The Minus Man

Starring:Owen Wilson, Sheryl Crow, Dwight Yoakam, Dennis Haysbert, Alex Warren, Mercedes Ruehl, Chloe Black, Brian Cox, Eric Mabius, Larry Miller, Lois Gerace, Erik Holland, Danny 'Big Black' Rey, Janeane Garofalo, Axel Ovregaard, Brent Briscoe, John Vargas, Lew McCreary, Shannon Kies, Madeleine Ignon
Director: Hampton Fancher
Studio: Lions Gate
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
"I've never done anything violent to anyone," says the mild-mannered Vann Siegert, "Just the minimum that was necessary." Indeed, if you have to get knocked off by a serial killer, Vann (Owen Wilson) is definitely your man. Just a quick, sweet swig from a silver flask of poisoned amaretto and you're out, with a narcoleptic slump into eternal slumber. There's no taunting or torturing; he's friendly about the whole thing. You can see Vann almost--almost--wishing his victims wouldn't take that final sip. He doesn't hold any particular grudge against these people; rather, as he puts it, "I take the natural momentum of a person and draw it toward me." If someone looks like they're on a crash course--like the boozy, asthmatic heroin addict played convincingly by Sheryl Crow, her acting debut--he merely accelerates the process.

Amazon.com

"I've never done anything violent to anyone," says the mild-mannered Vann Siegert, "Just the minimum that was necessary." Indeed, if you have to get knocked off by a serial killer, Vann (Owen Wilson) is definitely your man. Just a quick, sweet swig from a silver flask of poisoned amaretto and you're out, with a narcoleptic slump into eternal slumber. There's no taunting or torturing; he's friendly about the whole thing. You can see Vann almost--almost--wishing his victims wouldn't take that final sip. He doesn't hold any particular grudge against these people; rather, as he puts it, "I take the natural momentum of a person and draw it toward me." If someone looks like they're on a crash course--like the boozy, asthmatic heroin addict played convincingly by Sheryl Crow, her acting debut--he merely accelerates the process.

Customer Reviews:

A+++Suspense and Thriller.......2007-03-04

Suspenseful and sardonic to the end, without one boring minute, I consider this one of the best and most entertaining thriller stories depicted...it's one of my favorite movies. If one is looking for blood and gore and and lots of female nudity with their so-called horror, buy or rent The Mailman. The Minus Man concerns a psychopath and soon-to-be US postal worker who opens customer mail and "gently" but horrifically murders his victims with poison; he ingratiates himself into their lives with his winning smile, surface friendliness, and energetic speedy work in the post office mail room and later on the carrier route. Despite his past, one very contrived murder becomes a mystery: Did he or the husband do it? His potential victims generate empathy or sympathy with their emotional pain and vulnerability (so one cares about them) and one is on pins and needles wondering what will he or they do next and who will fall victim and who won't.

Owen Wilson is all the money!.......2006-03-23

The Minus Man is definitely not your typical Owen Wilson movie as it sheds light on a schizophrenic serial killer who travels cross-country poisoning his victims with a rare mushroom that grows in the Northwest.
In short, the acting and the dialogues are not that great (the supporting actors disappoint with their performances!), while the plot and the setting, are just average.
If it wasn't for Owen Wilson the movie would have been really bad.
As for the rating, it could have been PG-13.
Overall, far from being a masterpiece, it just might provide for an evening's entertainment if you're big fans of Owen Wilson. 2½ Stars

I'd have to say - a waste of time.......2005-11-23

Interesting at first - then just seems to plod along - I did see it all, but felt I just wasted my time. I'd have to agree with those few reviewers who called it "boring." (I luckily saw it on TV, so didn't pay to see it.)

Minus this movie!.......2005-07-14

This is the worst damn movie ever. Please don't get it, if you see it in a video store, roll your eyes and keep walking. This film had no point at all. It is not like your typical suspense. Very dry, very flat. I was so bored, but the funny thing is this movie had a chance. This plot and the outline was good. He was a nice, descent looking guy, nobody would have thought he was a serial killer, who poisons his victims. And the end, what the hell? I would love for the writer of this foolishness, to explain to me about this nonsense. I don't mean to be overreacting, but it is that bad. If you saw it you would probably act worst. To me this movie doesn't exist anymore. It was the dumbest, no point at all movie ever.

This one deserves 4.5 stars. Wonderful screen play. .......2005-06-25

Almost 5 stars. Almost. An engrossing indy film as any I've seen, we witness a seemingly harmless man, a man we find ourselves actually liking, kill off a handful of strangers without so much as a second thought. He is a serial killer, and his weapon of choice is poison. His activities are naturally alarming, and there is no explanation as to why he feels the intrinsic desire to kill certain people. He just kills them. No certain profile is needed. He kills business men and pretty doped-up women (Sheryl Crow). He wins them over with his innocence and strangely enough, it's not a contrived innocence. It's real. You get the impression that Wilson's character is truly just attempting to feel something, make something of his world that surrounds him with uneasy numbness.

Halfway through the film, our Minus Man befriends a family who rents him a room. He witnesses their domestic disputes with childlike fascination, particularly concerning the disappearance of their college-aged daughter, who the family says left home to find her own way - but leaves the viewer thinking otherwise - and finds himself in jeopardy when the man of the household finally has enough with his wife and....

Well, I don't want to spoil it. This is not an agenda film - like Monster - where you're supposed to empathize with the serial killer. It's merely a fictional story where we get to travel into the life of a man who's seemingly as normal and sincere as anyone we've ever known, with the beamy smile and courteous manner to boot, but deep down, has a desperate desire to kill at random. When he does kill, he doesn't seem to enjoy it very much. He just does it, unflinchingly does it.

Not a gory film by any stretch, you never really see anyone die - just the heavy insinuations. Only about a fifth of the film actually encompasses Wilson's dark side. The other 80% deals with him trying to be normal and the relationship he has with his host family.

Average customer rating:

A+++Suspense and Thriller
Owen Wilson is all the money!
I'd have to say - a waste of time
Minus this movie!
This one deserves 4.5 stars. Wonderful screen play.

The Minus Man
Starring: Owen Wilson , Sheryl Crow , Dwight Yoakam , Dennis Haysbert , and Alex Warren
Director: Hampton Fancher
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B000065SNP