Life Without Dick (2002 Video) User Reviews

Misfires worse than a 1976 Hilman Avenger.

[rob-236 · 3/10 · 2 January 2005]

A comedy that frankly isn't funny.

TV stars Sarah "Sex and the City" Jessica Parker and Johnny "Jackass" Knoxville team up with wannabe crooner Harry Connick Jr, in a tale of a Private Investigator, his girlfriend who gets a taste for killing, and a shot shy hit-man, who wants to be a singer.

Its watchable to a degree, but all in all this hour and a half could be spent doing something more meaningful like counting bricks or watching paint dry.

And how many times do the characters make a joke of Knoxvilles character name - Dick. This may be funny to seven year olds, but for the rest of us its just tedious and silly, a bit like the whole film in general.

Terminally Awkward Execution

[trinity-destler · 4/10 · 24 March 2022]

There's something there, but it didn't work out. It's clearly supposed to be some kind of screwball black comedy, but the comedy isn't screwball enough or black enough, so it just comes off as a romcom that doesn't quite grasp how fucked up it is. Both Harry Connick Jr and Sarah Jessica Parker are terrible in it, no charisma or chemistry, and every single supporting character is more appealing to watch than either of them. The total lack of spark in the alleged romance just makes it uncomfortable when they act cute over the corpses of their victims. It should be comic, but they and their relationship are lifeless and that makes it creepy. The titular Dick is meant to be so unsympathetic that you're okay with the light-hearted shenanigans surrounding his murder, but he was still more engaging than our 'heroes' and the morbid absurdity which depends on us utterly hating him to become dark whimsy remains grim and upsetting.

Craig Ferguson has his moments of being quite funny, as does David Koechner, but their scenes working well doesn't pull the film up from its downward spiral. The leads are just ill-chosen or poorly directed or both. Their performances are straight bad and their characters have no charm. Sarah Jessica Parker as a bubbly blond with a secret knack for crime is supposed to be a funny dichotomy, but her baby voice and air headedness are just grating.

Harry Connick can't act and casting him as a heartthrob is also possibly just a bridge too far under any circumstances considering he looks like a Simpsons character. At their fucked up meet cute she differentiates him as 'the handsome one' and yeeesh. That's as cruel as the plot. The fact that he's standing next to Johnny Knoxville (far too good-looking and likeable for this role) at the time doesn't help. Casting Knoxville as the heel in general didn't work. As we find out the original motive to kill Dick was a misunderstanding, despite the film's constant reassurance that he's definitely still a complete asshole, his naturally endearing screen presence and the heroine's unhinged behaviour combine to make him just enough of a victim that the whole conceit of the film falls apart.

Anyway, the consistent awkwardness leads me to believe the biggest single problem with this is the director. It could have been mediocre rather than bad with the exact same script.

Life Without Dick...will not be missed

[sauce07 · 3/10 · 6 December 2001]

I work at a video store and when we got the screener for this I was excited. I'm a big fan of MTV's Jackass because I feel Johnny Knoxville is a very funny person. This movie just sucked, it's not funny, stupid and embarrassing for everybody associated with it. Even though they kill Johnny Knoxville's character in the first minute of the film he does stay in the film through a series of flashbacks. If this performance was all he could bring then I feel he should stay in television. As for the rest of the cast Sara Jessica Parker was sweet at first then you realize that she is playing the exact same character she's played in every other film. Harry Connick Jr. was also equally bad and didn't show us the same passion he put into Copycat. If you haven't gotten my point by now, just skip this one. 3/10 (because Sara Jessica Parker is hot)

Horrible

[TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews · 1/10 · 12 October 2004]

Having seen only one other Bix Skahill film(well, actually, looking on his filmography, this is only his second film, meaning I've seen everything he's done, feature-film-wise), I must say, this is really bad compared to the other one. Chain Of Fools(which wasn't directed by Bix, only written by him... maybe that's the problem with this one?) was good for a laugh; it wasn't great, but it was original, fun and a good use of a great cast. This is a muddled mess of the genres romance and comedy, neither of which really work in this film. The jokes fall flat, the romance doesn't hold up and the characters are unlikable, one-dimensional and their actions are often illogical and out of character. The film has a number of subplots, several of which are reused from Chain Of Fools(jeez, show some imagination, will you?). Several actors from Chain Of Fools also have parts in this one, but their talents are pretty much wasted here. The film has nothing new to offer; if you've seen Chain Of Fools, you've seen what Bix can accomplish... this is, unfortunately, a mess of a movie, and a bad example of his work. The dialog is poorly written, most of the parts are overplayed, the film has no redeeming qualities and no funny moments. Please, Bix, spend more time writing the next script, OK? Or if you're going to direct again, please learn how to do so before releasing something as bad as this film. I don't really recommend this to anyone, as it's just really, really bad. Go watch Chain Of Fools(or, even better, something even funnier than that) instead. 1/10

A clever mix of slap-stick comedy and romantic whodunit

[luludavis · 13 February 2002]

Writer/director Bix Skahill is a funny man. Life Without Dick is a wild love-story, murder mystery that has layers of interesting characters and plot twists. The casting is incredible. Sarah Jessica Parker is sexy and funny. Harry Connick, Jr. has the 'triple threat'. Ever since I saw him in Jodie foster's Little Man Tate, I've considered him one of Hollywood's untapped talents. He's handsome, funny and he can sing (which is cleverly woven into the plot with the most hilarious results).

Even the guy who plays Harley, the man at the garbage dump had me rolling on the floor. This is a party film in the tradition of Animal House, Monty Python's Flying Circus and those old Bob Hope road pictures. See

Do not watch this movie if you like S.J Parker or J.Knoxville

[marcdlg · 2/10 · 7 February 2002]

This movie is not a slow starter , it NEVER starts. The characters have zero depth. The plot is stupid. wait there is no plot. I can't understand how this disaster happened. I was expecting a lot more from a movie with Sarah Jessica Parker and Johnny Knoxville.

Run...Run Away fast

[blazaugg · 1/10 · 18 February 2002]

This movie was a disaster from the start. I'm sorry but this was a waste of everyone who was involved time. Who was the poor sap who had to pay for it. The story was just soo soo pitiful, it didn't go anywhere. It seemed like it could have been a 15 min sketch on SNL but instead it was stretched out to an hour and a half. Its depressing when a blue painting gets more laughs than any of the actors, not that any of the acting was good. It seemed at times like they were searching for the right words to say (almost improve like). The whole show seemed very amateurish. My apologies to the actors, but this was trash.

A Good Idea Completely Wasted

[claudio_carvalho · 5/10 · 13 March 2004]

The painter Colleen Gibson (Sarah Jessica Parker) shoots and kills her boy-friend Dick Rasmusson (Johnny Knoxville) by accident. He was a private eye and was cheating Colleen with a police woman. In the day before, Dick had a minor car accident with Daniel Gallagher (Harry Connick Jr.). Daniel presented himself as a marchand, but indeed he is an Irish Mafia hit-man, assigned to kill Dick. However, he does not have courage enough for killing people. Daniel wanted to be a singer, but he has had some kind of mental block due to his former girlfriend Mary (Claudia Schiffer). Collen and Daniel start dating each other, and helping each other to resolve their problems. This movie could be and excellent black humor comedy. However, it does not work well and is very irregular. The beginning is very funny, along the story are some good jokes (for example, `Are you a Republican Senator?', or the dialogs of the two agents trying to clarify the death of Pee Wee and even the use of flashbacks to explain what happened), but the predictable and conventional end is forbidden for diabetics. Unfortunately, it is nothing but a good idea completely wasted. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): `Assassinato por Acidente' (`Murderer by Accident')

New Oscar categories needed

[keram · 2/10 · 26 March 2002]

After seeing this movie I can't help thinking that Oscars should also be awarded in some new categories like "How far can silliness go and still not be entertaining" or "The youngest age of viewers that will already feel embarrassed by the fact that they're wasting their time so badly", in either of which "Life without Dick" would excel. Stuffed with a high dose of thick-skinned humour guaranteed to paralyse the brains of a horse, this ambitious 4th-or-so-grade film project has a nice theme tune by Loni Rose and is shut in colour, which are its two most attractive features. Well, there is of course the sexy Sarah Jessica, but then she really puts us up to a weirdness endurance test by demonstrating and stretching to absolute limits a grotesque gap between her physical appearance and the intellectual level of the character she portrays, however funny that character was meant to be. Harry Jr reminded us of the good ol' times he was keeping himself off the silver screen and everything was just fine that way.

I liked it ... Good Comedy for a Nice Evening

[RNHunter · 6/10 · 4 February 2010]

I did like this movie. It had some good comedy in it that at times was both fun and unique. Yes, obvious comedy, but if done well, some of that is the funniest. The acting was also good with Sarah Jessica Parker, and also, surprise, surprise Craig Ferguson. I have to give Craig credit - even though i recognized him right away - since his acting was really pretty decent. Before this movie I had thought that talk show hosts are not that great in movies since it is a different technique, such as Jay Leno in his movie looking at the camera directly too often -a talk show trait. But Craig did well and played a part well and proved that yeah, some talk show hosts can make the transition.

I will say that the jokes seemed to go from quite good to dragging a bit at times, but I still would rate it highly as a light comedy. In other words, at least for people like me, it can be a nice way to spend an evening.

Don't waste your time.

[=G= · 2/10 · 17 August 2002]

"Life Without Dick" is a romantic/comedy though you'll be hard pressed to find any of either in its vacuous plot. In spite of a good core cast, this to-broadcast-in-a-heartbeat flick is a waste of time not worthy of further commentary. (D-)

I actually liked this...

[LightningSparrow · 8/10 · 20 September 2006]

First of all I have to say I loved this movie. I know a lot of other people who doesn't like this, but I sure did.

We start seeing Colleen coming home, and she think's her boyfriend (Dick) is cheating on her. Than she take out a gun that is in her purse, and point it at Dick. She then pulls the trigger and shots her boyfriend. She is a bit surprised, cause the guns she has, don't usually have bullets in it. Then she hides the body and is trying to live life after this "tragedy".

The whole idea of a dumb blond girl who "unfortunately" kills her boyfriend, can't be anything but funny, when it's a comedy. Everyone is stupid in their own way, and they don't have any idea of what they are doing.

If you like that kind of movies this is for you. Just watch it.

This is a very good murder/comedy with a wonderful song

[yonhope · 7/10 · 13 February 2015]

Comedy is based on being inept. It is about failing. This has an inept hit-man theme. It has some great sets like a dump yard with rusting White trucks. Not white color, but White was the brand name. Harry Connick sings a wonderful rendition of an old public domain song. This film should be enjoyable for people who like to laugh. Very excellent casting with Joe Friday detectives and gangsters who see the beauty in their profession. Not as funny as Naked Gun but it has some very funny moments and memorable lines. I think Harry Connick would be good in Airplane 4! if they ever decide to make it. He would be good as the pilot. I got my copy of this movie from Amazon in an eight pack collection. Very low price. I prefer this movie to most high budget chase and explosion movies.

awful

[mariannem · 1/10 · 17 July 2002]

I couldn´t believe it. I have followed Sarah´s career since "Girls just want to have fun (1985)" and she has worked in many forgettables films but this one is the worst. If you wonna waste your time just sit on the coatch and watch tv while it´s unplugged and contemplate for an hour and a half the dark screen, it´s worth it!

Odd-ball comedy was a pleasant surprise

[warningspecialist · 12 September 2002]

This movie was much more than I expected--quirky and clever, stupid yet hysterical. Of course it was a stupid movie--I think that was what was intended. If you saw this movie and hated it, all I can say is that perhaps your expecations were too high or (more likely), you simply didn't get it. Personally, I laughed my a** off.

NICE LITTLE COMEDY

[flimbuff · 5/10 · 23 April 2002]

A pleasant enough film with a few laughs and an attractive cast. Parker a very good comediane has done much better but this film hasn't very high expectations so it hard to be critical. She plays the live in girl friend of pretentious, buffoonish private detective who is cheating on her and planning to run off. When he makes the announcement she accidently shoots him which works out just fine for Connick, an uninspired hit man who was hired to kill the boyfriend. And so on.

Okay, so i gave it a 7, 2 extra stars for David C.

[sparklingnicki · 7/10 · 4 February 2003]

This was probably more like a 5. I really did like it, more so than a lot of movies my love DC has been in. As you might have guessed I only watch David Cross movies (Yes, I call any movie he has even been in the background, a "David Movie" even Jack Frost, but that's more of a John movie or even a Jay movie.) I am on a steady diet of David and cheese. You can never eat too much cheese. Sarah JP was cute, the country guy was funny and Johnny (Dick) was actually hilarious. But David's performance as the outcast brother who finally tragically comes to terms with his place in the family and his duty, is a remarkable breakthrough for David, being a "funny man." (Well, not surprising though, I could see the silent tiger in him back in the days of the legend of mr. show.)When he talks about "magic powers" you believe him and you want to be a part of that magical world. Or maybe just I do.

I *"jay" parenthesis and quotation marks.

*"jay": refers to Jay Johnston. It means that it is fun to play with. literally: "like to play with" (Be careful in using Jay with body parts, especially while operating machinery.) These type references can be used for all of the Mr. Show team. See my MIIB & Eternal Sunshine comments for more uses and examples.

Cinematic and cultural atrocity!

[wildhippychik · 29 November 2003]

This was one of the worst films that I've seen in ages! It doesn't know what its mood and genre is. It's about as funny as a random bus/subway conversation! Just look at the picture on the front of the video - Sarah J.P. looks like she's saying, `What the f__k am I doing in this piece of crap. She should have got her husband (a better actor, or, better at picking scripts at least) read the script again.

Nothing About This Movie is Worth it

[anonymous0000000 · 12 June 2003]

This movie was absolutely horrible. Maybe the humor was too sophisticated for me, though I seriously doubt it. The editing was sloppy, the plot completely preposterous, and the majority of acting was bland and non-descript. Whoever told Harry Connick, Jr. that he could act must have had a few too many tequilas in their system at that point. Or maybe it was his mom. Either way, he can't do it. I found that he brought down the film's energy to a point that it was basically flatlining. Sarah Jessica Parker, who I think is a great actress but just makes a lot of bad choices for her roles, tried her hardest to play off of him, but his monotone delivery didn't give her anything to work with. Not that everyone else was superb...Parker was overly cutesy and I ended up disliking her tremendously by the end, and not just because of the whole killing thing. I just thought that her character was annoying. Teri Garr's role was little more then a cameo, which surprised me, seeing her drawing power ever since Tootsie. I barely remember anything about her performance. Everyone else seemed a little too aware of themselves...the cops tried way too hard to be funny, though the "Rome, Georgia" bit did make me chuckle. Surprisingly, the only actor who struck me, or dare I say it, impressed me, was MtV's very own Johnny Knoxville. Now, I'm not saying he's ready for the Royal Shakespeare Company, but he definitely has potential to be a good actor. He came across as a sleazy, goofy guy, albeit an underwritten role. Knoxville is obviously a charismatic guy...if he wasn't, no one would've bothered with Jackass for as long as they did. But don't waste your time on this little crap of a film...if you want to see Sarah Jessica Parker, watch Sex and the City. Teri Garr? Tootsie's always a great pick. A Johnny fan? Jackass: The Movie is rentable now. And Mr. Connick, Jr. has plenty of recordings for you to listen to. Just please, please don't spend your money on their collective effort...you will regret it.

Smart and funny. I laughed out loud.

[schmerika · 25 January 2002]

I really enjoyed Life Without Dick. I think it's a refreshing change of pace from the usual Hollywood crap aimed at 15-year-old boys. Finally, a smart comedy. Sarah Jessica Parker is wonderful in the lead role,and David Cross is perfect as the idiot cousin. I highly recommend this movie.

A Good Romantic Comedy

[googiebc · 3 February 2002]

Life Without Dick is a fast moving comedy that has everything, a good looking cast, funny police officers, as well the Irish Mafia. I found this movie to be entertaining, sure it's not of Oscar quality, but it's still a movie that tells a story that eventually everyone becomes tied together in a clever way. If you like Sarah Jessica Parker you'll like this movie, and if you like If Lucy Fell, you will like this movie

This movie had its moments like so many other bad movies...

[ppith · 6 July 2002]

From the get-go, this movie feels awkward. Some of the lines seem forced, and it almost seems like the script was made up as the movie went along (or a very close set of friends reviewed the script and all gave a thumbs up). Why are there so many bad movies these days? Sarah Jessica Parker (who delivers a much better performance in Sex and the City) is a bit too cute throughout the entire movie until she resumes her other persona. But even this can't save the boring movie with a ridiculous plot (wait until you see who she hooks up with and eventually falls for?!). I think if producers want to stop losing money, they should randomly pick people and give them a summary of the movie (or a watered down script) to see if anyone should even bother.

I saw it for free

[hmpulham · 2 May 2003]

Well, almost -- I do pay for the cable. Now, if I were to plunk down eight bucks at the theater, that would be one thing, but sitting a home eating a ham sandwich, 'tis another thing. This movie is just plain dumb, but sometimes that works. It worked for me because Sarah Jessica Parker, is a good comedian, that can do a lot with very little. The rest of the cast added nothing, especially Harry Connick, Jr. This boy is not ready for movie prime time, and never will be. I'd give the film a *5* only because of S.J.P.