RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Found a Bug? Squash It! Report Bugs Here
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / Upcoming / Man in the Chair
Man in the Chair

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Man in the Chair (2007)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
50 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:32

Fresh:16

Rotten:16

Average Rating:5.3/10

Consensus: A committed performance from Christopher Plummer can't save Man in the Chair's troubled and cliched script.

Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $0

Synopsis: MAN IN THE CHAIR stars Christopher Plummer (A BEAUTIFUL MIND, THE SOUND OF MUSIC) as weathered curmudgeon Flash Madden. The former film gaffer is embittered about Hollywood's current regime that... MAN IN THE CHAIR stars Christopher Plummer (A BEAUTIFUL MIND, THE SOUND OF MUSIC) as weathered curmudgeon Flash Madden. The former film gaffer is embittered about Hollywood's current regime that perpetuates a throwaway society by neglecting and forgetting the crews and creators that helped crank out some of the most significant films in cinematic history. He catches the attention of high school delinquent Cameron (Michael Angarano, WILL & GRACE), who tries to convince Flash to mentor him in a filmmaking competition--the only thing that motivates Cameron to stay out of trouble. Impressed by Cameron's persistence, Flash obliges and recruits his fellow crew member friends who live with him at the Motion Picture retirement home to help out as well, celebrating their production specialties that have been dormant for decades. While filming, the crew hits their share of ups and downs, but they become invigorated by their work. Cameron and Flash develop an intense bond and understanding for each other's position in life, as they see the value of both youth and wisdom. The recipient of several film festival awards, MAN IN THE CHAIR is a unique feel-good film, intent on inspiring without glossing over the sadness and struggles of the characters. Although Plummer and Angarano are the clear leads, heart-wrenching supporting performances by character actors M. Emmet Walsh (CHRISTMAS WITH THE KRANKS, MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING) as down-and-out screenwriter Mickey, and Margaret Blye (LAST GOODBYE) as a frisky aging starlet add just the right amount of seriousness and insight the film needs to get its poignant message across. [More]

Starring: Christopher Plummer, Michael Angarano, M. Emmet Walsh, Robert Wagner

Starring: Christopher Plummer, Michael Angarano, M. Emmet Walsh, Robert Wagner, Tracey Walter, Joshua Boyd, Mimi Kennedy, Mitch Pileggi, Taber Schroeder

Director: Michael Schroeder

Director: Michael Schroeder
Screenwriter: Michael Schroeder
Producer: Michael Schroeder, Randy Turrow, Sarah Schroeder
Composer: Laura Karpman
Studio: Outsider Pictures

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
1 - 5 of 6

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Reviews for Man in the Chair

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
10/18/08
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
10/18/08
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

It's hard to imagine anyone other than Christopher Plummer taking on the role of Flash Madden.

Full Review Source: JWR | comment Comment
08/07/08
S. James Wegg
S. James Wegg
JWR

By the end it's lost any edge and is as soft and unappealing as a geriatric incontinence pad.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
01/24/08
Tim Evans
Tim Evans
Sky Movies

Ambitious, heartfelt but, Plummer's excellent performance aside, dramatically lightweight and unconvincing.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
01/24/08
Leigh Singer
Leigh Singer
Channel 4 Film

A fair-to-middling contemporary fantasy drama that, despite its surfeit of flashy effects, is mildly charming in the way it addresses the injustice of old folk having to live out their final years in decrepit homes.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/24/08
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out

Watchable drama with a strong performance from Christopher Plummer, though the script often feels simplistic and can't quite manage the emotional punch the story deserves.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
01/24/08
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

A movie about movies and the people who love them.

Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
01/23/08
Robert Roten
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

This attempt to make a film is about a guy who is attempting to make a film.

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
01/22/08
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

Too slight and formulaic to amount to much.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
01/22/08
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

Man In The Chair feels a bit like a high school movie project, which is appropriate since that's exactly what it's about.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
01/01/08
Paul Arendt
Paul Arendt
BBC

By salvaging a troubled script with deep, committed, touching portrayals, Plummer and Walsh help prove Schroeder's points about how Hollywood isn't just the province of the rich, young and pretty.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
12/21/07
Tasha Robinson
Tasha Robinson
Chicago Tribune

The movie works so hard at juggling its clichés that it fails to generate interest in its story.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
12/21/07
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Though they can't transcend writer-director Michael Schroeder's pointed contrivances, the actors tap into something achingly true in this valentine to Hollywood's below-the-line crafts people and society's castoffs.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
12/14/07
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[An] elegant documentary.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
12/14/07
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Overdirected and underwritten, this litany of Hallmark Channel tropes and button-pushing sentiment uses Tinseltown treacle to gussy up an otherwise forgettable message movie about humane treatment for the elderly.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
12/13/07
Stephen Garrett
Stephen Garrett
Time Out New York

A film that probably never wouldn't have seen the light of a projector if it wasn't for some kind of "Let's get Actor X that long-deserved Oscar" grab.

Full Review Source: FilmJerk.com | comment Comment
12/12/07
Edward Havens
Edward Havens
FilmJerk.com

If you have to see this film for one reason, see it for Plummer...

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
12/11/07
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed

Schroeder's heart is in the right place, but his cinematic taste is unfortunately elsewhere.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
12/10/07
David Noh
David Noh
Film Journal International

A ramshackle but likeable story

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
12/10/07
Ray Bennett
Ray Bennett
Hollywood Reporter
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
all

Latest News for Man in the Chair

December 06, 2007: Critical Consensus: The Golden Compass Loses Its Way
This week at the movies, we've got the first installment of the His Dark Materials trilogy, The Golden Compass, starring Nicole Kidman, Dakota Blue Richards, and Daniel Craig.... More...

See All

More Movies

Coming Soon in Australia
Tomatometer Percentage Movie Date

70% 70% Where the Wild Things Are 03/12
83% 83% Paranormal Activity 03/12
89% 89% Zombieland 03/12
76% 76% The Informant! 03/12
— The Strength of Water 03/12

What’s Hot On RT

Shock! Horror?

Shock! Horror?

Lars von Trier talks Antichrist

Zombieland

Zombieland

Director Ruben Fleischer's favourites

New Avatar action

New Avatar action

Watch an exclusive chase clip from the film

Kids' Book Films

Kids' Book Films

We fly through 10 of the best

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • First Look (Sort Of) at New Nightmare's Freddy Source: ShockTillYouDrop.com
12
  • First Look at Shrek Forever After Source: USA Today
32
  • Woody Harrelson Will Battle Zombies in 3-D Source: Moviehole
16
  • Natalie Portman Says Kat Denning Is in Thor Source: MTV
34
  • Disney Restructuring Has Broad Implications Source: Los Angeles Times
10
  • Joel Silver Talks Ninja Assassin, Sgt. Rock, Lobo, and More Source: Collider.com
1
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
116
  • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
112
  • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
32
  • 6 Reasons 'Twilight' Is Doomed Source: The Wrap
64
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records
176
  • Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes
130
  • Total Recall: John Travolta's Best Movies
76
  • Total Recall: Star-Crossed Lovers
75
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
58
  • Critics Consensus: Flee From Ninja Assassin
37
  • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more!
32
  • Five Favorite Films With Zombieland Director Ruben Fleischer
17
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
13
  • Total Recall: Children's Book Adaptations
3
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
13
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
9
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
19
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
6
  • RT on DVD: Wassup, Bruno
3
  • Scott Hicks Talks The Boys Are Back
0
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Richard Kelly chats about The Box
2
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
20
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Man in the Chair at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Man in the Chair at IGN

Fresh Links

Featured
Dressing Wonderland
Dressing Wonderland External Link

Tim Burton's costume designer talks to Movieline about her long collaboration with the filmmaker and Johnny Depp.

Wes Anderson on Fox
Wes Anderson on Fox External Link

The director talks about puppetry perfection and his film, Fantastic Mr. Fox

Win Glee DVDs
Win Glee DVDs External Link

We've got 20 copies of the hit TV series' Pilot Episode to giveaway.

Win tickets to Cold Souls
Win tickets to Cold Souls External Link

Double passes up for grabs to the new comedy starring Paul Giamatti.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter
Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter External Link

Get all the latest movie updates, reviews, interviews and features here.

Competitions
Win Star Wars prizes
Win Star Wars prizes External Link

Enough Prequel, Original Trilogy and Family Guy DVDs to fill a space cruiser

Win the entire 007 collection
Win the entire 007 collection External Link

Everything from Dr. No to Quantum of Solace could be yours.

Win Fight Club Special Editions and more
Win Fight Club Special Editions and more External Link

We're giving away the 10th Anniversary Blu-ray, plus Braveheart and the Rocky collection

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.