but feels at least 20 minutes too long. It's just not enough fun for a whole movie. Weber and Bierko are fine...not great, but okay.

So it is sporadically entertaining, and if you like Seinfeld, you'll enjoy the similarities of plot structure and dialogue. Characters often engage in observations about everyday items, completely apropos of nothing. David himself makes a cameo appearance in an amusing tupee.

But it gets flat towards the end...there just isn't enough here. If you can rent the film, you'll find it's a pleasant diversion. But that's all. Thank goodness David went on to divert us with his brilliant HBO show. One episode of that has 10 times the laughs of SOUR GRAPES. For fans only.

Very funny.......2006-02-04

I enjoyed this off-beat comedy a lot, and am looking forward to seeing it again sometime soon. I guess the absurd, off-beat dialog and situations turned some people off. Too bad for them.

After twenty minutes I had enough.......2006-01-06

Maybe the movie would be better with actors better suited to the material, but I found the main characters off-puttingly petty, venal, loud, and obnoxious. Mind you, I love Curb Your Enthusiasm, which parades all those qualities and worse before the viewer, but as a high concept movie it does not work. The pacing is mediocre, the characters are boring, and the premise is inadequate for a feature length movie. I watched this with a friend who is also a fan of Larry David but neither of us could go the distance.

Sour Grapes.......2005-10-09

I really enjoyed this film. I am not a person who laughs easily, but it kept me amused all the way through, and the music was an added bonus.

It was also refreshing to see a film without the usual faces, i.e. Nicole Kidman, Jack Nicholson et al.

Brilliant.......2005-07-30

I don't understand many of the negative reviews, this movie is brilliant....I can't say that's it's all that funny more clever than hilarious. The way the music is set to fit the scene is really over the top, love it

Average customer rating:

Sour Grapes
Starring: John Toles-Bey , Craig Bierko , Richard Gant , Philip Baker Hall , and Karen Sillas
Director: Larry David
Manufacturer: Castle Rock
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000P0J0F6
Release Date: 2007-05-15

Description

The grapes of laugh from the co-creator of Seinfeld. Steven Webber and Craig Bierko see their friendship go sour after one wins a slots jackpot with two quarters bummed from the other. Year: 1998

Charlie Rose with Larry David; Yogi Berra (April 15, 1998)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with Larry David; Yogi Berra (April 15, 1998)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000IU3450
Release Date: 2006-09-18

Description

First, Larry David, co-creator of Seinfeld, discusses the behind-the-scenes of the hit show and offers insights into why it was so successful. He also talks about his new movie Sour Grapes, which he wrote and directed. Then, baseball legend Yogi Berra discusses his wildly successful baseball career and his new book of quotations, I Really Didn't Say Everything I Said.

DVD:

DVD

DVD