I really enjoyed the fresh young actors in this film. The writing is not very sophisticated, nor is it intended to be. This film reminds me a bit of Clerks and Slackers, not because of its storyline, but the direction and the crazy characters portrayed by lesser know but talented young semi-slacker actors.
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melissa.ricks28 June 2001
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bob the moo13 August 2007When he hit the prize shot from the halfway line at a basketball game, Stanley Simon was talked into investing the money into opening a copy shop by his friend Bo Stein (who has a degree in economics). Of course now that copy shop chain King Co has opened up across the street, the idea doesn't seem so good. Things only get worse when they get told they have two weeks to pay back rent before being evicted and don't even ask about Stanley's relationship with girlfriend Vicki. With closure looming, the pair decide to take the fight to the corporate giant.
I had never heard of this film when it came onto terrestrial television but I decided that this might not be something I should take as a warning. Well, as it turns out I was wrong as this mostly so-so comedy just ambles across the screen offering very little. You can see what they were aiming for. It is sort of Clerks crossed with the modern day frustration of Office Space but it lacks a real sense of wit and, of course, proper laughs. Conceptually I have no problem with it because you can see the social relevance and also comedy potential in a copy of slackers but it is the delivery that offers little of interest.
The narrative doesn't do a great deal with the idea and the subplots (specifically Stanley's relationship) are mostly flat. I could forgive this if the main thrust was funny but it is only really sporadically amusing at best. The performances do rather match the lack lustre air in the material. Luke Wilson always comes over as the William Baldwin of the Wilson brothers and he only reinforced that here by producing a rather obvious performance. West Wing's Joshua Malina is OK but neither Rhys nor LaMarr are as funny as their "sidekick" roles really needed them to be. Devicq is attractive but doesn't convince as a real person. McKean and Doyle-Murray are a bonus but aren't used at all well.
Overall then a sort of slacker comedy that crosses Clerks and Office Space but it is consistently mediocre and only has the odd moment where it is amusing. Mostly though it isn't up to much and I understand now why I had never heard of it and will probably never hear of it again. -
I rented this movie because after seeing Luke Wilson in the excellent movie "Bottle Rocket" and the memorable and witty "Home Fries," I thought he would have had enough sense to recognize a good script from a bad one. Apparently not because this movie is a real stinker. Wilson tries to make it work, so I'll give him that much, but Joshua Malina (Bob) is wretched and should've been left out of the movie altogether. Malina tries to act too over-the-top to be funny and none of it works (shades of Elizabeth Berkeley's "Showgirls" performance). The whole movie has a feel of an after-school special - but even worse because there's no point whatsoever. I don't understand the whole pun with the Kinko's Copies (the movie calls it King Co. or something like that). It makes it obvious that this "King Co." is the bad guy. It sounds like it was just put together by some disgruntled Kinko's employees or something. I couldn't even stand to watch the whole movie... I ended up turning it off halfway through because it was so bad. Take my word for it... this movie belongs in the incinerator.
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splitzer15 August 1999Filled with dry humor and laugh-out-loud monologue, Kill the Man was thoroughly enjoyable. Luke Wilson and Joshua Malina are both excellent. Warning: This movie is filled with profanity. However, I recommend Kill the Man highly!
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kurtis-91 March 2005don't expect too much and you'll love it. it's a low budget film that should have low budget expectations. Extremely witty dialog, imaginative acting and hilarious dry humor make the film extremely enjoyable, so long as the viewer is capable of seeing past the poor lighting, film and music editing. the story is decent albeit a little unbelievable, but it's worth it's weight in chuckles, and what more can you expect from Luke Wilson and Josh Malina (whose work on sports night i throughly enjoyed, they should never have started dubbing in applause, that ruined the whole thing). at the end of the movie the viewer is left asking one question: was that fall scripted?
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steve-48415 August 1999One movie you should really check out, I found it at Blockbuster and enjoyed every minute. It is very light hearted and takes some funny punches at big corporate America (like Kinkos and Starbucks). Great cast and cute sets
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criggar29 June 2000This movie is better than so many other movies. It really makes you look at the world in a different way. To catergorize this movie with any other would be a travesty. The acting is really one of a kind. With performances that spark multiple emotions. I felt good after watching this movie. If you like movies then you will like this one. This is more than just a movie, it is a work of art. Luke Wilson delivers a stunning performance. Josh Malina is as energetic as he is crafty. This movie is enjoyable for those who enjoy anything, as well as those who pick and choose.
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This movie was very funny, and probably had the best joke-to-dollar ratio of any movie I've seen. That is, given the fact that 2/3 of the movie takes place within the copy shop, they do a lot with it. I personally felt that the romantic element didn't add much to the movie, and that's the movie's one major drawback. Although the actors are all no-names, the actors were very good, and fit the parts well.
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AnAngryMob13 May 2006Now I just saw this movie on comedy central over this past week and I feel like as the user above me stated the romance element of this movie was kind of pointless and not crucial to the plot. Now on the other hand this movie from what I've read,seen and heard from other people this movie is supposed to show capitalism at work. How a group of communist can over come and persevere the hardships and problems, but the overview on this site about this movie failed to mention the guerrilla activist that comes into the copy shop and really shows the struggling shop owners how to empower themselves and really do what's needed!
I highly recommend this movie for anyone with a slight political sense of humor and to people that really understand or even support activism, communism or anarchy it shows one instance of the proletariat winning! -
raon-710614 February 2018Would of gave it a 10 out of 10 if you could find a single video clip of it on google?? best movie at the time when I worked the cubicle life at Tech Data Corp. oh yeah makin da copies all day to throw away... how dumb are we still??
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I first watched this movie when I was 11. This morning, 20 years later I watched it again. Admittedly, I'm going to be biased in my review. It brought a flood of warm feelings from my childhood.
This moview was effortless to make and is effortless to watch. I enjoyed every single second of it. -
callmemanatee28 August 2019I saw this movie many years ago, and thought it was pretty funny. I used to own it on VHS, but all my movies got stolen several years back. This movie pops into my head once in a while, and I really want to watch it again.
I feel like it had a different title than "Kill the Man" when I originally had it, but maybe I am wrong. Regardless, I have been unable to find this movie for sale anywhere! Does anyone have any ideas where I can find this movie?