Eight Days a Week (I) (1997) User Reviews (69)

Keri Russell! Keri Russell! Keri Russell! Keri Russell!

[deverman · 5/10 · 18 September 1999]

This is movie is a vehicle for Keri Russell to show us her physical stuff. After her extended wet t-shirt and bikini shots, and an an underwear bedroom scene, not much of her is left to the imagination in this film. Which, frankly, is fine by me. I've seen movies with less going for them. :-)

Otherwise, the film's premise is ridiculous. There is lots of sexual humor, as well as almost-funny references to human waste products. Nevertheless, there are some genuinely funny moments, almost none of which involve our main characters, the funniest of which involve a recurring young pre-teen neighborhood bully.

Most memorable scenes: Keri Russell's wet t-shirt and bikini shots.

For the most part good, but the ending was unrealistic.

[Aaron1375 · 7/10 · 9 April 2003]

This movie is about a guy that is in love with a gal and decides to impress her by standing outside her house until she decides to give him a chance. This leads to him observing different aspects of the neighborhood and it does lead to him and the girl talking more. His friend, unfortunately, ends up feeling neglected because this is their last summer together and his friend is just standing on a lawn. He even watches kids to pass the time. For the most part this movie was pretty funny and there were some interesting characters to watch. The main problem I had with the movie was the ending. Spoilers ahead***The ending to me just played out a bit to happily. In the end it wasn't very realistic as the girl nine times out of ten usually never goes with the guy that really cares about them, but rather the dumb jerk, especially at that age...so a better ending might be the guy finding a gal that was more in tune with him.

Surprisingly good, with a caveat

[Ralpho · 7/10 · 2 June 2001]

Although I would never call this movie a masterpiece, and I don't care to own it, I was surprised by its quality. You might say that if one's expectations are low enough, anything can seem surprisingly good, but if your expectations are that low you wouldn't rent the movie to begin with.

Although this movie didn't begin its life as a stage play, it easily could have as 90 percent of it is shot in the front yard of the character played by Keri Russell. The movie is reminiscent of John Cusak's "The Sure Thing" for the way it shamelessly admires the body and beauty of Keri Russell. And much of the humor recalls "There's Something About Mary" and "American Pie."

I do have a complaint, though, for the way the filmmaker makes buffoons out of Keri Russell's Christian parents. The consensus in Hollywood is that serious Christians are pathetic hypocrites who have no understanding or tolerance for others. Whoever made this movie must be a particularly virulent example of the Hollywood Christian-loather considering the extent to which he makes foolish villains out of Keri Russell's parents.

A little gem

[Nick_Dets · 12 August 2002]

Michael Davis hits the nail right on the head when it comes to the complexities of the teen mind, mainly focusing on lust (on the lighter side), sexual frustration and determination.

It takes place during the last free summer of a likable teen (a great Josh Schaffer). Inspired from a tale his grandpa Nono tells him, he sets out to win the affection of his life-long crush Erica (Keri Russell)by spending every minute of his summer on her front lawn. His task is not easy, as he must confront her bully boyfriend Nick (Johnny Green) and earn some respect from his father.

There is rather brilliant writing and direction by Michael Davis with characters who are all complex in their own way and great acting to match them (R.D. Robb steals the show in an ingenious performance).

There are some misfired jokes such as scenes involving an overly religious girl who plays with nun dolls (not offensive, just not very funny).

Nonetheless, 8 DAYS A WEEK is a little gem from Davis who unfortunately didn't match success with 2000's 100 GIRLS.

A boring "love" endurance story

[MihaiSorinToma · 6/10 · 30 August 2017]

Peter loves Erica very much. So much that he's willing to do anything to prove it. Advised by his grandfather, he decides to spend all summer, against all odds, in front of her house. That's pretty much it. We follow him day by day, spying on neighbors, listening to his sexually obsessed friend, being bullied by Erica's boyfriend and wasting time in various modes just to impress the girl of his dreams.

It's a simple plot which frankly becomes boring very soon. I liked the idea of camping in a girl's yard but just staying there without almost any result and confronting all kinds of problems makes you think if the boy is truly mentally healthy. Furthermore, the most anticipated ending finally occurs but it comes out of nowhere. I was expecting something progressive, but from the beginning she isn't "bothered" at all by his presence in her yard and enjoys her life with her boyfriend when all of a sudden, in the last day, the "miracle" takes place! Wow! I can't tell you how impressed I am…

I wanted to like this movie but the fact that it was so dull, rarely funny and sometimes boring made me change my mind. It could have been so much better!

close to being good

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 30 May 2016]

Peter is utterly infatuated with his longtime neighbor Erica (Keri Russell). With 3 months left before she goes to an east coast college, his grandfather Nonno urges him to go for it. He decides to stay on her front lawn. She tells him that she wants to be "just friends". His best friend Matt is obsessed with self-pleasure even with a watermelon. She is going out with the bully Nick. Peter waits day after day on her front lawn as he observes the neighborhood.

This reminds me a little of American Pie with masturbating inside food. It also tries to be a sweet coming-of-age movie. The two aspects do clash. On the one hand, Keri Russell has a wet T-shirt scene and Peter pontificates about her breast. On the other hand, it's a sugary sweet puppy love story. The old lady's revelations are really compelling but Michael Davis sometimes goes down a cheesy kiddie movie road. Joshua Schaefer is good as the lead but his narrations should be trim down. Finally, R.D. Robb is not funny enough to be the comedic best friend.

Fun Take on Teenage Angst

[TonyVan · 7/10 · 8 August 1999]

The "geek friend tries to win girl of his dreams" high concept works, but not much new is added. The hero pines for the girl of his dreams, and plots how to get her to love him.

The movie shines in the sub-plot areas, where the secondary characters lives come to light. Especially nice are the revelations of the grandfather, the crazy old lady and the "rear-window" inspired man.

Perhaps the coolest bit comes in the creative end credits; each cast and crew member gets a special "sidewalk name credit" that highlights their character. I especially like the "Spit" credit and the "Lighting" DP credit.

typical sub-standard '90's-era teen comedy

[movieman_kev · 3/10 · 26 December 2008]

Terribly stunted dialog that doesn't ring true (a common problem with the director as evidenced in 100 Girls, 100 women, etcetera) mar a obscure teen comedy that already has a hackneyed premise to begin with. Peter is so in lust with Erica (not for her brain mind you, more for the fact that she never wears a bra & likes to get her white shirt wet) that he chooses to pursue her by becoming a stalker and camping out in front of the house day and night. Which everyone (except himself, his slight-off grandfather, and Erica's ultra-religious parents) pretty rightly thinks is a bad idea. The film has it's moments but they are very few and far between.

Keri Russell has nothing to do with the character except look pretty (remember this was back before she had the outlandishly awful idea to cut her hair) Furthermore she's so vapid and dull that one wonders why Peter (who rags on her equally blank-slate of a boyfriend) would go through the trouble in the first place. I'm not even get started on his lame best friend who's the same tired 'wacky' character that's seen in pretty much every single teen movie these days. Davis of course wouldn't learn his lesson and make an equally, if not more so, 'best friend' in his abysmal "Monster Man"

My Grade: D+

Not my type of movie but I loved it

[Boyo-2 · 8/10 · 19 March 2001]

I wouldn't read the rest of this if you did not see the movie.

I am much closer to the parents' ages in this movie. Not that that in itself means I am the wrong audience for this movie, but let's say I am not the target demographic either.

Nevertheless, the movie was very funny, very touching and I ended up loving it, despite some missteps along the way.

Peter is a self-proclaimed 'spaz' who is pining away for the beauty across the street, Erica. He vows to spend all his time under her bedroom window in order to win her love. The neighborhood is filled with colorful characters, beginning in Peter's house with his Grandfather who gives Peter the inspiration to follow his dream. His best friend lives nearby, too, but he is mostly consumed with his fantasies of sex. One of the neighbors works for the FBI and circles the block several times before parking. There is the stereotyped 'crazy' neighborhood lady, who eats in the car, mows the lawn at night and does gardening in her scuba mask and mouthpiece. There are neighborhood kids and enough to keep Peter occupied until Erica dumps the jerk (he is needlessly disgusting) she is currently dating.

As the movie progresses, there are many hysterically funny scenes (Peter talks at length about Erica's body, down to the smallest detail), some touching ones (when Peter tells the crazy lady what the neighbors say about her, she has a good reason for the things she does - eats in the car because the radio reception is better, mows the lawn at night due to the humidity) and some stupid ones (his Grandfather passes away & Peter is suspicious of another neighbors' habit of dragging heavy bags in and out of his house). It all comes together in the end, Peter grows up and gets the girl.

To say this was better than I was expecting is a huge understatement. I was happy to spend 90 minutes on Peter's block with him & the neighbors.

good movie of late 90s ... but not very good ending.

[afterdarkpak · 6/10 · 28 March 2020]

Well its a teen movie, even its not a sex comedy but still its good. the movie story is simple n straight. the performance is also ok .

but the only thing i really didnt like is the ending. i mean call it stupid youth or stupid teen love, that watching a crush with someone else and knowing that they both banging every night. and then in the end she finally fall for the kid.. pfff.

If the boy just moved on his life even knowing that his lover now feeling for him , then it would be great ending.

Waste of Time

[westclox413 · 3/10 · 14 October 2000]

Eight Days A Week started off somewhat humorous, but failed to pick-up any type of momentum. Take out the adult humor, which was pretty sad, and it would make a decent afterschool special on network televsion. Although geared towards adults, the story line was for children. Only great thing about the movie was Kerri Russell, who looked hot.

Teen angst is funny

[AlbinoAl · 9/10 · 5 April 2005]

A film that I'd never heard of and chanced upon by accident, Eight Days a Week deserves to be a mainstay of teen cinema in the same way that John Hughes' eighties work is.

Joshua Schaeffer has just the right balance of geek and cool individualism to pull off a character that could very easily fall into stalker territory and R.D. Robb is excellent as his sex-obsessed sidekick; keeping what could very easily become a caricature grounded in reality. The supporting cast of oddballs never overshadow the main story, but equally don't feel like padding as we learn more about their slightly kooky lives.

It's a shame that films like this go unnoticed in a world where much more crass attempts at summing up teenage life (complete with thirty year old actors) can become box office hits.

this one sure sucks

[hanselmerchor · 4/10 · 13 November 2002]

This movie is well-written but poorly directed and acted. Keri Russell will never win an oscar that is for sure, and the same goes for the leading man, who looks like a talentless Jason Schwarmann. The grandpa in the movie is a good character but the direction is so lucklaster I wished crap like this was not made.

unique, and funny - see it

[joeyboi · 3 August 2002]

i saw Eight Days a Week one night late on HBO, and I thought it was really funny. I liked the way jokes were presented and narrated by the main character Peter who has sort of a dry sense of humor. I recommend this to any teenager, also if you like this movie you must see 100 Girls, which in my opinion is almost a rip off,(although also good) of Eight Days a week with a few more twists in it. See this movie.

Immature and predictable

[Film LA · 1/10 · 17 October 1998]

A pointless excuse for a feature film, "Eight Days A Week" has just about nothing going for it at all. The characters, story, and directorial style seem to be borrowed from a Nickelodeon sitcom - the only difference being the barrage of masturbation and sex jokes that have been awkwardly interjected to make the film "hip". Save your time and money.

One of the greatest Obscure Teen Comedies out there!

[kmccance01 · 10/10 · 9 August 2002]

This is a wonderful yet obscure teen romantic comedy. If you can even call it that. I do not remember how I came across it, but ever since I have looked everywhere to find it. Finally I did, and I have watched it WAY to many times, and I laugh hard every time.

Just like 8 days a week, this movie is longer than it should be

[The_Deadfish · 4/10 · 16 August 2002]

Teen comedy about a boy who lives on a girl's front lawn during the summer. Why? To get in her pants, silly. What you expected something more complicated than that?

Ugh, much like doing nothing during summer, this movie just drags on. I've seen this movie in pieces. The first time, I couldn't stand it anymore, I didn't care if they get together, like a good little stereotypical teen movie should, or not. I finally caught the end of it. I know why I stopped watching it the first time.

Just be ready for mind-numbing pointless dialog and countless clichéd characters, like the big mean boyfriend, the horny older yet sexy widow, the man who killed his wife and chopped her to pieces or (did he?), the over religious parents, the old mentor, and others.

They say that you should watch 100 Girls (Michael Davis' other movie) as a companion piece. I say watch the Double Dragon movie (another movie of his). At least you get some kung fu with your bad dialog and story.

A hidden gem of a movie

[Tenchi64589 · 10/10 · 14 December 2007]

I saw this movie for the first time on Comedy Central while I awoke from being passed out on my bed one night, and I didn't exactly know what to expect... that's especially good if you haven't seen a movie.

Anyway, I've heard a lot of reviews about this movie. Some ranging from good reviews saying that this is "The thinking-man's American Pie," to bad reviews stating that this has already been done. Say what you will about this movie. Unlike that other movie, however, there is dialog in the right places, likable characters, and most important of all, an actual plot... Keri Russell as the female lead didn't hurt matters either.

This movie is an underrated classic that I think everyone should see just once.

10/10

Excruciating!

[Kiki-7 · 1/10 · 10 August 2000]

This movie tried to be three different films in one, all of them terrible. At least it succeeded in being terrible. Painful to watch, completely unrealistic and incredibly asinine. Forget the fact that the plot is totally ridiculous, the characters have nothing interesting, original or creative about them and the humor is sophomoric at best, why should the audience care about a character who is so stupid, he'd waste an entire summer (three months!!!!!!!) sleeping in someone's yard to gain the attention of a girl as vapid as Keri Russell (who brings absolutely nothing to her role.)

Unfortunately, Keri Russell seems to have made a number of rancid films before torturing us all in Felicity, and like dead bodies, one by one, they're beginning to surface.

And I'm not sure how old the writer/director is, but teenagers in this day and age don't make pop-culture references such as Barbara Feldon in Get Smart, Julie Newmar in Batman (unless they're budding drag queens) and quibble over 60s & 70s Bond Films and which Beatle they'd rather be.

Not Great

[HarDcoremovieman · 18 July 2002]

it seems like the only method of distribution the filmmakers or whatever did was sell this movie to cable networks to be played at late night when no one watches,except,for me. This movie is not good,but not horrible. I,am a teenager,and even though I really hate teen comedies,this one was above the scale in intelligence,but the humor was way too elementary for most perverted teens in my opinion. The only funny part was when Peter discovered Kerri Russell's dads sculpture of the weird looking Jesus Christ. And if you're going to have so much comedy about sex,why not actually show some nudity? I would not recommend to rent,but to watch at late night if you're really bored,

exactly you normal teem sex movie

[slverbulet7 · 2/10 · 19 December 2006]

Simply awful. It's a lot like all the other stupid teen sex movies, except that it doesn't have: A) A really hot chick B) A funny actor C) Shame

Most of these movies carry a bit of shame. They know what they are. This movie had all the signs of poor writers who wrote for poor minds. Unless they sincerely thought they did a good job (which I doubt), the makers of the movie were banking on stupid teens. No, there's not something that's over my head. No, narration does not mean the movie is deep. The media has done enough to make sex meaningless, yet still potent enough in absence to destroy self esteem and reputations. Some of these movies are funny though. For an obvious example, American Pie. Like it or not, the movie had funny people in it. It was fresh (to some extent). It was better.

Why why why would anybody want to watch this? I'd rather sit through A Clockwork Orange torture.

And what's the deal with the characters being like 14 years old?

an 8 for eight days a week

[gilbynziggy · 8/10 · 27 March 2004]

this is a very good movie, i thought it would be so pathetic and stupid though for the longest time, so i never rented it. but peter is an adorable, "real-life" character, and erica is okay too. i love that matt is devoted to his friend, but it would have been better if matt had been gay, with peter as his love intrest. the music is sub-par, and nothing special, but not detestingly bad or anything. a great coming of age movie for anyone. this movie is truly 6 or 7 seven years before its time. i don't know how this movie did in the box office or anything since i was merely 10 when it came into theaters but if it were to come out now it would be an enormous success. sad thing is that that is the last thing, tv or movie that josh schaeffer (peter) ever did, i wonder why? but anyway i whole-hearted suggest and recommend this movie to anyone not sure to rent it or buy or what-not. VERY-VERY GOOD! and i thought that it would be bad because it had keri russell in it, how wrong i was... you won't regret it, watch it!

This movie sucks!

[Jeremy_brewer1 · 2/10 · 10 February 2012]

First of all Kerri Russel looks good, but she has small breasts! When they are staring at her when she is in her bathing suit probably knocked out on valiums. They focus the camera on her and I'm wonder what interest they could actually have for her. Most perverts find some one that meets a certain beauty in every angle. They should of chosen somebody else to play her part. I mean Alicia silverstone would have been better or anybody else. They could of at least chose someone who was older or something. The guys in this where also horrible actors. They where always dumbfounded about anything that has to do with women. How do you find interest in that?

Not too bad

[stormont · 9/10 · 15 July 2002]

Well, I got out of the shower today and felt like watching a movie. It just happened that this was JUST coming on. I've never heard of it before this and I kinda wish I would cause it is an excellent film. Peter reminds me alot of me in some ways. The sex crazy friend kinda got on my nerves after awhile but I lived. I recommend this movie to anyone who has not seen it yet.

Even with eight days a week life is still to short...

[JohnnyChill · 1/10 · 10 January 2000]

Calling this movie bad is being far too nice to it. It's like calling Jack the Ripper a heart surgeon. I cannot say enough mean things about it. It actually gave me a headache. How Writer/Director Davis (II) managed to get this film classified as a 'comedy' is beyond me. Calling it a 'war film' would have been just as inaccurate. I would criticize it more but it has wasted too much of my time already.