The Ten (2007)

Ten stories, each inspired by one of the ten commandments.

Director:

David Wain

Writers:

Ken Marino, David Wain

Stars:

Paul Rudd, Adam Brody, Winona Ryder

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Rudd	...	Jeff Reigert
Adam Brody	...	Stephen Montgomery
Jon Hamm	...	Skydiving Guide Chris Knarl
Winona Ryder	...	Kelly La Fonda
Ken Marino	...	Dr. Glenn Richie / Cartoon Voices
Todd Holoubek	...	Camera Man Stuart Blumberg
Mather Zickel	...	Louis La Fonda
Ali Marsh	...	'Entertainment Beat' Host George Reardon
Raisy Pereyra	...	Dorothy Sheen
Edmund Genest	...	Governor Beaumont Hutchins (as Edmond Genest)
Ron Silver	...	Fielding Barnes
Heidi Neurauter	...	Helen Campbell-Holland
Michael Ziegfeld	...	Harlan Swallow
Jason Antoon	...	Salazar 'Fred' McBairn
Andrea Rosen	...	Polly 'Carol' Samuels

Storyline

Quirky inter-related stories. Standing by two tablets, Jeff promises to introduce ten short stories, each about one of the commandments. A man survives a fall from a plane and his fiancée marries someone else before falling in love with a marionette; a surgeon causes the death of a patient and in prison tries to choose his mate; a woman encounters Jesus in Mexico and later confronts her husband on the Sabbath; twins and their mother reflect on fatherhood; covetous neighbors miss a chance to be heroes; and, between each story, Jeff's love triangle with Gretchen and Liz plays out. In the end, all the characters join in singing that it's all about love.

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Plot Keywords:

love | ten commandments | prison | singing | surgeon | 

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Taglines:

If He'd meant the commandments literally, He'd have written them in stone.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive strong crude sexual content including dialogue and nudity, and for language and some drug material

Details

Official Sites:

MySpace page

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

21 August 2008 (Russia)

Also Known As:

Das 10 Gebote Movie

Filming Locations:

Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$5,250,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$121,374 (USA) (3 August 2007)

Gross:

$766,487 (USA) (28 September 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

City Lights Pictures, Inverted Film, Jade Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Winona Ryder signed on to the film without reading the script because she was a fan of David Wain's work on Wet Hot American Summer.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jeff Reigert: [phone rings] Hello?
Jeff Reigert: I'm sorry, I had to go, okay?
Jeff Reigert: Because I have to introduce the ten stories. I told this this before, we'll talk about this when I get home, alright? I'm late enough as it is.
Jeff Reigert: "The Ten Commandments" ten stories, alright? You knew about this when you married me, this is what I do.
Jeff Reigert: Hello? Hello? Unbelievable.

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Connections

References Working Girl (1988)

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Soundtracks

"Written in Stone"
Lyrics by David Yazbek, Ken Marino & David Wain
Music by David Yazbek
Produced by Bob Golden at Savvy Kat Music
Piano/Keyboard: David Yazbek
Guitar/Bass: Lance Doss
Drums: Bob Golden

User Reviews

About 3 commandments worth of comedy

There were some good ideas for the sketches but it seems like the writers couldn't figure out how to develop them. The result is something you might see at a high school production with a single sight-gag or punchline stretched to fit the allotted time. It's not that the gag is bad or stupid (though sometime it is) - it's just that you can't fill 10 minutes of dead time with one joke.

There are a couple of funnier commandments that got more than half a laugh. Winona Ryder is a scream - she of course is in the sketch about the do not steal commandment. (See how clever that is - this movie is full of them...) Unfortunately, the funnier sketches are at the end of the movie and you have to sit through an hour to get there.

This reminds me a lot of SNL - the current incarnation - not the "classic" incarnations. If you watch SNL you'll probably like this. If you find SNL an interminable bore, like I do - then avoid...