The Ten (2007)

Director:

David Wain

Writers (WGA):

Ken Marino (written by) &
David Wain (written by)

Release Date:

21 August 2008 (Russia)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

If He'd meant the commandments literally, He'd have written them in stone.

Plot:

Ten stories, each inspired by one of the ten commandments.

Plot Keywords:

Brain Scan | Disbarment | Anthology | Café | Nuclear Power Plant

Awards:

1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Aug. 25

10:00 PM

TMC

Cast

Paul Rudd	...	Jeff Reigert
Adam Brody	...	Stephen Montgomery
Jon Hamm	...	Skydiving Guide Chris Knarl
Winona Ryder	...	Kelly La Fonda
Ken Marino	...	Dr. Glenn Richie / Cartoon Voices
Todd Holoubek	...	Camera Man Stuart Blumberg
Mather Zickel	...	Louis La Fonda
Ali Marsh	...	'Entertainment Beat' Host George Reardon
Raisy Pereyra	...	Dorothy Sheen
Edmund Genest	...	Governor Beaumont Hutchins (as Edmond Genest)
Ron Silver	...	Fielding Barnes
Heidi Neurauter	...	Helen Campbell-Holland
Michael Ziegfeld	...	Harlan Swallow
Jason Antoon	...	Salazar 'Fred' McBairn
Andrea Rosen	...	Polly 'Carol' Samuels

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive strong crude sexual content including dialogue and nudity, and for language and some drug material.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Mexico

Company:

City Lights Pictures

Trivia:

Paul Rudd's debut as a producer.

Quotes:

Jeff Reigert: You know what, Gretchen? You know what you can do?
Gretchen Reigert: Don't say something you gonna regret.
Jeff Reigert: Go...
Gretchen Reigert: I'm warning you, Jeff.
Jeff Reigert: ...fly...
Gretchen Reigert: Don't you say it!
Jeff Reigert: Go fly a kite, Gretchen! Go fly a kite.

Movie Connections:

References "Reno 911!" (2003)

Soundtrack:

Dummy

improv comedy without the stage, audience or laughs

The fun of improvisational comedy (as made famous by Second City, the Improv Olympics, The Lemmings, etc) is the seat-of-the-pants inventiveness of performing live, in front of an audience. In the live format, the jokes are always appreciated because they are (or at least, have the appearance of being) unscripted and spontaneous.

On film though, there is obviously no live audience and zero spontaneity. Without these elements, you've lost 2/3 of your three-legged stool. And that's why "The Ten" falls.

Looking for good sketch comedy moved to the stage? Any Monty Python picture will work. The Kids in the Hall's very sketchy, very loosey-goosey "Brain Candy " (1996) serves up better laughs and mayhem than "The Ten". I suppose you could even look to "Animal House" and "Caddyshack" for a flavor of sketch comedy on screen.