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List Price: $14.94 | | Label: Sony Pictures
Salesrank: 68307
Released: August 3, 2004 |
| Our Price: $1.69 |
| Used Price: $0.01 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
No couple could be more in love than steven & carol. But steven has a secret-he has a twin brother who just happens to be a dwarf. In fact except for steven his whole family are dwarfs. So when carol becomes pregnant he is forced to tell her the truth. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 04/25/2006 Starring: Kate Beckinsale Goary Oldman Run time: 90 minutes Rating: R
Description of Tiptoes:
An unusual and heartfelt drama about prejudice and the bonds of family, Tiptoes centers around Steven (Matthew McConaughey, EDtv), a firefighter whose artist girlfriend Carol (Kate Beckinsale, Laurel Canyon) gets pregnant. When Steven reacts with unexpected dismay, Carol is perplexed--until she learns that the rest of Steven's family are dwarves, including Steven's twin brother Rolfe (Gary Oldman, Sid & Nancy, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). Though it's initially hard to take Oldman as a dwarf (the special effects are limited), his performance is so rich and remarkable that you become engaged with Rolfe as a person. Tiptoes occasionally veers into plaintive "dwarves are people too" territory, but most of the movie is strikingly honest and undidactic about the complex emotional and social terrain that dwarves inhabit. McConaughey and Beckinsale are excellent, as are Patricia Arquette (Flirting with Disaster) and Peter Dinklage (The Station Agent). --Bret Fetzer
Tiptoes Reviews:
Does it get any worse than this? 
2009-10-07 - This is a movie that clearly was written to make a POINT: Little people are just as good as big people! No, wait a minute. Little people are just as BAD as big people. They run off with their brother's brand new wives, tote guns, ride motorcycles, get into fist fights, use foul language, spout self-righteous French Marxism, and/or live in very expensive houses with no discernible source of income. And they can't act.
Rule number one if you are going to sacrifice your plot, your script, and your actors to make a political point: Don't sacrifice your plot, your script and your actors. The fact that the lines were corny beyond belief, the acting overblown, and the plot riddled with holes means that people didn't like the film. Are you doing your chosen group of "challenged" individuals any favors by making an awful film about them? Absolutely not. In fact, it's the ultimate insult. For not only do little people have to put up with everything society already throws at them, they now have to endure a starring role in a really rotten film.
A Little Strange 
2009-09-15 - Steven (Matthew McConaughey) and Lucy (Kate Beckinsale) are an engaged couple who seem to have the perfect relationship. The only problem is that when Steven goes out at night he won't tell Lucy where he's going. Turns out he's going to Little People Conventions since his entire family, except for himself, are dwarfs. Meanwhile, Steven's twin brother Rolfe (Gary Oldman) is on a motorcycle trip with his best friend Maurice (Peter Dinklage). The trip comes to an abrupt end when Maurice picks up a hippy prostitute (Patricia Arquette). Tiring of the noise, Rolfe decides to pay an ex-girlfriend (Bridget Powerz) a visit. Things don't go according to plan and Rolfe gets badly beaten by her current lover. Hoping to recuperate at his big brother's he instead discovers Lucy who eventually learns about everything Steven has been keeping from her. Lucy is pissed at first but with a little open mindedness she begins to accept Rolfe and the rest of Steven's family. When she becomes pregnant Steven fears their child will be born a dwarf and loses his mind. His subsequent actions are shocking and devastating to his family. The film is strange partly because of it's handling of dwarfism but mainly because the intended comedy isn't funny. Thankfully the filmmakers don't make fun of little people but show them in a positive light not seen on film before. I assume we're supposed to laugh at the sight of Arquette as a New Age nut or at Dinklage as a murderous Frenchman but I didn't. It's not funny it's distracting. They're both fine actors but rather than add anything to the film they take away from it. This is a nice role for Oldman since he gets to show off his tender and vulnerable side. Rolfe is a heartbreaking character who longs to be accepted by his big brother but instead finds comfort in Lucy. David Lynch regular Michael J. Anderson is also given a wonderful opportunity to show a different side of himself playing Rolfe and Steven's proud papa. I really hated the ending, but then again I can't say I liked anything that preceded it. There's a reason this is a Matthew McConaughey/Kate Beckinsale movie you've never heard of.
Terrible
2008-09-19 - I like odd films, however this movie was beyond explanation. I'll need to watch it again in case it was supposed to be a black comedy and I just missed it. If the movie is indeed supposed to be a drama, it is indeed the worst I've seen. Characters aren't believable, acting is poor, plot is hard to follow, storyline is unrealistic, movie runs too long and then just stops without tying up any loose ends. Don't bother watching.
Well-Intentioned, But Doesn't Know the Story It Has to Tell
2008-08-13 - I watched this little-known film because I am a fan of Gary Oldman. He plays Rolfe, a journalist and dwarf brother to a fire-fighter instructor Steven played by Matthew McConaughey. Steven happens to be the only member of his family who is not a dwarf, but he hasn't told his girlfriend Carol (Kate Beckinsale) about the presence of his brother or anything about his family. But when Carol becomes pregnant, he knows he has to tell, but is still slow to do that.
The premise is intriguing in several ways - amiable Steven hesitates to talk about his family, but why? for instance - but the film, which starts off pretty interesting, gradually veers from the topic, not knowing the story it has to tell.
I know Matthew McConaughey is a talented actor, but I am afraid his acting here is far from his best. He should not be blamed, however, as his character is so underwritten and the romance with his girlfriend so undeveloped that I couldn't understand why she was attracted to him in the first place. The same can be said about the relation between Oldman's Rolfe and Beckinsale's Carol, one of the pivotal themes of the film, I think, but "Tiptoes" gives only about 10 minutes (out of 90) to depict its process, which should be treated with more details.
Supporting actors turn in fine performances, especially Peter Dinklage as Maurice a radical French, but the subplot concerning his love/hate relations with Patricia Arquette's character just goes nowhere, abruptly cut short before it really interests us. Actually the entire film will give you the same impression as if someone cut off the film's controversial parts and put together the rest of it.
Gary Oldman is the only reason to see this...
2007-07-26 - This is a train wreck of a movie. The only redeeming quality is seeing Gary Oldman playing the dwarf brother. That man can do anything onscreen. From Dracula, to Sirius Black, Beethoven, Joe Orton, and the Lt. in Batman--he is simply amazing with an incredible range. However, his talent overshadows all of the other BAD acting in this film. I mean BAD. Matthew McConaughey CANNOT act. Kate Beckinsale was great in Serendipity, but here she sports an unnatural American accent and fake-looking tattoos. Patricia Arquette is an absolute disaster and a totally unnecessary character. Peter Dinklage is talented--but why the French accent? It is unfortunate, but I think that this film does the exact opposite of what its intentions were, which was to get the viewer to understand and root for the little people. It doesn't do that. They are very much exploited here.
