Rating: 
Summary: subtle satire...
Review: This is a funny, subtle satire with an excellent ensemble cast who clearly love the material they are working with. It is an amusing film which generates many chuckles without really prompting any belly laughs. William H Macy is excellent, Rebecca Pidgeon is delightfull cooky and Alec Baldwin is a wonderful characature of the big Hollywood star. Entertaining for one viewing but not really a movie you would watch time and time again. A decent selection of extras.
Rating: 
Summary: Sweet, charming, and delightfully satirical
Review: This warm, homey, satirical comedy is David Mamet's homage to the filmmaking industry. It's a story about purity - the unforced, unpretentious timeless simplicity of a quiet New England town populated by just plain folks, and the age-old heroic struggle of the artist trying to share his vision with the world. But it's also a story about second chances, even if it's only the opportunity to make the same mistake twice. And certainly it's a story about money, too, but enough with generalities...The ensemble cast features some of Mamet's favorite actors, including the wonderful William Macy as the smooth-talking director who is determined to get his movie made no matter what, and the always-quirky Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the sensitive author who struggles to keep up with the ever-changing demands that reality makes on his screenplay. Sarah Jessica Parker plays the leading lady brilliantly, showing us a woman with beauty and charm and animal grace who can scarcely speak a complete sentence unless she's reading it from a script.... Alec Baldwin's performance is less notable; he never really seems to take on the character of the film's skirt-chasing star, but seems to be merely playing himself. The real standout is the terrific performance by Rebecca Pidgeon whose luminous presence really steals the film and makes her character's romance with the writer the main plot focus. She's a bookseller, and like most of the people in this small, out of the way town, is much smarter than anyone in the production company (or for that matter watching the movie) expects them to be. Her dialogues with Hoffman are intimate, artful, creative, and ultimately rather unrealistic, but then, this isn't a very realistic film, and if the illusion of real life is important to you, you might give this one a miss. If you're willing to concede Mamet his artifice, this sweet, charming story should delight the small-town intellectual in everyone.
Rating:
Summary: So, That happened!
Review: Okay, this movie is actually quite fantastic and while I won't bore you with trying to show how smart I can be and point to how "this" charater is flat or "that" dialogue is pitch perfect, I want to say this. The scene in which Alec Baldwin flips the car is worth the price of, at least, a rental. His reaction, to what has just occurred, has to be one of the, single, funniest takes in movie history. Besisdes, Philip Hoffman is in it, need I say more.
Rating:
Summary: Mamet's most acceisble film.
Review: STATE AND MAIN joins THE PLAYER and SUNSET BLVD as one of the greatest films about the Hollywood System. But, what makes STATE AND MAIN unique is the writing by Director David Mamet. Famous for his literally off-beat dialogue, STATE AND MAIN is light on that and thus acceisble to the largest audience. That is not to say that he ever panders to commercialism, in fact, one of the themes of the story is avoiding commercialism. The main focus of the film is on a first-time screenwriter played wonderfully by Philip Seymour Hoffman. He suffers from a bit of writers block which is accentuated by his attraction to a small town girl and his own idealistic views of filmmaking. The overall theme seems to defend Hollywood and its ideals. When it comes down to it, even the most moral small town fellah wil succumb to the money that comes with movie making. Other great performances are given by Rebecca Pidgeon, David Paymer, Charles Durning, Patti Lupone, Alec Baldwin, Julia Stiles and Mamet favorite William H. Macy. The film is filled with clever surprises but many of the elements are left floating without a payoff including a cinematographer who spends the entire film trying to get a shot through a stained glass window. Eventually, he breaks the window and that is the last we see of him. There are a couple other holes, but they are easily surpassed for the clever resolutions. These continue all the way through the closing credits (be sure to hang through the end)The DVD features a nice 5.1 soundtrack, widescreen transfer and a commentary by five of the performers, Sarah Jessica Parker, David Paymer, William H. Macy, Clark Gregg and an annoying Patti LuPone. Their discussions are based on personal character interpretations and working with David Mamet and other performers. Enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: Toothpicks for your eyes, a stake for your heart!
Review: This movie was about as much fun as watching paint dry. Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Alec Baldwin, and Sarah Jessica Parker were wasted in this movie. I was looking so forward to seeing "State and Main", but both my husband and I were sorely disappointed. The pacing was terrible and it plays like an inside joke that only people in the film industry will understand. Every tidbit worth viewing was in the trailer. If you're looking for a movie about a small town w/ eccentric locals, buy "Nobody's Fool". It's far more entertaining than this rubbish, even if it doesn't have a thing to do with movie making on location.
Rating:
Summary: Not Mamet at his best
Review: Having seen just about every film Mamet has to offer, one goes into this with fairly high expectations. The three stars might be as much a symptom of that as any flaws the film has. There are plenty of bright spots here - David Paymer shows his evil side (remember him as the "Hello" guy in Crazy People?) perfectly, while Hoffman as usual seems to get to the essence of the person he is portraying. Maybe not as convincingly as in Boogie Nights, but close. Rebecca Pidgeon is always well-used in Mamet's films and I am always amazed that he can handle putting her into intimate situations. But I digress. The biggest problems with Baldwin and Sarah Jessica Parker are not their performances but the fact that they are not well-developed and stay in a 2-dimensional periphery throughout the film. This is surprising, considering the impact Baldwin made in Glengarry despite such little screen-time. Macy unfortunately is the most inadequately drawn character despite possibly having the most screentime. He resembles a chicken with his head cut off (ala Billy Crystal in his terrible new movie) and never makes himself the sympathetic rogue he could have been. All in all, there are some very funny moments and it is worth seeing, but you won't be in any hurry to watch it again.
Rating:
Summary: Pleasant and predictable
Review: This comedy directed by David Mamet pokes fun at the movie industry with its silly story about how a major motion picture crew comes to a small town to shoot a film. There's some fine acting by William H. Macy as the harried director and Philip Seymour Hoffman as the timid screenwriter, but their good performances are not enough to raise this bit of fluff above the ordinary. Alex Baldwin plays a small role as an aging film star who lusts for young girls, Sarah Jessica Parker is the whining leading lady, and Julia Styles is an aggressive underage teenager. However, if it weren't for some clever one-liners and the enjoyment at poking fun at the film industry, I would have fallen asleep. Please bear in mind though that I'm not a fan of comedies unless its roaringly funny, which this is not. State and Main is pleasant, predictable and moves quickly which is the best that I can say.
Rating:
Summary: Clever but popcorn-ready
Review: My, but this little movie was dear. A likably quirky movie, it gives Philip Seymour Hoffman (previously relegated to a slew of ensemble casts) a real chance to shine (in another ensemble cast, of course) as a surprisingly *dashing* leading man. David Mamet proves a formidable writer in this deceptively lightweight movie. For instance: there's a typical slapstick scene where Hoffman's character is trying to get a bimbo starlet (played more than adequately by Sarah Jessia Parker) to get out of the room and quit the dumb seduction thing. And on cue, love interest Ann (the excellent Rebecca Pidgeon) appears at the door, nearly catching the two. Scandal! And we think she's gone, and Hoffman is ushering an undressed Parker out of the room, when Pidgeon returns. Oh, no! Instantly, Hoffman jumps to the task of explaining the inexplicable. The audience yawns in unison. But Mamet refuses to retread the trite. Pidgeon shrugs brightly and deadpans that she doesn't have any reason to *not* believe Hoffman's story -- leaving Hoffman's character, not to mention the entire audience, in a total state of shock. Big laughs, but more importantly, some really *nice* fleshing out of characters on Mamet's part. Do rent this one. It's a nice couple movie, too. Among other movies, I watched Seven with my special gent on Valentine's Day -- my idea, mistakenly -- and I can honestly say this was, compared to both movie rentals and outings alike, this is a great one to see with special company. It's quirky and hip, but with heart: clever but popcorn-ready.
Rating:
Summary: A good comedy that could have been great
Review: Movies about movie-making is one o my favorite Hollywood categories, because the writers and directors are doing a subject that they are intimately familiar with. SUNSET BOULEVARD and THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL are two examples that "ring true." On the light side, SINGING IN THE RAIN is a classic example. Recently, THE PLAYER had delightful moments of great authenticity, especially the beginning where script writers try to peddle their ideas. I just saw STATE AND MAIN, available as a rental. It was written and directed by our era's most overrated dramatist, David Mamet. It's about making a movie in a small town in Vermont. I think it's Mamet's best script so far (that isn't saying very much) because it's obviously a subject that he has first-hand knowledge about. I wondered as I saw it what was wrong with this picture, and it finally dawned on me: the casting of William H. Macy as the harried director was a huge mistake. Macy is a very fine actor, of course, and he acted his role to the hilt--alternatively bossy, cajoling, violently exasperated, super obsequious. He swept from one mood to its opposite as called for in the script. But something was missing: a humorous edge, a commentary-on-the-commentary. The role really should have had someone who can act on the meta-level as well as on the script level, someone like Michael Caine. With Caine in the role, STATE AND MAIN would have been a well-known title by now. The second flaw in the movie, in my opinion, is that Mamet remained too true-to-life. He had a great idea: a bunch of cynical Hollywood producers and directors and actors invade a small innocent town, only it turns out that some of the "innocent" townies are more cynical and rapacious than the Hollywooders. But Mamet failed to hone this distinction to a fine edge. Some of the townies are good decent people, which is true to life of course but gets somewhat in the way of comedic values. Imagine how funny the movie could have turned out if Neil Simon had written the script! Mamet's idea is a better one than most of Simon's plots, but Mamet doesn't have the comic inventiveness to see it through. There are some good situations and good laughs in STATE AND MAIN, and if you like this kind of flick, you'll probably find it worth viewing.
Rating:
Summary: A Look at the Darker Side of Hollywood
Review: State and Main is an excellent satire of life on a Hollywood movie set. The movie takes place in the small town of Waterbury, Vermont. A film crew moves into the city, after being ousted by another small town, in order to shoot their movie about "The Old Mill." Only in this town there is no old mill. The film portrays an interesting array of characters from Alec Baldwin as the self-centered, lecherous actor, to Sarah Jessica Parker who excellently plays the shy but cunning leading lady, to William Macy who plays the director trying not only to shoot his movie, but to satisfy all of the "desires" and "whims" of his crew. Added to this is the reaction of the townspeople who all want to be a part of the action and the movie as well. State and Main portrays one man's attempt, the writer of the movie, to assert his innocence in this small town and escape the frivolous and always self-serving needs of the rest of the crew. This is the direct opposite of the attempts to save the leading man from being arrested for becoming too friendly with a local teenage girl. Overall, this movie does a great job at satirizing the darker side of Hollywood and you will definitely find yourself laughing at the humorous portrayals of each character. Definitely a good story.
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