Men Seeking Women (1997) Poster

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5/10
Pretty weak comic romance, Ferrell still rises above the material
inkblot113 February 2007
Al (Will Ferrell) and his two roommates were born on the same day, in the same hospital. Now in their early thirties, with no partners and no prospects, the trio agree to make a deal. They will each fork up $2,000 as a cash prize to the first one of them to find a girlfriend and live with her for three months. This is the only way, they surmise, to "get serious" about their own destinies. Their first paths to romance include answering the paper's personal ads. Al meets a cute, perky lady in a restaurant but becomes so nervous, he bolts out the tiny bathroom window. The other two make dates with women who turn out to be sex fiends. Well, try, try again gents! This is a fairly weak, sometimes offensive little romcom. It has some funny moments, such as Al asking a lady, who is already moving to the groove, if she wants to dance. Yes, she turns him down. In fact, Ferrell is probably the only real reason to take a chance with this film. He can turn many a lame line into a comic winner. However, the end is a bit disappointing, the costumes are okay, and the production values nothing to write home about. If you are truly seeking a something new in the romcom department, having seen almost everything else, go ahead and watch this one. It is not memorable but could keep the entertainment blues away until a genuinely funny film comes along.
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3/10
pretty bad
mruffino-126 September 2006
Warning: Spoilers
yea I'm like the rest of these people , I got this movie for like 2 or 3 bucks cause I saw Will Ferrell on the cover. and yea its pretty bad, but Ferrell makes it watchable he has a few good lines, ('that was like 4 'geraldos') or something to that effect after his buddy tells him about the date he had the night before. This movie takes itself way too seriously and the guy from Murphy brown who's always drinking pepto bismo is horrendous. Watch this movie if your with people who like to make fun of bad movies and bad acting. The other guy whos name slips my memory (probably because I have never seen him before or since) is somewhat tolerable, but doesn't do anything to get anyone too excited about. Yea the girls they date are pretty hopeless, no ones that attractive. The girl from My Fat Greek Wedding is in it and she's not that bad compared to everyone else. Bad plot twists towards the end, hard to root for these guys as the movie progresses.
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Uneven, but nontheless some low-budget fun
Nick_Dets10 January 2004
I bought "Men Seeking Women" for three dollars at a Blockbuster while on vacation. It had no cover, no rating and a production company I had never heard of. This kind of activity is my cup of tea, although it is a hit and miss hobby...i discovered my favorite movie this way and it seems the rest ive wanted to shut off within the first five minutes.

The first five minutes of "Men Seeking Women" thankfully showed some promise. After an impressive opening credits sequence, it eases into its story with a series of funny scenes developing three best friends- Les (Grant Shaud), Nick (Anthony Palmero) and Al (Will Farrel). They are in their early 30's, and were born right next to each other. Yes this is very far-fetched, but it gives them a sense of brotherhood and commradery.

On their 33rd birthday, they go clubbing and strike out so bad its depressing, even more so being that this is the third birthday in a row they have gone home empty handed. They go back to their apartment and stay up late, discussing their complaints about how their life isn't where they wanted it to be and more so how they can't find a woman.

Les strikes up a plan. To get themselves motivated, he suggests they make a bet where whoever can stay with a girl for a few months is the winner. They each ante $2,000 and resort to personal ads to start things up.

This is where the film's best moments are. In my favorite scene, they answer ads in front of eachother with a superficial confidence that quickly wears away as they stutter and say ridiculously stupid things.

"Men Seeking Women" isn't wacky and gross-out, but surprisingly more honest. Its jokes all center around the fact that these three men are extremely pathetic losers. Their professional and social lives are in the drain, and the underlying story is if they are ever going to get out.

I was also surprised that the ending wasn't as predictable and trite as I was more than expecting it to be. This is where some of the flaws come in, however. For example, one subplot is wrapped up in a jarringly serious scene, throwing the film's balance off.

I love the players in "Men Seeking Women", but especially Will Farrel. Farrel's early role is a performance that foreshadows a much-deserved mainstream acting career that he later obtained with films like "Old School" and "Elf". He creates his character Al brilliantly with child-like wariness and boiling-point frustration.

This is a fun film not to be taken seriously. Its one of those romantic comedies that is equally entertaining when viewed with both the guys and the lady.
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2/10
How comedy shouldn't be done
ZephyrMJ30 August 2006
I watched this for the sole reason that Will Ferrell was in it and, in my opinion, he is one of the funniest people in the movie industry. SO you can guess how shocked I was that someone managed to make a film with Will Ferrell that wasn't funny.

The writing was just atrocious, I don't know how a script with as few jokes as this could be called a comedy. At it's peaks it is mildly amusing if you really really want it to be funny. The directing was just as bad, so bad that any laughs that could have been generated from this flat script were carefully avoided. I'm glad that Jim Milio has not been allowed near anything to do with comedy since.

However, as bad as the script and the directing were, my main problem with this film was with the choice of actor for the lead role. Anthony Palermo lacks any charisma and comic talent. He certainly can not carry a film. Although maybe I'm being too critical since there was not a lot he could do with the material but every line he spoke sounded artificial and forced.

Don't see this film unless you want to see every film Will Ferrell has been in.
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1/10
Will Ferrell fans beware...this is NOT a must see
dready13 December 1999
If you think writing and directing comedy is easy, watch this movie. It gives one a new appreciation of how hard those crafts can be.

Here, two accomplished comedic actors, Will Ferrell and Grant Shaud (Miles from "Murphy Brown") grimace their way through a painfully dull script. Despite being a Will Ferrell-worshipper, I did not laugh a single time.
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1/10
Wholly unfunny...
Aphex971 June 2001
Truly one of the worst romantic comedies I've ever seen. I never even cracked a smile. A horrendously dull script without an original bone in its hole-filled body. This extremely poor and contrived piece of writing gave talented comedian Will Ferrall absolutely nothing to work with. The other actors performances are uninspired at best. The pacing is terrible, the direction, comedic timing is nonexistent. Its sad they make movies this lame.

FINAL RATING: 1/10 - Of no value. Even my girlfriend (who is a hardcore romantic comedy fan) couldn't stand it. The dullest of the dull.

Noob Aalox
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1/10
painful does not describe it
molls932 July 2005
Warning: Spoilers
The only reason there is a 1 for this movie is because 0 was not an option. It was torture to sit through and where the script sounds like it was written by the kid who sat behind you in third grade and ate chalk. It dragged on so slowly and I had to keep checking my watch to see when the pain would stop. I love will ferrell, but this movie made me cringe where I was supposed to laugh. It seems at the end the writers realized none of it worked and even they couldn't stomach it, so they just ended it in the most absurd way possible. Do not rent it, it will bore you out of your mind and creep you out as well. The music was like a bad porn, and apparently they could not cast any woman under the age of 40 as a love interest. I can't get my hour and thirty-four minutes back, but please spare yourselves.
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1/10
wow
tbone526 June 2005
This movie was absolutely horrible. there was maybe one funny part, and the plot seemed to just drag on about nothing at all. Will Ferrell plays one of the three friends that cannot find a girlfriend, and the movie chronicles their search for dates. this is by far the worst movie that Will has done to date. It was a horrible plot to start with...I guess thats why it can be found in the $5.50 bin at Wal-Mart. This movie is an unbelievable waste of time and money. If you are going to rent or buy a movie sometime soon, you shouldn't even think about getting this one. This disaster can't be blamed on the actors though, just the writers. This is the worst movie that I have ever seen.
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7/10
A must have DVD.
delbert35919 August 2004
I bought the film because of Will Ferrell's picture on cover. I thought it would be more of a comedy than it really was. But the laughs weren't that plentiful. But the film is a real gem.

Three friends looking for meaningful relationships, bite off more than they anticipate. Their motivated by a mutual bet benefiting the one that can achieve a relationship that includes at least 3 months "live together" time.

Through their pursuits they learn about life, love and themselves.

It's not what you might expect from a Will Ferrell film, but it really is a great film, and a must have DVD.
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1/10
These reviews about the movie are funnier then the movie itself
velvetevolver1328 August 2005
I was given Men Seeking Women as a birthday gift last year. The movie was not wrapped, so I figured my friend watched it before giving it to me. He didn't, so we began to watch it. I was in a group of about 6 or 7 people. Not one of us could stand to watch it for the whole movie. Slowly but surely my group began to get smaller and smaller. Even the guy who gave it to me couldn't stand to watch it all the way through. We are all big Will Ferrell fans, and the cover looked hilarious, so we were hyped about it. It turned out to be the worst movie I have ever seen. It was not funny at all. Wow, I didn't think it was possible for a movie to suck that badly. I suspect my friend must have been upset with me when he bought it for me, for 3 dollars lol. For some reason I was forced to watch it again today. This time I watched the entire thing. It really was awful. I cannot believe I wasted an hour and a half of my life today and about 40 minutes of my life the first time. Reading through the reviews written by people here made me laugh harder then anything at all in the movie. DO NOT WATCH THIS.... PLEASE FOR YOUR OWN SAKE...
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8/10
This film is Funny!
lorian78 December 2001
I don't know what these other reviewers are talking about?! Did they see the same film? I thought Will Ferrell was hilarious in this movie. He steals every scene he's in. Granted, this looks like a low budget movie and is slow in spots, but the acting is really good from almost everybody. This is better than all Ed Burns' movies combined!
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6/10
Good enough to watch till the end
healthfusion2 February 2016
I read all the reviews here before deciding to watch the movie. I was amazed that Miles (Grant Shaud) from Murphy Brown was here.

This is not a laugh out loud movie, but it is more a true to life account of men seeking women.

It cannot be categorized as a romantic movie nor a dramatic movie.

Emotions will not be stirred watching this movie. This movie is more like reading a book where you ride through the journey of these three men. Will Ferrel, Grant Shaud and Anthony Palermo acted their part well.

The women however were bad, they fail to show emotion in the part given to them.

It is still worth watching from beginning to end.
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1/10
Not even worth a £1!
d-green078 August 2007
I brought this film in good faith as Will Ferrell was in it thinking it would be hilarious. Was very disappointed with the film, the story line and the acting. Basically 3 guys who can't get dates/girlfriends have a bet to give them an incentive, with supposedly "hilarious consequences". However, I must have missed these "hilarious consequences." I managed to buy this film for a £1, but I wouldn't even pay that for it. If you like Will Ferrell, stick to Anchorman, Talledega Nights etc. It even sent my girlfriend asleep whilst watching this, it was that boring. So to sum up, not funny, not worth a pound, forget it!
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A tedious, pointless, totally unfunny movie
xorys22 September 2000
What a tedious, pointless, totally unfunny movie! Who the heck thought making this thing was a good idea? It's about three guys who can't get girlfriends... and apparently the reason they can't get girlfriends is that they're all droning bores with no personality. But hey, I guess they're not really bad - they're just written that way! Nothing about this movie is amusing in any way. I suppose it might make an audience titter occasionally out of boredom and embarrassment. Picture being button-holed by the kind of guy you try to avoid at a party and told bad dating stories for an hour and a half - that's pretty much the experience this film offers.
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2/10
good for insomniacs
smiles04322 November 2003
if you are having a hard time sleeping this movie is the solution for you! i'm a big will farrel fan and the cover looks hilarious so i thought "why not?" i should have read some reviews first because i would have those 90 minutes of my life back. i think i smiled a couple of times, but overall not a worthwhile movie. just very dull and tasteless.
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8/10
More than I expected!!
discoduck-8296618 November 2019
Very underrated movie!! Not hilarious or anything but pretty funny and smooth going. It needed to be a little longer was the biggest problem I had with it, could of did a little more at the end but all in all if you like Will Ferrell you should see it.
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Funny on a shoestring.
rgreen115 September 2000
Clearly produced with a low budget, this movie made me laugh often enough to warrant the rental. It's a guy premise - but that works for me ! It's interesting to see the big stars of today before they had established their commercialized characters. The seeds are evident and I enjoyed it.
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