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List Price: $19.98 | | Label: 20th Century Fox
Salesrank: 41322
Released: February 6, 2007 |
| Our Price: $7.36 |
| Used Price: $0.44 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Overachieving actress, Rebecca (Moore), must come to grips with her failing marriage to stay-at-home dad, Tom (Duchovny). While Rebecca's slacker brother, Tobey (Billy Crudup), can't seem to commit to his aspiring novelist girlfriend, Elaine (Maggie Gyllenhaal). As both relationships spin out of control, the two couples embark on a hilarious quest to rediscover the magic and romance of falling in love in New York.
Description of Trust the Man:
For a sex comedy, Bart Freundlich's fourth feature Trust the Man takes many of its cues from 1980s-era Woody Allen, but is neither as sexy nor as funny as intended. It's the tale of two couples. Rebecca (Julianne Moore, Freundlich's real-life wife) is an actress. Her husband, Tom (David Duchovny, Moore's Evolution co-star),
is a stay-at-home dad, much like Patrick Wilson's character in the considerably darker Little Children. The Manhattan dwellers have two kids. Fellow New Yorker Elaine (Maggie Gyllenhaal), an aspiring author, lives with Rebecca's brother, Tobey (Billy Crudup, sporting an ill-advised goatee), a sports writer. They've been together for seven years. Elaine is ready for marriage and a baby; Toby, not so much. Both men have roving eyes, Tom for single mother Pamela (Dagmara Dominczyk) and Tobey for ex-girlfriend Faith (Eva Mendes), a newlywed. Rebecca and Elaine, in their sincerity, may be more sympathetic, but all they ever seem to talk about is their unsatisfactory sex lives. Naturally, something has to give and it does--for all four. On the downside, Trust the Man finds Freundlich in a bit of a holding pattern. In retrospect, domestic drama The Myth of Fingerprints, Freundlich's first film, is still the writer/director's best. Though James LeGros and Duchovny pal Garry Shandling provide amusing cameos, the main reason to catch Trust the Man is for Duchovny himself in his most fully realized role since the inimitable Agent Fox Mulder--oddly likable despite his many faults. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Beyond Trust the Man
More from David Duchovny | 
Relationship Comedies |
Another Julianne Moore/Billy Crudup/Bart Freundlich Film |
Stills from Trust the Man Trust the Man Reviews:
Trust the Man is a Waste of Talent. 
2008-09-23 - Trust the Man is a 2006 relationship film that wastes the talents of David Duchovny (The X-Files; Californication), Billy Crudup (Almost Famous), Julianne Moore (Boogie Nights; Magnolia) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (Secretary) on fart jokes. Set in Manhattan, it examines two troubled relationships. Rebecca (Moore) is a film actress married to Tom (Duchovny), a sex addict who gave up his career in advertising to become a stay-at-home dad. They meet with their ear-ringed therapist (played by Garry Shandling) once a year to discuss their unhappy sex life. Tom is into porn. Rebecca has no libido. Their best friends are Rebecca's brother Tobey (Crudup), a copywriter, and his girlfriend, Elaine (Gyllenhaal). Elaine longs for marriage and children, but Tobey has commitment issues and no emotional maturity. Despite a few entertaining scenes, Trust the Man falls short of Woody Allen's lesser work. It offers no new insights into modern relationships. With so much acting talent, I expected so much more from this film.
G. Merritt
Better than I expected... 
2008-01-22 - ...based on the reviews here. Much of the credit for my surprise should go to the cast: all very good. I find it interesting to watch excellent actors (Moore, Duchovny, Barkin) flesh out new characters. Overall, despite flaws, this film is intelligent, and fresh just often enough to be worth watching. I cared about the fate of the two couples, particularly the Gyllenhall/Crudup duo. Sure, there were cliches, as in another parody of 12-Step and other support groups, and the "biological clock ticking" bit. However, as in the case of the latter, there's truth at the heart of many of these. If Trust the Man ended a bit more "Hollywood"/all loose ends resolved, I'd have thrown my shoe at the screen. Anyway, here's one little negative postcript: Amazon makes it look like the magnetic Ellen Barkin has a major role - unfortunately, not the case.
If you can't relate to this movie and or find humor in it... 
2008-01-14 - then your either a robot from the planet lame, or your too uptight to have a pulse in your veins.
Now I'm not a fan of romantic comedies, and I'm not sure I can even classify this movie with that term, but this was for lack of other words... Awesome! I found myself laughing hysterically throughout and relating to many of the characters and the situations or predicaments they found themselves in. In essence, I can pretty much connect most of my friends to characters in this movie, and can easily say that I've been in a few of these situations (not relating to deli meats). Maybe it's these personal connections I felt throughout that made this film so spot on in terms of how it dealt with the trials and tribulations of relationships and friendships, or maybe it was the wit and irreverent sarcasm... Either way it just works.
I was and still am pretty awestruck by the fact that so many people actually complained about this movie and/or just didn't get it. Which is probably the main reason I'm writing a review. Are you people serious? The only people I can't see enjoying this movie are; people with no sense of humor, people expecting lovey dovey crap that feel misled, or people that are easily offended (at what I'm not sure). The movie isn't meant to be taken too seriously. In a way the movie is like the Billy Crudup character in itself (guy with the bad goatee). It steers away from the difficulties of reality when things get too real. It finds the humor in a bad or uncomfortable situation, and in the end makes you laugh and appreciate all the ups and downs life has to offer. So, enough of the over-analytical deep diving, but it seems to be in fashion here.
If your a fan of the "How I Met Your Mother" style of relationship humor, you've got your awesomely awesome movie equivalent (including those serious episodes where Lilly leaves Marshall, but in the end they get married, and Barney is there to provide the legen... wait for it... keep waiting for it... and I hope you not lactose intolerant DAIRY, LEGEN-DAIRY color commentary).
So there you have it. Quit your "can't say that word here," grab a deli sandwich, and enjoy the movie for what it is. Your bound to laugh, and see yourself or one your friends in there.
Worth watching on HBO- worth $5 or $6 to buy
2007-12-27 - I watched this on HBO and I would pay $5 or $6 to own it (for others to watch.) Its not a movie that you would want to spend $20 for or go to the movies to watch but worth a watch- I think its a good depiction of life. I enjoyed it though its not really a comedy or romantic but its a good portrayal of life and its issues in relationships and the such. Good premise and execution. I agree with the reviewer who said that it was under rated.
Trust the fact that this movie seems like a big act.
2007-11-07 - Two couples going through rough times in their relationships. The movie was not bad, but it was not good either. There is a fakeness through the entire film due to the amped up dialogue, the actions of the characters and how the relationships play out. The story just doesn't hold up your interest. I did not find myself rooting for either couple. Instead, I hoped they found someone better. Moore plays a convincing character, a bit more likable than the rest. So does Gyllehall. Yet, borth Duchovny and Cudrup play immature wanna be adolescent boys that throw their relationships away just because they do not know how to deal with their situations. All the parties involved were responsible for their failing relationships, yet, once they own up to it you realize that you don't care and that maybe they are better without the other.
This movie was good up until the end, which turned out to be pretty cliché and pathetic. The film was well-acted. I enjoyed the dynamics between David Duchovny and Julianne Moore, they are somewhat successful in portraying the married couple going through a rough time. But, the faults in this movie do not reside in the acting but in the cue in reactions that each actor has. They do not seem real, just overamped wanna-witty banter.
