State And Main

STATE AND MAIN
State and Main is the newest movie from David Mamet, writer/director whose film credits include "Glengarry Glen Ross," and "The Spanish Prisoner." An acclaimed playwrite, Mamet's distinct style of dialogue has made some of his movies jumpy and difficult to follow at points, making his drama (like "The Edge") somewhat unenjoyable to watch. However, this signature style adapts well to comedy, and is partially why this movie is uproariously hilarious. Fans of his comedy, "Wag the Dog" should enjoy this one as the styles are quite similar. His directing style is clean, direct and straight to-the-point, coloring the screen with the performances of the well-assembled cast members. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is great as usual as are William H. Macy and Sarah Jessica Parker. While I usually do not care for any of the Baldwins, especially Alec, his role as a pretentious movie star suits him quite well. Plotwise, the story is simple but works well: the cast and crew of a movie, "The Old Mill," for reasons unknown had to relocate the shooting of the film from a quaint New Hampshire town to an even more peculiar Vermont village. The rest is a combination of great comedic twists and irony. "State and Main" is a must see for comedy fans tired of unintelligent formulaic Hollywood Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler trash.