Special Correspondents (2016)

A radio journalist and his technician get in over their heads when they hatch a scheme to fake their own kidnapping during a rebel uprising in South America and hide out in New York instead.

Director:

Ricky Gervais

Writer:

Ricky Gervais

Stars:

Ricky Gervais, Eric Bana, Vera Farmiga

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ricky Gervais	...	Finch
Eric Bana	...	Frank
Vera Farmiga	...	Eleanor
Kelly Macdonald	...	Claire
Kevin Pollak	...	Mallard
America Ferrera	...	Brigida
Raúl Castillo	...	Domingo
Benjamin Bratt	...	Baker
Kim Ramirez	...	Brenda
Jim Norton	...	Rent Boy #1
Bob Banks	...	Crime Scene Officer
Jonathan Langdon	...	Bellboy
Glen Grant	...	Perry
Duane Murray	...	Sacha
Ryan F. Hughes	...	Barman

Storyline

A radio journalist and his technician get in over their heads when they hatch a scheme to fake their own kidnapping during a rebel uprising in South America and hide out in New York instead.

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Plot Keywords:

bickering | james bond reference | fabrication | marriage | radio broadcast | 

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Taglines:

Fake news. Real disaster.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Did You Know?

Trivia

Finch (Ricky Gervais) says to Claire that he is 25% fat, more than some snacks. This is possibly a nod to Gervais' Rick Waller / pork scratchings joke from his Ricky Gervais Live: Animals (2003) stand-up show.

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Goofs

The Aircraft Frank and Finch return home from Ecuador IN shows the registration number AS being simply "GSTG". In actuality, this Bombardier Challenger 605 has the Canadian registration number of "C-GSTG", the Canadian International code prefix of "C-" having been OBVIOUSLY whited out. Had this been an Ecuadorian civil aircraft, it would have an "HC-" prefix, and thus would have been "HC-GSTG".

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Quotes

[last lines]
Ian Finch: We seem to be walking to Manhattan - I guess.
Claire Maddox: I have coffee, so...
Ian Finch: You didn't want milk, did you?
Claire Maddox: I *did*.
Ian Finch: Okay, you good. 'Cuz there's a shop on this side, by now. We're probably not allowed to go across there...
Claire Maddox: This is like the end of a movie.
Ian Finch: A low bidget movie, maybe.

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Crazy Credits

"Trailer Puppy .... Charlie"

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Ricky Gervais/Ariana Grande (2016)

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Soundtracks

He'll Have to Go
Written by Audrey Allison / Joe Allison
Performed by Jim Reeves
Published by Music Sales Group
Licensed courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment Ltd.

User Reviews

Stale and Uninspired,

Special Correspondents is a mediocre movie with a shoddily written plot and a cast that are enjoyable but have been much better. Ricky Gervais and Eric Bana certainly have an excellent back and forth that makes for a very enjoyable viewing, It is just unfortunate their natural chemistry was put together with unnatural dialogue.

I am a huge fan of Ricky Gervais, and it upsets me to see him deliver such average work, but the film really does feel unfinished, like there was so much more that could have been done to make this far better, for instance, strengthening the plot, but the passion just was not there. He definitely did not have half as much intrigue for this as he had for the likes of The Office or Extras, he was just asked by Netflix to make a movie and did.

The characters are also immensely two dimensional, none of them have a quality that adds a real human element to them, every thing they say feels written.

A stumbling mess. Not without its moments, Special Correspondents, unfortunately, does not have enough for me to recommend this.

Two down on their luck men fake a kidnapping while they hide out in New York.

Best Performance: Eric Bana

Details

Country:

Canada UK USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

29 April 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Special Correspondents

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

BRON Studios, Unanimous Entertainment, Stage 6 Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1