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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
The worst part of their job...., 12 June 2006
1/10
Author: nitestar95 from United States

If you've ever had a day at work, and just knew 'this is as bad as it can get', then you know how the 'name' actors in this film must feel. It's something they had to do for a paycheck. Or as a favor for a friend. But no one in their right mind would ever be part of this trash if they had any other choice. It appears to have been written in the 2 hours before a deadline; story all over the place with random banter as dialogue. Characters that no one would find interesting. No; I'm wrong. The characters are repulsive. Typical pretty, brainless women, and self absorbed men. I watched it all the way through simply because I rented it, and hate to waste money. Instead, I wasted my time. It's one of those movies you can walk out of to go to the bathroom, go pick up a pizza, and come back and feel as if you missed nothing at all. You'd be better off watching a decent TV show. It might not be the worst movie of all time, but it's close.

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Seriously wishing I hadn't watched this movie..., 2 February 2001
2/10
Author: Shannon from Minneapolis

This was almost the worst movie I have ever seen. I think the actors were trying, but with this movie's script they never stood a chance. Nothing about this movie was entertaining; not the "Lily Lily Lily!" allusion to Christine Taylor's role as Marsha in the Brady Bunch Movie, not the endless vibrator jokes, and certainly not the time I wasted watching it.

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Don't take this movie Seriously ? ? ?, 21 May 2000
4/10
Author: Pat1973 (whitetigerpat@webtv.net) from Frankfort Illinois

First of all this movie should have never been made. It's about two girls that go from party to party and all they do is try to find this guy who one of the girls likes or really loves. The performance of Joey Lawrence is the only reason I saw this movie at all. I really don't know what Joey was thinking but we all have to start out somewhere. His talent is wasted here and so is the rest of the cast. The cast if you have seen there other movies are very good but just skip this one. You will not find anything funny or entertaining at all. I'm sorry I even bought this movie. I actually bought it before I rented it. I just got done watching and I said "What the heck is this crap". I know this cast can do better! Joey I love ya but just did not work in this film. Out of 4 stars I give it 1/2. I had such high hopes for this film too.

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2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Dumb but charming, like its lead characters, 2 November 2001
6/10
Author: seltzer (douglasrturek@gmail.com) from Newington, CT

This is not a great movie, and maybe even good is too strong a word, but there is something goofily charming about it and I got sucked into watching it. Christine Taylor is cute and ostensibly the lead in search of her perfect match, played by John Corbett. It's a trite storyline but at least it lets the rest of the film happen. Paget Brewster is her hip would-be actress friend who leads her around LA from one party to another in search of her friends guy. So, it's a horrible story with a predictable ending, but the parties they go to and the people they meet are a bunch of nice jabs at the movie industry and the culture around it. Claudia Schiffer and Joey Lawrence appear and cameos by some mid-grade stars only add to the comedy. The scenes with Patton Oswalt and Brian Posehn are the funniest things to ever be recorded on film in the history of film. A mediocre movie with lots of treats to make it worth watching, and Paget Brewster is impossibly cute. Watch all the way to the end of the credits to see the funniest scenes in the film.

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2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Hilarious Damsels-in-Distress Comedy!, 6 January 2001
10/10
Author: SwatchDog (swatchdog@dork.com) from Sydney, Australia

In the grand tradition of Romy & Michele's High School Reunion, A Night at the Roxbury, Mystery Date and Adventures in Babysitting comes the latest zany night-on-the-town "where everything goes wrong" comedy, Desperate but Not Serious.

Set entirely in Los Angeles, we meet wild-party girl Francis and her sweet but naive friend Lily whose evening backfires (they misplace the invitation to an important wedding party, they're stalked by a psychotic bartender and they crash their car, among other situations)

Performances here are exceptional. Paget Brewster (who looks a lot like Parker Posey) exudes talent, beauty and charisma. I loved how she growled at the airport ticket agent and her whole airhead self-indulgent attitude. Christine Taylor in the role of Lily is great. She's funny [especially when saying the wrong things] and effective in raising empathy at times from the audience. John Corbett was fine as Lily's significant other, but suffered from lack of character development and screen-time. Supporting roles including Musician Henry Rollins as a menacing bartender, Joey Lawrence as a dim-witted celebrity, Max Perlich as a sleazy womaniser and Judy Greer as a bitchy "executive assistant" are nothing short of perfect. The "L.A. artificiality" of these characters is hilarious and adds to the plot well. Finally Claudia Schiffer rounds out the top cast as Gigi, a wild musician and college student who "majors in everything". Gigi acts as a Greek Chorus somewhat, dictating much of the action before it happens, before transforming into a guiding spirit of some sort. Some of her lines sound a bit flat (as though she's trying to speak in a bubbly accent), but she shows promise.

Desperate but Not Serious is a fabulous independent movie and deserves a wider audience. It's not to be taken seriously, instead with an "open mind". Relax, pour yourself a drink, Kick your feet up and enjoy Desperate but Not Serious, one of the best overlooked films of 1999/2000.

10/10

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4 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Worst vanity movie of all time!, 25 August 2001
Author: jbelkin800 from northern cal

I don't know the real story behind the genesis and making of this film but it seems to have been made by an un-talented offspring of a Hollywood agent or TV producer.

They were obviously able to pull in a lot of favors in dragging in a bunch of semi-famous TV actors - everybody was scared to say no and didn't want to risk offending the powerful parent.

You know any movie is in trouble when the best actor in a movie is Joey Lawrence and Claudia Schiffer is second.

There are probably 10,000 unproduced scripts in Hollywood about fringe Hollywood players and their story in modern day Hollywood/LA. You know the cliches - usually, it's some unattractive schlub cruisng the Strip, the Hills, etc ... with his best bud - making the scene - all the name of ripping the lid off of the true Hollywood. Of course, it's not very revealing or interesting - SWINGERS is probably the exception to the rule. They get credit for casting a woman in the lead, Paiget Brewster (TV actor) but they made (with her help) her character shrill, annoying, un-likeable, vile and like the men who played the exact same part in 1,000 movies before her - making her so unattractive you wonder why anyone would care what happens to her.

The story - riddled with a million bad cliches ultimately even gets smaller - and ends as a tribute to "Pink Dot" - the ultimate Hollywood insider wink-wink. AS IF WE CARE!!!!! It's not even funny or clever - there's no point in explaining what Pink Dot is but here goes (it's a late night delivery service - the Hollywood webvan except they've been around for 20 years) - are you laughing yet?

This is a movie where the kid of a powerful person decided to make a movie - since their life's experience amounted to hanging out with second-rate wanna-be's and ordering from Pink Dot - that's the movie! Now, you figure how many favors you can call in and you write the story around when they can show up.

There are cable access shows with more imagination.

Just bad.



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Total waste of time. SPOILER TO FOLLOW, if that's possible., 24 October 2010
1/10
Author: Mike from Venice, FL

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

How to spoil this movie, that in my opinion would be impossible, it is such a hodge-podge of poor acting and directing I wonder how they got somebody to put up the cash to make it. I could barely get past the first 5 or so minutes, the music was gratingly terrible along with the singers voice and phrasing. I had to 'mute', it to get past it. Nothing after that gets any better. I think the dog was probably the best actor in the movie. I don't understand why John Corbett lowered his standards to appear in this disjointed garbage. I fast forwarded through most of the film looking for something that would prove fruitful. But, alas, that was not to happen until the two stars were sitting on the plane enjoying each others company. Even the crap during the closing credits was preoccupied with homosexual references all the way to the end. Anyhow if you want to see a movie worse than, 'forces of nature', 'code unknown','along came polly' and Wesley Snipes' all time clunker, 'Liberty Stands Still'. This is the flick for you.

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Great film.You can't keep a straight face all the way through, 29 April 2000
Author: stigs84 (stigs84@aol.com) from Pennsylvania

As a big Christine Taylor fan,this film rocked. In her first starring role, she totally captivates the audience. She plays Lili, a clumsy romantic, who comes to LA for one night, to visit her b/f at a wedding. She stays w/her old friend,Francis, a party girl alcoholic. They go to a Hollywood party before the wedding, but lose the address. What ensues is a bunch of hilarious mishaps as nothing goes right and EVERYTHING goes wrong. Will Lili be able to get to the wedding on time and find her boyfriend?Will Francis sober up long enough to think straight?Rent this funny,fantastic flick and find out for yourself

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1 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
pretty funny, 15 January 2002
10/10
Author: timu59 (timu59@yahoo.com)

It was one of those movies that you strictly for fun. If you are trying to watch for Oscar winning performances than forget it. It is a movie that you just want to escape the daily routine and watch. The best performance is Joey Lawrence as a stoner movie star, pretty amusing.

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1 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Kookie comedy for young adult females, 8 September 2001
5/10
Author: George Parker from Orange County, CA USA

Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something that blows...such is the screenplay of "Desperate...", a kookie comedy about an all night odyssey of two ditzy females through the clubs and parties of Hollyweird. Brewster gets all the good lines and steals the show while Taylor plays straight man in this lukewarm low budget little comedy which has it's moments, few and far between though they may be. Recommended for young adult females who, at this writing, have not voted sufficiently on IMDB.com to offset to inordinately low marks given by the male audiences.

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