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List Price: $9.99 | | Label: Miramax Home Entertainment
Salesrank: 55421
Released: November 11, 2003 |
| Our Price: $3.62 |
| Used Price: $2.73 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
From the groundbreaking director of GOOD WILL HUNTING and FINDING FORRESTER, GERRY stars Academy Award(R) winner Matt Damon (Best Original Screenplay, GOOD WILL HUNTING, 1997; THE BOURNE IDENTITY, OCEAN'S ELEVEN) and Casey Affleck (OCEAN'S ELEVEN, SOUL SURVIVORS) in a suspenseful and highly provocative story of two men pushed to the limit! A pair of best friends (Affleck and Damon), who've nicknamed each other "Gerry," set out on a desert hike. But what begins as a simple daytime adventure turns into an intense life-and-death journey that will test the strength of human endurance and ultimately, their friendship! Written by Damon, Affleck, and Director Gus Van Sant, this uncommonly compelling and starkly visualized film is a must-see motion picture that has earned the overwhelming praise of critics nationwide!
Description of Gerry:
In Gerry, two young men (Matt Damon and Casey Affleck) wander beautiful, barren, and surreal landscapes, gradually growing more and more lost. This film from Gus Van Sant (director of Drugstore Cowboy, My Own Private Idaho, and Good Will Hunting) has no story, hardly any dialogue, and even less in the way of "action" or "events." Yet the movie is by turns maddening and hypnotic; although few people will agree on which are the maddening scenes and which are the hypnotic ones, you will leave Gerry with one or more stunning images in your head. In fact, Gerry is probably more pleasurable to remember than it is to sit through. Committed performances, flashes of dark humor, and a smattering of visual effects give the movie some shape, but the more you just surrender to the emptiness of the landscape, the more rewarding Gerry will be. --Bret Fetzer
Gerry Reviews:
Beautiful 
2009-08-17 - Not for your typical American viewer, no car chases, nothing blows up, no special effects/cgi, no boobs...which is why most will not like it, which is good.
Dumb and Dumber go hiking . . . in the desert 
2009-07-24 - Dumb & dumber go hiking . . . in the desert. They get lost. That's it.
Not a lot of talkin', which is good cause these boys ain't got nothing to say.
Some nice scenery. About as interesting as watching paint dry.
Ends with a "WTF" ending. Maybe some reviewers found this made the film "provocative". Lame cop-out for real plot in my opinion. You decide: if you can stand it that long.
Continuity alert: Casey has a white hooded sweatshirt when he goes into the desert. At the big rock, it's not there any more. Considering how little else goes on in this movie and how important any protection is in the desert, why wasn't this omission noticed?
Wait a minute....
2009-07-16 - Matt Damon's "Gerry" killed Casey Afflex's "Gerry"??? Really? Huh?
I have to review this movie because I reviewed "Elephant" and in the middle of "Gerry", I said to myself...wait a minute--is this a Gus Van Sant movie? I had no idea because there were no titles in the beginning and I had just recorded this horrible movie from a satillite channel.
Pointless, postcard scenery, long, meaningless shots of driving, walking, more walking (like in Elephant) and sparse, boring, nutty dialog. And about as far away from reality as you can get (except, see Elephant).
Why would two modern, supposedly smart, educated guys go for a hike in the desert without water, a compass, hats, snacks and a map? They brought their ciggies and lighters though. The scene where Affleck jumps off the rock into the "dirt mattress" was surely just to show off.
Gus Van Sant movies aren't for everyone, I agree. I just kind of always want some story, acting, production values (that maybe have a few bucks spent on them) and a director that doesn't fall asleep during filming.
Know Yourself Before Watching
2009-04-12 - Gerry is a one-of-a-kind experience, a cinematic force beyond any sense of category or label, and DEFINITELY not for everyone. If you want to watch Gerry, you need...
1. Patience
2. An attention span
3. An appreciation for nature
4. An appreciation for film
5. A knack for analysis
6. An adoration of the unique
and, most importantly,
7. An open mind
If you think you contain at least six of those traits, you will adore Gerry as I do. If not, you'd best turn back now. Those 104 minutes aren't coming back.
Finally, a reason to get Blu-Ray... or not... 
2009-04-04 - This is the first DVD I've ever seen that I actually CARED to see in a sharper format.
Unfortunately, it does not appear to be available in Blu-Ray (and I'm not sure I'd spend the money if it was), and I'd rather see it bigger as well as sharper, so perhaps the Nuart will run it someday at midnight. I'll be there!
As to a review of the film, I think everything that could be said has already been said, but I'll try this:
Among Van Zant's films in which "nothing happens," probably the least happens in this one. Here is my rough preference for the films:
I liked Paranoid Park best.
I'll give Gerry a second.
Elephant is NOT the best film on the subject, not even the best experimental film on the subject (see ZERO DAY for a brilliant alternative), and finally,
I really couldn't stand Last Days, although it too would have been better in Blu-Ray, because at least I might have spent less time thinking that the wide shots weren't sharp enough.
--Gary (not Gerry)
