The Darwin Awards (2006)

Director:

Finn Taylor

Writer (WGA):

Finn Taylor (written by)

Release Date:

5 July 2006 (United Arab Emirates)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Romance

Plot:

A forensic detective (Fiennes) and an insurance claims investigator (Ryder) trek to investigate a potential Darwin Award winner. From www.darwinawards.com: "The Darwin Awards salute the improvement of the human genome by honoring those who accidentally kill themselves in really stupid ways." |

Plot Keywords:

Phobia | Stupidity | Recreational Vehicle | Surprise After End Credits | Neurotic

Cast

David Arquette	...	Harvey
Ty Burrell	...	Emile
Josh Charles	...	Paramedic
Kevin Dunn	...	Insurance Exec
Nora Dunn	...	Mrs. Pearlman
Joseph Fiennes	...	Michael Burrows
Judah Friedlander	...	Simon
Lukas Haas	...	Farley
Tom Hollander	...	Henry
Brad Hunt	...	Stan
Juliette Lewis	...	Joleen
Julianna Margulies	...	Carla
Tim Blake Nelson	...	Perp
Alessandro Nivola	...	Ad Exec
Chris Penn	...	Tom

MPAA:

Rated R for language, violent images, some sexuality and drug use.

Runtime:

USA:90 min (DVD version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Finland:K-15 | Australia:M | New Zealand:M | Malaysia:(Banned) | Japan:PG-12 | South Korea:18

Filming Locations:

Adelanto, California, USA

Company:

3 Ring Circus Films

Trivia:

Metallica are performing their song "Sad but true" in the film. It was recorded at a regular live show in Salt Lake City on November 22, 2004. The show was interrupted during "Sad but True" but the song was only played once. To celebrate the premier of the movie at the Sundance Film Festival on Wednesday, January 25, 2006, the band played at a private party following the screening that day.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Almost all the cars in the movie have their shifters in the Park position even when they are suppose to be in motion. It is most noticeable in the first car the RV almost hits, in some scenes when Michael is driving, and the speedometer close-up in the JATO Chevy.

Movie Connections:

References "Popeye" (1960)

Soundtrack:

Mul Mantra

Darwin Awards...deserves recognition of its own.

I hadn't heard anything about this film prior to renting it. The fact that Ryder and Fiennes were credited on the box were the main reasons I picked it up. I don't think ANY comedy ever gets recognized for what it's worth, but this one ranks right up there with some of the best. I've seen so many films...I'm rarely surprised by the content anymore, but this was genuinely unique and funny. Even the Darwinian personalities were developed with affection---a feat which must have been a difficult proposition, given the number of idiotic things that people manage to do, and how easy it would have been to simply portray them as single-dimensional dimwits deserving of extinction! The lack of malice depicting characters we'd normally describe as clearly contributing to a thinning of the gene pool makes us identify with these people: Who HASN'T suffered a lapse in judgement at one time or another?! I especially found the sound-track amusing--every song was obviously chosen for the relationship it bore to the characters or content in each scene, and even though there was no subtlety to the selection, I found humor in most of the associations. This was, in spite of the content, death and swearing...a film that actually gives me hope for humanity. *grin* Definitely worth watching--go rent it!