Men with Brooms

If you just want a pizza and beer movie and a few laughs with mates then this is a good choice.

Just offensive enough to feel adult, just enough comedy to make you laugh, and enough curling to remind you you're watching a sports movie.

Is it a classic? No.

But, is it a turkey? No way.

It's an unusual sports movie with lots of silliness and little one-liners and it actually does the send up of curling very well.

All in all it shines for its small town values, it's heart, and good performances.

A nice break from the norm.

This movie was not as funny as I thought it would be at first. Yes, there's some laughs, but no genuine one. It's the Canadian answer to a movie like Independence Day or The Patriot!

The acting is not brilliant, even if Polly Shannon and Molly Parker are good. On a good note, It was nice to see some scenes shot in Sudbury, where I lived for a while, but besides that, the movie has no real value.

Out of 100, I gave it 70. That's good for ** out of **** stars.

Seen in Vaughan, at the AMC Interchange 30 Cineplex, on April 13th, 2002.

The negative reviews point out that the film is cliched. Most comedy these days can be accused of that. What pulls this film up for me is the characters. I live in a small town and recognize these characters as my neighbors. More over, although they are flawed, the residents are treated with respect and love. I think this film nailed the experience of closeness in a village. I also enjoyed watching curling. Who knew the sport was performed with such precision and grace. Probably not the best film for city loving flat landers. It did make me laugh and gave me a buzz of happiness.

This is the kind of flick you watch when you don't want to think too hard but you still want some intelligent humour and a good story. Some jokes are hidden in sarcasm, satire or poignancy, and you might miss them, so it's worth paying attention. The style of this movie's humour may have been a bit before its time, as it resembles currently popular TV shows like Scrubs, The Office and Psych. Even the many colourful characters, including bit-parts, are very believable in today's small-town culture. Do not miss the beginning or the rest wont hold together. Although it lags a bit in the middle, it still satisfies because there's enough variety along the way, that the ending isn't quite as nauseating as you might fear. The soundtrack is excellent and the out-takes at the end wrap it well. For Paul Gross fans, pay attention to his facial expressions - he's more animated compared to many of his other roles.

There's not much I can say about this film that a true critic would. I can't tell you about the depth in characters or plot, or how unrealistic it might/might not be. I can tell you, though, I did enjoy watching this movie Saturday afternoon in my PJ's with my little sister. In the summer we kids really have nothing better to do sometimes than watch movies and go biking. Only Macy has a bike, so we stayed in one particular day. Roaming through or scalable-less TV stations we found a delightfully odd movie called "Men With Brooms". It was quirky, it was cute, it was all we needed to have a good few hours together. Okay,so it's not the greatest comedy ever written- it serves it's purpose of entertaining and that's all that matters to me. Watch it, enjoy it, don't examine it!