The Search for John Gissing
by Mike Binder
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DVD details
Actor: Alan Rickman, Janeane Garofalo, Juliet Stevenson, Mike Binder, Owen TealeDirector: Mike Binder
Brand: BINDER,MIKE
Cinematographer: Sue Gibson
Composer: Larry Groupe
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 91 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-08-12
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
DVD Reviews of The Search for John Gissing
DVD Review: May be worst movie ever...
Summary: 1 Stars
This movie was so bad I could not bring myself to finish it so, in all fairness, it may completely redeem itself in the last half hour, but it had a lot of ground to make up to finish in the black. The performances were very good, especially given the ridiculous script; the actors really gave their all. But all in all it was unbelievable, and I gave up caring what happened to any of them. For example, the scene in the luxury hotel -- an agent escorts a patron with a mixed up reservation into his room while the mistaken occupants were still there, and they all stand there (some naked) and throw blame around. That's just one example of the numerous unrealistic touches. On top of it all the filming was choppy, skipping frames in a jiggly staccato which was annoying and a pointless visual manipulation. Spinning the camera around its subject made a bit of sense in conveying the sense of confusion, but on the whole the filming served to irritate and annoy. Reminded me of that other horror film After Hours -- equally frustrating and overrated, wasting the talents of all involved.DVD Review: Not worth buying
Summary: 1 Stars
If you are considering adding this film to your Alan Rickman collection, don't bother. Rickman's performance is nice, but the film is so overwhelmingly dull that you will simply end up fast forwarding to the Rickman bits. I can't imagine who thought this script was worth making.DVD Review: Comedy in the Board Room
Summary: 5 Stars
A very clever, witty script and excellent performances make this a film well worth watching.
The plot focuses on an American businessman who is sent to London to lead a European business merger, and his British counterpart, who has been passed over for the job. Played by the brilliant Alan Rickman, the British character devises all kinds of schemes and foils to undermine and demolish his American competition. The American figures out the schemes and retaliates with an eye for an eye, and it is very funny.
This is a perfect movie for a light hearted escape. Should have received more attention when it first came out.
DVD Review: Clever, Witty, Sardonic - Everything a Good Film Should Be!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie was absolutely wonderful!!!! This was almost like a British version of Office Space - except funnier, in that the humor was more highly developed. Don't get me wrong, I loved Office Space, but this movie has a drier sense of humor about it, which is more along the lines of the humor I love. If you are a fan of British humor, you will love this movie! For anyone who has ever worked in an office and been made to suffer corporate arrogance and stupidity, this film might give you a few ideas about how to overcome such obstacles, and possibly subvert the system. Personally, this movie had me laughing out loud until I was in pain in places.
Alan Rickman is excellent in this film - I would say the most comical that I have seen him, and that is saying something. His humor is in that he can play a character that isn't trying to be funny for humor's sake, but rather that his machinations place him in almost absurd situations, and that, in my opinion, is the best kind of humor. If you are even a fraction of the Alan Rickman fan that I am, then you will LOVE this movie. Also, be certain to watch the outtakes and deleted scenes, for they are equally amusing.
All in all, I was completely stunned that a film this wonderful never seemed to make it into the American radar for film. But in someways this is a good thing because this movie does not sacrifice its characters to Hollywood glitz. This is a very character driven film amuses from the first scene right up to the end. I can't even begin to verbalize how good it was! Were I to fill my review with nothing but exclamation points, it would not fully convey my enthusiasm about this movie!!!!!!
DVD Review: Great comedic outing for Alan Rickman
Summary: 5 Stars
The movie as a whole sometimes moves a bit slow, but it is well worth it if you are an Alan Rickman fan. Quite a departure from his bad guy/romantic guy roles. His comic timing and deadpan delivery had me howling at times...while the physical comedy was just plain funny. Worth the money to see him in such a different incarnation. The deleted scenes/outtakes are priceless, and I agree with the others the dance scene over the credits is both sweet and funny.
Description of The Search for John Gissing
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: UN
Release Date: 12-AUG-2008
Media Type: DVD
Mike Binder wrote, directed, and stars in this smart comedy set in corporate London. Akin to television series The Office, and many other feature length comedies about vicious takeovers, bureaucracy, and foul business practice like 9 to 5, The Search for John Gissing also stars Alan Rickman as Gissing, a British fellow out to foil Matthew Barnes, the fumbling Woody Allen-type character portrayed by Binder. This revenge tale opens with Gissing inviting Barnes and his wife, Linda (Janeane Garofalo), to London to sign a merger with a German company. From the second Matthew and Linda step off the plane, plans fall through, income disappears, and Gissing steadily botches Barnes' attempts to succeed in this new environment. Clever characters, like Francois Fuller (Allan Corduner), the French CEO whose accent confounds Matthew with his New York dialect, and Sister Mary (Sonya Walger), the sexy nun, compliment the Barnes' and their archenemy, Gissing. Since the story is about a rather straightforward competition between the two men, one can focus on the sharp-witted script and the ways Rickman, Binder, and Garofalo infuse their characters with realistic quirks and neuroses. Garofalo transforms Linda into an understanding, but opinionated, wife. Binder's underdog persona slowly dissolves to reveal a strong, intelligent "soldier" in his businessman's "war." Rickman's Gissing is a suave, yet somehow dorky villain whose ill intentions are ultimately rooted in a fear of losing power. As each of the three main characters come to clarify priorities in their personal lives, they begin to see that they are not so opposite after all. --Trinie Dalton
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