Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
Put the kids to bed for this one, because Glengarry Glen Ross is only for the big boys. And by big boys, I mean audience members who can stand tons of shouting, even more cursing, and an upsetting storyline that will hurt. There’s a reason Death of a Salesman is such a tearjerker: it hits home for a lot of people. Glengarry Glen Ross has often been compared to that story, and with good reason. It’s about four salesmen of varying ages and experiences who are faced with an ultimatum: close the sale or lose his job.
I’m not really sure who the target audience is for this movie, or for the Pulitzer Prize winning play by David Mamet. Men who have any experience in the sales force will find this movie too painful to watch. Women who have been married to salesman will find it too painful. Children whose fathers were salesmen will find it too painful. So, you’re left with people who have no idea what it’s like to be a salesman or the living hell they suffer through every day—why would they want to watch it? The answer, I suppose, is the cast. Alec Baldwin gives the so-called, curse-filled pep talk that threatens everyone’s jobs, Kevin Spacey is the cold, smarmy office manager, Jack Lemmon is the veteran salesman you feel sorry for because he doesn’t have what it takes anymore, Al Pacino says more curse words than clean words in his monologues, Ed Harris is the young hotshot who’s only out for himself, and Alan Arkin personifies “that guy” in the office that makes you wonder why he decided to become a salesman in the first place. As you can tell, the film is perfectly cast, and everyone delivers the performance they’re supposed to deliver. However, it’s still an upsetting movie that would really only appeal to members of the “Greed Is Good” club who can detach from the characters and think about all the schemes they’d pull in order to put other people out of work and save themselves. If you’re a good person, you won’t like it.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to language, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.
More Al Pacino movies here!
I’m not really sure who the target audience is for this movie, or for the Pulitzer Prize winning play by David Mamet. Men who have any experience in the sales force will find this movie too painful to watch. Women who have been married to salesman will find it too painful. Children whose fathers were salesmen will find it too painful. So, you’re left with people who have no idea what it’s like to be a salesman or the living hell they suffer through every day—why would they want to watch it? The answer, I suppose, is the cast. Alec Baldwin gives the so-called, curse-filled pep talk that threatens everyone’s jobs, Kevin Spacey is the cold, smarmy office manager, Jack Lemmon is the veteran salesman you feel sorry for because he doesn’t have what it takes anymore, Al Pacino says more curse words than clean words in his monologues, Ed Harris is the young hotshot who’s only out for himself, and Alan Arkin personifies “that guy” in the office that makes you wonder why he decided to become a salesman in the first place. As you can tell, the film is perfectly cast, and everyone delivers the performance they’re supposed to deliver. However, it’s still an upsetting movie that would really only appeal to members of the “Greed Is Good” club who can detach from the characters and think about all the schemes they’d pull in order to put other people out of work and save themselves. If you’re a good person, you won’t like it.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to language, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.
More Al Pacino movies here!