Synopsis
Chronicles Jack Harris, one of the pioneers of internet commerce, as he wrestles with his morals and struggles not to drown in a sea of conmen, mobsters, drug addicts, and pornstars.
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Cast
- Luke WilsonJack Harris
- Giovanni RibisiWayne Beering
- Gabriel MachtBuck Dolby
- James CaanJerry Haggerty
- Jacinda BarrettDiana Harris
- Kevin PollakCurt Allmans
- Laura RamseyAudrey Dawns
- Rade ŠerbedžijaNikita Sokoloff
- Terry CrewsJames
- Kelsey GrammerFrank Griffin
Recommendations
- 75
Rolling Stone
Ribisi and Macht are sleaze incarnate. James Caan, as a conniving lawyer, and Rade Sherbedgia, as a Russian crime boss, are even more cootified. Best of all is Wilson, digging into his juiciest role in years and putting a human face on this mesmerizing morality tale, a journey into the toxic heart of the American dream. - 75
USA Today
Think "Boogie Nights" meets "Casino," though it's not likely to make the lasting impression of either seminal film. - 70
Variety
"Boogie Nights" meets "Goodfellas" in Middle Men, a relentlessly sleazy but undeniably intriguing tour of the bottom-feeding netherworld where porn and organized crime do their mutual bump-and-grind. - 70
Village Voice
But for all that predictability, Middle Men is smart and tense, with each scene drenched in dread. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
Decidedly stimulating in its own right, at least in the early going. - 58
Entertainment Weekly
This cranked-up drama wants it both ways. - 50
Chicago Reader
With Mallick as one of the producers, this Boogie Nights wannabe benefits from an insider's knowledge of how online commerce was born but suffers from a seemingly endless voice-over by the Wilson/Mallick character steering our sympathies in his direction (it's the sort of middle man the movie could have done without). - 50
The A.V. Club
Like Ribisi and Macht's miniature porn empire, Gallo's mildly diverting but overstuffed, underdeveloped opus could use the cinematic equivalent of a fix-it man like Wilson's character to transform its frenetic jumble of subplots and sleazy characters into a cohesive, satisfying whole.
