Sour Grapes (1998)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Larry David

Writer (WGA):

Larry David (written by)

Release Date:

17 April 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

A hilarious comedy from the co-creator of "Seinfeld"

Plot:

Two cousins and friends, Richie and Evan, go to Atlantic City to gamble. Richie loses all he has at...

Plot Keywords:

Jackpot | Cousin | Slot Machine | Money | Jealousy

Cast

Jack Burns	...	Eulogist
Viola Harris	...	Selma Maxwell
Scott Erik	...	Teenage Richie
Michael Resnick	...	Teenage Evan
Steven Weber	...	Evan Maxwell
Craig Bierko	...	Richie Maxwell
Jennifer Leigh Warren	...	Millie
Karen Sillas	...	Joan
Robyn Peterman	...	Roberta
Anthony Parziale	...	Blackjack Dealer
Abraham Kessler	...	Crap Dealer
Fred Goehner	...	Floor Manager
Amy Hohn	...	Waitress
Denise Bessette	...	Cocktail Waitress
Angelo Tiffe	...	Chauffeur

MPAA:

Rated R for language and sex-related humor.

Runtime:

91 min | Argentina:92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby | SDDS

Certification:

UK:15 | Iceland:L | Germany:6 | Portugal:M/12 (video premiere) | USA:R | Australia:M | Argentina:16 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Quotes:

[Talking about Richie]
Evan: You know what he's doing now? He's probably in the back of that limo, giving himself a blow job.
Joan: What?
Evan: Oh, yeah. He can blow himself. He's double-jointed.
Joan: [in disgust] Men!

Movie Connections:

Spoofs "Friends" (1994)

Soundtrack:

String Quartet #15 in G Major, D 887

Not bad but not recommended

It's unbelievable to think that Larry David made this movie in-between the often brilliant Seinfeld and flawless Curb Your Enthusiasm. There is so much wrong this movie.

So much, in fact, that it's easy to forget that this isn't quite the worst movie ever made. It's probably not even the worst of its year. Sour Grapes is based on an amusing idea and is well plotted, in the best Larry David tradition, and David turns out to be a rightfully un-intrusive director.

The premise that two cousins fall out over how a slot machine prize should be divided (one person lent the quarters, the other won the game) is classic David: An exploration of the petty oneupmanship and self absorbed nature of the 1990s baby boomer man. Sadly, it would have probably worked better had it been an episode of Seinfeld, because that show had involving characters and this doesn't.

Steven Weber's character seems the most believable but Craig Bierko lets the film down simply because he's not funny. In Bierko's defence, he is saddled with a lot of Seinfeld-esquire one liners that fail to ring true due to his lack of convincing ethnicity and the fact that they aren't necessary to the plot. Part of me thinks that the plot would have worked a lot better as a Seinfeld two-parter.

I wouldn't recommend watching this but if you do, you'll laugh a couple of times but ultimately feel that the critics got it right with this one: It's a let down.