You Stupid Man (2002) User Reviews

Entertaining, But Miscast

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 21 April 2008]

When the writer Owen (David Krumholtz) unexpectedly travels to Los Angeles to meet his beloved girlfriend and actress Chloe (Denise Richards) in the set, he discovers that she is cheating him. With a broken heart, he returns to New York and his friends Diane (Jessica Cauffiel) and Jack (Dan Montgomery Jr.) arrange a blind date with their maid of honor Nadine (Milla Jovovich) that has just broken her engagement. Owen and Nadine do not like each other first, but later they become best friends and Nadine secretly falls in love for him. On the day of Owen's birthday, they have one night stand, but on the next morning Chloe returns to New York and calls Owen that has to come up to a decision.

The "You Stupid Man" is an entertaining romantic comedy where the situation of the lead couple slightly recalls "When Harry Meets Sally". The gorgeous and sexy Milla Jovovich performs a sweet character; Denise Richards is great in the role of a woman that uses her body to escalate on television, but David Krumholtz is absolutely miscast, since it is impossible to believe that nether Milla Jovovich nor Denise Richards could have a crush on this unattractive 1.70 m height man performing a boring and stupid character without any great human value. The low level of the title in Portuguese shows an absolutely lack of taste and finesse of the Brazilian distributor. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Tamanho É Documento" ("Size is Document" (literally), but meaning "size counts")

Quite pleasant

[moviemaestro · 7/10 · 14 August 2002]

Though this movie follows a rather predictable story line, it was quite pleasant to watch. The characters are well cast; Denise Richards is a believable bitchy wannabe star, while Milla Jovovich seems to be a perfect warm and understanding best friend.

Winter in New York is always nice as a background, so if you like light romantic comedies, by all means go see the movie.

I rated it 7/10.

Easy movie but really nice performance of Milla Jovovich

[paulvassu · 7/10 · 24 October 2003]

Trully nice performance of Milla Jovovich compared to the its partners. Overall, a relaxing movie yet quite far from a really good romance. I recommend it as an after stressed day of work movie. It will bring a smile to you! Worth checking out!

not very original, but still entertaining

[deathtostefan · 7/10 · 9 July 2003]

Well, as often with these boy/girl comedies the story line isn't very original: boy gets dumped by one girl, meets another one who becomes his best friend, keeps hoping to get together with his ex, but in the end discovers that this new girl he has met, has become more than just a friend to him and is the one he really wants. How predictable can it get. And yet this movie isn't completely boring, but at times even quite funny, and David Krumholtz and Milla Jovovich have the kind of chemistry that you need for this type of movie, and which makes it still quite entertaining. If you're in the mood for something that doesn't require thinking, and you don't mind the cliches then this one might be worth renting some time.

Only thing that baffled me though was how someone can remain stuck up on Denise Richards, while meeting Milla Jovovich who is about 10 times as beautiful. It would've taken me about 10 seconds to forget about Richards. Oh well. Must be me.

Simple and underdone, but not unwatchable

[sammy105 · 6/10 · 11 April 2006]

I was at first surprised on the simplicity of the movie. It didn't seem well thought-out, for one thing. When Kremnoltz's character comes up to his girl's trailer and sees it rocking back and forth, he chooses to disregard it and walks right in, which seemed very odd, period (this happens at the very start of the movie, no spoiler). It was the continuity of the scene that seemed not right, that he showed no emotion about what may be going on inside. The conversation about stars the couple keeps having was seems to live in a world of its own, like a story inside a story. These things are what I'd expect in a sitcom or soap opera. The dialogues here go by very fast, often without leaving the audience to sink in the words. There are a few points to the movie, but they were hard for me to remember for most things said didn't seem to add up to anything. I rented the movie for I'm a huge fan of Milla and expected to be impressed by her performance, nonetheless. That I was. Somehow, she managed to pull off the ridiculous jokes and coy punch lines. I hope that someone else makes a simple comedy with Milla in it, but takes some time to write it and even keeps less dialogue but more camera work to express a point, because Milla has the skills to pull off a very quality movie, which this sadly wasn't.

Almost as bad as "Kissing Jessica Stein"

[trudylyn · 4/10 · 31 May 2007]

Milla stands out in this movie because of her personal sense of style and the way the clothes hang on her. I have learned to hate that crumpled little three-year-old face she makes whenever she pretends to cry. It makes any points she is trying to make as a serious actress drop off quickly. Of course, in a movie with a BALDWIN and Denise, she still shines as a mature actor person. David seemed to be doing Woody Allen by way of Howdy Doody. Not a single word or gesture in the entire movie seemed sincere or even sincerely acted. "How Harry Met Sally" and "Two Weddings and Funeral", even "Sleepless In Seattle" had scripts, locations and ACTORS. The script seemed to be a string of bad and crude gags separated by a LOT OF TALKING. The locations seemed to be within a few blocks of each other. There are only two actors in this dishrag of an indie flick, Milla and the lady who played the chick who was into the stars. I watched most of this through the first time with the sound off, just watching Milla. That subscript gag was old the first time I saw it and it's a silly rip off of a song in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying".

"Stupid" is an understatement... and that goes for the man in question, as well

[TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews · 5/10 · 11 April 2010]

Meet Owen. He has a problem. You see, he's a Jew in New York. Wait, that's it? Oh, wait, no... he's got one of those girlfriends way too amazing(-looking, at least) for the unlikable jerk lead guy to get. So? Ah, she's cheating on him. Why doesn't he know? Clearly it's accepted as public knowledge in the interview that we see right after(what, that was supposed to be much later? So he *didn't* go whining to his friend immediately?). There are a couple of other glaring flaws; once the script realizes that the relationship between him and Nadine is in progress, it has another character ask why, and the BS explanation that follows is entirely without basis in what we've seen at that time. In the TV show set scene, he wouldn't have a mike, and she probably didn't, so how could the audience hear everything? The sit-com sequence right before that is the one portion where the dialog sounds right and isn't poor, and that is a clue as to what Burns can write lines for, as another reviewer also notes. He should put down the pen, seriously; yes, I get that the three men represent three kinds of love males give. So? Does that preclude them(and everyone else in this) from having personality? I'm not kidding, they are all empty, flat and obnoxious, with any exception being at most momentary. Any trait they are granted is irritating or meant to get laughs. Ah, it almost has a point here and there. After the half-way mark this finally decided to hold genuine substance, but by then it had wasted any potential at being meaningful and holding truth about relationships. Why? Because this is so busy being powerfully unfunny with a ton of forced humiliation jokes and gags. It's just disgusting. Krumholtz(who takes on the role of an emotionally retarded dude... no one is *that* blind; what happened to you? You were *spot-on* as Joel Glicker in Addams Family Values!) is no Woody Allen; neither is Brian(leave the craft to your brother, man, She's the One is far superior to this crap), though that doesn't prevent him from ripping of shtick some(that bit was hilarious in Annie Hall, don't try to top it, you merely make a fool of yourself). And let's steal(and worsen) the entire concept from When Harry Met Sally, while we're at it. He's not even a capable a director; as a romantic comedy(and trust me, I've seen my share, and liked several), this comes off as phoned in. The montage feels fake, and the title-drop(s) is incredibly awkward. Oh, and let's mercilessly mock people who believe in astrology. I don't believe in it; it's the quantity and tone of the material surrounding it in this that I protest. Nevertheless... I got this for one reason. While I maybe did not remember that this had a deservedly low rating here when I bought it on sale, I might have purchased it anyway. Why? Milla. I have a crush on her that does not seem to end. Her beauty, charm, cuteness and sweetness defy description. I spent money on this because it starred her, and I don't regret that, she gets to show some of her best features; if you can tolerate it, this is worth watching for us fans of her. The acting is pretty good, especially hers. I say the following without any bias of a single cast member(well, I only knew the main four): Her performance, and the part of Nadine were the only thing in this that made me care(near the conclusion, when she got to add a third dimension to it). There is plenty of strong language and brief sexuality in this. The DVD comes with 4 trailers. I recommend this solely to others who love seeing Jovovich in movies, and to fans of the genre who don't care what level of quality they're getting. You know, independent film-making is such a perfect way to express that which you won't be allowed to in mainstream pictures... why bother putting together something run-of-the-mill? 5/10

Stupid is the operative word here, this is almost criminally so; don't come within a mile of it

[inkblot11 · 1/10 · 6 January 2010]

Owen (David Krumholtz) and Chloe (Denise Richards) are a youngish couple living in Manhattan. Owen is a moderately successful magazine writer while Chloe is an aspiring actress. Happily for her, Chloe gets big role on a sitcom and temporarily moves to Hollywood. Missing her, Owen books a flight to LaLa Land, as a surprise. When he arrives at her set trailer, however, the "house" is shaking, as Chloe and her hunky co-star are having a little romantic tryst. The writer and the actress are through. Hurt and mad as a hatter, Owen goes back to NYC. Sympathetic friends decide to set him up on a blind date with Nadine (Milla Jovovich) to get him out of his sulky funk. But, it goes badly, as the duo mix like oil and water, mostly due to each having a strong personality and Owen's huge shoulder chip. Yet, over the next few months, astonishingly, Nadine and Owen become pals, who confide in each other and hang out. Can it turn into something more? Well, who the heck cares! This film is so STUPID that most folks will yank it out of the DVD player after the first ten minutes. The script is pathetic, dismal, and, oh, stupid, too. Then again, Krumholtz gives a very obnoxious and offensive performance as well. Jovovich is not much better but who could look good with the lines she has to spout? William Baldwin, too, reaches a career low with his crude and sex-crazy role as Owen's brother. The only cast member who is any good is Richards but she must cringe when she looks back at this one. Okay, the costumes and production values are adequate. Then, too, there is ONE clever element in that, occasionally, the characters will speak their lines but cartoon bubbles will appear above their heads with the words of what they are truly thinking. That doesn't save the film from "bomb" status. Don't be stupid, dear film and romcom lovers. Do not rent, buy, or borrow this gigantic turkey. I am the stupidest person on earth, today, for watching this THING until the bitter end.

I agree with some comments however...

[Harbinger1 · 8/10 · 30 July 2006]

This is a nice little film that although not very original is still charming enough to watch on a lazy Saturday afternoon. I think some of the comments that are posted here are much too harsh. When someone says why would anyone stay with such a bitch as Denise Richard's character well the answer is very obvious. The lead character is a guy, and well sometimes all we guys see is the outer beauty. The lead character is willing to overlook the fact that she is a horrible person. We have all tried to hang on to a girl who when in perspective we look back and think "what the hell was I thinking?" I am sure that girls have had the same experiences in their lives. I think the guy was a little whinny though, and after a period of a few months he should have just let her go. Milla is so cute and sweet, you keep thinking to yourself, is this guy blind or what. That is the problem with love, it tends to make fools of us all. Sometimes in a good way, sometimes not. I recommend renting this one if only to look at some of the situations and say to yourself, hey that is me!

rom com tosh with irritating characters

[simonsayz-1 · 3/10 · 4 April 2005]

Seeing that this got a theatrical release nowhere around the globe, it only serves as a reminder of were the careers of those talent-free ladies Denise Richards and Milla Jovovich went. It also is a particular grating kind of movie, the kind that think they are smart, funny and original while being poor in every aspect. Full blame can go to Brian Burns, who wrote and directed this potboiler. His script takes a quite unoriginal situation and goes exactly nowhere with it. The situations develop completely without any inner logic, besides that of a desperate scriptwriter. Characters are thinner than cardboard cutouts, behave stupid and without any real motivation. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the inclusion of Mrs. Richards. We don't believe her relationship with David Krumholtz's character for one minute and the way she is brought back into play after the one-hour mark is particularly pitiful. Why would anyone fall for a egocentric, self-obsessed, arrogant b**ch like this in the first place, much less a second time? Especially after having supposedly found his..erm...true love? And if any of these things aren't enough to completely sink this movie, than the central couple is. The coupling of Krumholtz and Jovovich is only slightly more believable or developed than the Richards-one, but it is to no avail. There is no chemistry, no spark, nothing that we might loosely accept as a credible couple. Worse, these two central characters are particularly annoying and irritating, doing annoying and irritating things the viewer finally has no interest in, whatsoever.

Overall, a very poor showing. Even die-hard rom-com fans might want to pass on this one, as there are dozens of movie made with more skill or more charm.

Harmless.

[badoli · 4/10 · 23 September 2008]

This is the usual romantic sorta comedy for the average romantic movie watcher. Performance is decent, Milla is above the rest, but the highly predictable and weak script isn't really challenging anybody. The twists and turns are hardly surprising. The corniness of the dialogs on the other side were quite hurtful once in a while and especially in the reconciling finish. The turnaround of David Krumholtz felt sudden and forced. I mean as cute as Denise Richards is, the "bitchy"-girls-attitude was written a little thick even for the average Hollywood-taste, still it took one question to make Charly "I'm so in love with you" reconsider and see the world in clear eyes? Is it just me or has anybody a sudden appetite for cheeeeese?! But maybe i'm expecting too much, all in all this flick is quite a shallow matter and probably especially appealing to women who sympathize with the latter two words in the title. I for myself had a hard time to see the male protagonist as something else than a humorless, annoying bore. But again, don't blame the actor, blame the script. It's really bad.

so-so

[SanteeFats · 5/10 · 15 April 2014]

Unfortunately I watched this movie after Amy's O so that be why I only give it a 5. I love Milla Jovovich so it has to be not so good to get just a 5 from me. Owen finds out his now starlet girlfriend, Chloe, still needs him from time to time even though she has cheated on him with her costar, he basically drops everything to be at her beck and call. Owen and Nadine meet through a mutual couples wedding. He is best man and she is the maid of honor. They don't hit it off at first but a friendship starts to burgeon over the ensuing months. They finally consummate the relationship and the very next morning he gets a call from you guessed it. He again drops everything and rushes to Chloe's aide leaving Nadine in his apartment heart broken. In the end he realizes he loves Nadine and leaves Chloe and it all ends happily ever after I suppose.

Woody Allen, What Hath You Wrought?

[NoDakTatum · 4/10 · 21 October 2023]

They are here: beautiful New Yorkers who never work and have great one-liners at the ready- characters who think of themselves as the centers of their respective universes. The only thing missing from "You Stupid Man" is the opening credit "a Woody Allen film," and the work of a Scandinavian cinematographer. New Yorkers Owen (David Krumholtz) and Chloe (Denise Richards) have a fairy tale love cut short by Chloe's departure to the west coast to star in a brainless sitcom. Owen discovers on a surprise trip that she's also sleeping with her co-star, and suddenly Owen's alone. Owen tries a blind date with Nadine (Milla Jovovich), which turns into a disaster. Their second meeting is not much better, and Owen gets into an argument with Chloe at the wedding of their mutual friends Jack (Dan Montgomery Jr.) and Diane (Jessica Cauffiel). Nadine and Owen finally find common ground- they are both trying to get over recent painful break-ups, and the two become quick best friends. As Jack and Diane's relationship crumbles and Owen's brother Brady (William Baldwin) sleeps with any woman he can, Owen still clings to the perfect ideal love he had with Chloe, blind to Nadine's changing feelings.

Would it help to know that writer/director Brian Burns is the brother of film maker/actor Edward Burns? Now I'm not saying Burns set out to copy Woody Allen, but if you are going to shoot a comedy about neurotic New Yorkers and their love problems, you are inviting comparison. This does not mean "You Stupid Man" is a disaster. Despite Owen being an annoyance of the highest degree, Krumholtz does an admirable job of wringing just a bit of nice out of him. Richards has no problem playing a brain-dead, shallow actress, and the rest of the cast is okay, although Baldwin's role feels very trimmed, and I never believed he and Krumholtz would pass for brothers for a second. Jovovich is nothing but great as Nadine, bringing a very good emotional range to an otherwise mono-emotional screenplay. She has a smoldering "are you kidding me?" look every time Krumholtz opens his mouth that had me grinning. A couple of scenes stand out here and there but I kept asking myself over and over again why anyone should care about these characters? I wanted everyone to tell Owen to get over himself by the end of the film, he falls in and out of love much too often. No one really works, jobwise, the New York City locales are there, as is the navel gazing and self-analytical banter- you try and not look for Woody Allen's name in the credits.

Good movie, feels quite real

[yomismamente · 8/10 · 17 May 2005]

Don't listen to the overall bad advice from the simonsayz-1 user. This is a truly good movie, about friendship and love, with not too much sugar (a little it has, for it is a romantic comedy; but even the movie itself makes fun about that sugar). The main couple (boy and girl) are shown making jokes about sex more than once, in a relaxed and innocuous tone (but not frivolous!) which you won't find often anywhere else, that's really refreshing and helps to kill some taboos.

Milla is great in her role, a warm and nice girl choosing a boyfriend after careful consideration AND not tying him too tight, that is, letting him figure it out by himself and then choose. Contrary to what other comments here say, that point of view is rarely heard of in movies, at least it is quite new to me.

It is true the main male character is a little irritating, has a peculiar and not quite easy personality, but IN FACT this is what makes this movie more believable, as that is closer to reality, to how people is in the real world: we are not perfect, we try to better ourselves every day, and we search for happiness even if we are not without faults and not Hollywood-canon-perfect. That is what this movie is about.

I say 8/10 stars.

love is blind and sometime stupid

[jzus · 9/10 · 13 August 2002]

I loved it It's real nice how the 3 guys represent the typical kind of love men give, each extremely different but giving advise to one and other trying to understand the women's mind. Milla Jovovich is splendid and so good on screen she practically carried the entire movie by herself (as always), and with Denise Richards around is not a pain to watch. David Krumholtz who I barely knew from a short apparence on The Mexican impressed me a lot with his deeply heartbroken and friendly character. I'd say a must see for romance lovers. I gave it a 9/10

Loved It....

[amdobrzyn · 8/10 · 12 February 2007]

This movie was not what I expected when I saw the trailer on HBO. It looked kinda just OK! I saw it once loved it so much that I bought it. It wasn't a really promoted movie, It was kinda hard to find!

It's a movie that you can watch over and over. It may not compare to when "Harry met Sally" (I wouldn't know, I never saw it.) Definitely, worth renting, if not buying. I've recommended this movie to a lot of my single female friends who have a good sense of humor and they've all loved it! One of my friend, has to replay one part over and over b/c she thinks it's hilarious, she laughs so hard she can't breathe.

I've watched other romantic comedies where they show the previews of all the funny parts, then you get to the movie and you all ready saw all the good parts. I say just give it a chance you may really like it! and if I've steered you wrong "I'm Sorry"

The romantic side of Milla Jovovich and a very good performance too.

[dionisinblue · 8/10 · 17 December 2006]

To be honest, I watched this movie because Milla Jovovich was starring in. And I rediscovered her romantic side, which I was used to from her movies of the 90's. Many of my friends associated her with the movie Resident Evil or the The Fifth Element, saying "Oh, Milla, the one who kicks the bad guys". But Personally I am not a fan of Resident Evil, but I do like a lot The Fith Element and perhaps Ultraviolet. Here in this movie (YSM) Milla played an ordinary girl that is single and tries to win Owen's heart, an ordinary, yet naive, young man. She does it so well that we almost believe it really happened to her, and all her emotional feelings are so well expressed. Sometimes is not that easy playing a role that reproduces a real person who can be any of us. So I think some of us would really find ourselves among the characters more or less. This is definitely my favorite Milla Jovovich film. But I hope changing my mind in the future when I'll see a better one.

Woody Allen, The Next Generation.

[magnumco · 9/10 · 3 April 2006]

The movie presents a typical New Yorker who just has to, irritatingly, over analyze every single aspect of his relationship with his girlfriend who moves to Los Angeles to star in a TV sitcom. Honestly, you feel like you want to grab the guy and shake some sense into him. He is so annoying, and maybe so, because there are aspects of his behaviour that reminds me of myself at that young age.

Fine performances all round, though I have to agree with poster simonsayz that the original relationship between Owen & Chloe is a stretch, but can be forgiven since the movie deals with their breakup and his reaction to it.

Great little love story.

[daze1210 · 9/10 · 13 August 2002]

This movie is a good movie to watch with your girl/boy-friend. It's a feel good movie, wich leaves you happy and glad. Milla Jovovich and David Krumholtz, are great in this movie. So I would say to everybody that wants to see a little nice movie, watch this one. It's great!

Great Indie flick definitely worth watching

[TheHarshAndLastWord · 10/10 · 17 July 2006]

"You Stupid Man" isn't exactly a ground breaking film, the lead man of the movie isn't considered to be Hollywood's best, but what makes this movie work is the story. It's not complicated, it's something we all can see this happening to ourselves at one point or another. What I also loved about this movie was the cohesiveness of the film. The dialogue didn't seem scripted, at times it felt like they had a cameraman just following them around and seeing what would happen. The magic really happens once Jovovich hits the screen, if anyone ever criticized her acting ability then they really need to see this movie. The way her and David Krumholtz chemistry come together really made it seem like they really "disliked" each other, and at times, really "loved" each other. Denise Richards does a great job portraying the confused girlfriend who has yet to come to terms of who she really is and William Baldwin balances things out by playing the rude over the line older brother who doesn't really give a crap about rules. How the story plays out is rather interesting but once things get complicated it kind of blands out for a bit. Luckily not for long. Overall a great movie, whether you're on a date or just relaxing at home. I don't say this very much but I really really enjoyed this movie.

10/10

that's the final word

For the "Annie Hall" – "When Harry Met Sally" crowd

[aimless-46 · 5 September 2009]

If you are thinking of renting or purchasing this film, be advised that the promotional poster and DVD cover is deceptive. Denise Richards does not appear in those black leather pants or in any outfit that is particularly hot. On the other hand 2001 was the absolute peak of her attractiveness. She was into a serious fitness thing which brought her weight down, doing very good things for her face. And she was a good fit for the role, which capitalizes nicely on her Jane Russell/Megan Fox type negative charisma; and on Richards own general vacuity.

The other casting choices were not as good. Writer/director Brian Burns is trying for the "Annie Hall" – "When Harry Met Sally" crowd and wants David Krumholz (Bernard of "Santa Clause" fame) to sell himself as a Woody Allen like nebbish in the middle of a love triangle with two extremely beautiful women. Unfortunately this oily actor looks like the sort of guy who would proposition your 14-year old sister. Not anyone you want to identify with nor anyone who brings out your sympathy vote.

Milla Jovovich is a talented actress who has appeared in way too many bad films; most much worse than this one. She is hopelessly miscast physically in "You Stupid Man" where her character's plainness is supposed to contrast with the dazzle of Richard's character. Despite this she manages to sell her character; although you never remotely buy into her love for "Meet Me in St. Louis" (her rendition of "The Trolley Song" is genuinely painful. If you are a fan of that classic musical I suggest giving "You Stupid Man" a wide berth as Burns makes it the awkward leitmotif of the Krumholz/Jovovich relationship (insert "yuck" here).

Burns has written a decent script, a little light on comedy or at least comedy that works, but its social commentary gets high marks. Too much of a NYC consciousness probably hurts this thing with a national audience.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.