Rating: 
Summary: Watch the movie for the actors and the script.
Review: Jack Lemmon, one of the screen's great actors, gives a startling performance as Sheldon Levine, a once-great salesman now gone to seed and plagued with desperation over losing his job in David Mamet's "Glengarry Glen Ross." Lemmon's work really makes the movie, though the cast of stars (Alec Baldwin, Al Pacino, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, Kevin Spacey and Jonathan Pryce) is uniformly excellent. And, through Mamet's screenplay, each is given an opportunity to have at least one powerhouse scene, particularly Baldwin, who appears only in the beginning 10 minutes of the film.With a cast that talented, it's good that they're all given moments to shine. The plot of the film is beside the point, really. Much of the "action" that drives the plot, including the pivotal robbery of the office, occurs off-screen. (This is done so that the plot can function as a whodunit - but also because the film focuses more on how these men, when their masculinity is challenged through threats to their jobs, react in violent outbursts to one another.) The DVD offers up two discs, featuring both a fullscreen and a widescreen presentation of director James Foley's film. Features also include a tribute to Lemmon and a commentary track by Foley. If you like dialogue-driven drama that's usually reserved for the stage, this film is a must-see.
Rating: 
Summary: two wasted hours and [$$$] bucks down the drain
Review: A complete waste of time - the point (if any) is made in 10 minutes and then rehashed over and over and over. So real estate sales people are lying cheating scum bags, which is nothing to make a whole movie about. Will the sequel be two hours of used car slalesmen swearing and lying to customers and each other?
Rating: 
Summary: Lemmon Ain't Sour
Review: If you don't mind hearing 138 usages of the "F-word" and its derivatives (trivia from imdb.com), you might enjoy "Glengarry Glen Ross" to the fullest extent possible. It follows a group of realtors who have been lacking in sales, and their corporation tells them to start selling or start packing. Hence, a contest is introduced: the highest seller gets a cadillac, while the lowest gets the door. Chaos erupts, scandles ensue, and someone gets taken with cuffs. High energy performances are churned out of each of the film's great actors: Al Pacino, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, Kevin Spacey, Alec Baldwin, and Jack Lemmon, the film's gem. The colored lighting of this film really blew me away; the blue could represent the coldness and phoniness each realtor embodies to make sales, the red lighting implying the blood they must shed, and the green backlighting symbolizing the money they each desparately want to earn but cannot reach. Though I prefer Mamet's lighter "State and Main," this one's still excellent.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific family entertainment
Review: Cinema superstars Lori Tan Chinn and Barry Rossen are the big names in this heartwarming family film about office life, but the real fun comes from the supporting cast of relatively unknown actors. Right from the start, you'll reach for your handkerchief as Blake (Alec Baldwin) delivers a caring and inspiring motivational speech. This man is not just another eight-dollar-an-hour motivational speaker; you'll feel his genuine concern and best wishes for the men he's addressing. Thus is the tone set for the rest of the movie. The humorously bungling John Williamson (Kevin Spacey) is constantly on the receiving end of good-natured fatherly advice from the ever patient Ricky Roma and Shelley "the Machine" Levene (played by fledgling actors Al Pacino and Jack Lemmon, respectively). Even after Williamson says the wrong thing and blows an important deal, Roma gently tries to find the root of Williamson's problem, querying him about his education. Perhaps the only other scene that will tug as hard at your heartstrings is the sentimental farewell speech delivered by Dave Moss (Ed Harris). A David Mamet screenplay always runs the risk of being sentimental to the point of sappiness, but this one is saved by appearances from tough, no-nonsense businessman James Lingk (Jonathan Pryce), and by the stirring speeches of the office orator, George Aaranow, played by Alan Arkin (watch for his famous "meshugaas" speech). The tour de force performances of Chinn and Rossen are what made the critics pay attention to this movie, but the performances of the "lesser" actors will win your heart. The feel-good movie of the year; watch it with the whole family.
Rating:
Summary: This Film is for Closers Only
Review: Welcome to the world of real estate, where the golden rule always is "A.B.C." Always Be Closing. This means, lie, cheat, steal, whatever. As long as you get a signature on the dotted line, nothing else matters. And times aren't the greatest for the salesmen at Premiere Properties. None of them are getting the good leads that they need in order to close. And if they don't start closing soon, they're going to find themselves out of the job. There are the "Glengarry" leads, but they're reserved for closers only. And this heated-up and emotional drama gets even more deeper when it turns out that the next day the office was broken into and the Glengarry leads were stolen. In a business where lying, cheating, and stealing all are in a day's work, everyone is suspect. I cannot believe I had never heard of "Glengarry Glen Ross" until recently. As soon as I popped the DVD in, I fell in love with it immediately. It is so well written and well acted that you can't do nothing but watch in awe. And then, you want to watch it again and again. I have just purchased this movie a couple of weeks ago, and I know my viewings of the film are already in the double digits. This is a movie you can really watch whenever you want. You don't need to be in a certain mood to enjoy it. The cast is sensational. You've got Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, Kevin Spacey, and Alec Baldwin. Pacino is great as always and really steals the show during the second act of the film. Your eyes never leave him for a second. Jack Lemmon was also so terrific in it, and it's heartbreaking that he didn't win an Oscar. Everybody else did great in their roles as well. What I liked about this movie most was the realistic dialogue. People may think that there's a lot of profanities in this film, but this is the real world. People talk like this, especially in the business world. David Mamet did a spectacular job in writing it. I look forward to reading the play. I love it when the story mainly focuses on the characters than on plot. The DVD is also very good, but not special. But alas, isn't that what it says on the cover? "Special Edition." While there are quite a few extras, it's still nowhere near "special." "Requiem for a Dream" had more extras, and it wasn't even a Special Edition DVD. I know people were let down by this and I can see why. Personally, I didn't have a real problem since I hadn't seen the movie before buying the DVD. I was satisfied, but I clearly understand how others were not.You get the choice of either watching a widescreen version or a full screen version. You also get the choice of watching it in DTS, which is always a nice thing. The picture and sound quality is really great. Some of the extras are a documentary, a tribute to Jack Lemmon, new interviews, commentary, production notes, and cast and crew biographies. Aren't those a couple of features? Yes, but nothing I'd consider "special." For a two disk set, I was expecting more. However, I'm not that let down. "Glengarry Glen Ross" is a fabulous film that had me hooked from the very beginning. It is now one of my favorites. If you love a good drama where the main focus is on the characters themselves, then this is the movie for you. The only flaw is the lack of special features, but that's no fault of the film itself. Welcome to Real World 101. It's a jungle out there. You think you've got what it takes to close the deal? "You call yourself a salesman, you son-of-a-(bleep)?" Maybe you are... and maybe you're not.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Acting
Review: This has the greatest ensemble cast ever assembled since the Godfather. We get to see Kevin Spacey on his way to superstardom. And we see why Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Ed Harris, and Alec Baldwin maintained their star quality. The only peeve I have is that the director based the story in New York City, but forgot to make the script changes. After the burglary, we hear Al Pacino go over his appointments with clients in the Chicagoland suburbs.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect Cast, Great Script, so what's missing?
Review: This movie has the perfect cast. There hasn't been a movie made since with such an all star cast(When Kevin Spacey gives the weakest performance you know you've got a phenomenal cast). And the script is well written. So where's the problem? The movie is a character study. It fails to say anything except about the specific characters involved. The desperation of Lemmon's character isn't conveyed as anything more than his own problems. Mamet could have used this movie as a statement about the pressures of the working man. Instead it becomes too specifically attached to the characters involved. This isn't to say it isn't a great character study but I was hoping for just a little more with such a cast.
Rating:
Summary: Harrowing
Review: Holy smokes! What it must take to be a salesman! This movie is great. The only problem I have with it is the miscasting of Al Pacino. I didn't believe him for one moment as Roma, a super slick real estate agent. Much more believable was Jack Lemmon as the salesman in a slump. We agonize with him as his back is against the wall and he tries vainly to make a sale in the rain. What's not to like about htis movie? It's gruelingly good. I felt like I was one of these guys. Alec Baldwin made me mad. Ed Harris made me wonder. Jack Lemmon made me cry. And I laughed. I laughed a lot. This movie works on about a trillion differnet levels and taps into a lot of different emotions. And I was surprised to learn that Alec Baldwin had actually been offered the Roma role before Pacino signed on. This movie, already great, would've been even better had their roles been reversed. Baldwin has never been better and Pacino has never been worse. The language..... Makes Martin Lawrence look like Jerry Falwell. But it's never grauitous. Every "damn" is well earned. The opening scene is classic. It never really reaches those dizzying heights again, but it never sinks lower than great. Again, the most unfortunate thing about this movie is Pacino, who is usually sensational. The movie works in SPITE of him. For a movie to be this good with a characterization as bad as his really says something about the caliber of the script. I can't imagine a bad adaptation of this material. It's that strong. And talk about an enseble cast! This movie is all talk- and that's a good thing. It is one of the most dynamic, dramatic movies I heave ever seen. And with it's origins as a stage play, it is 100 percent character driven. It's intense and it's suspensul and there are no car crashes or explosion or chase scenes. In other words, this isn't your typical mindless bullcrap. It is smart, it is tight and it is perfect. One of the few movies I've watch over ten times- this one's a bona fide winner.
Rating:
Summary: Coffee is for Closers Only!!
Review: GlenGarry Glen Ross is a cinematic masterpiece! The movie tracks the competition between 4 real estate salesmen and their dealings with their boss. As the movie begins, all of the salesmen are fired for their poor performance. In order to get their jobs back, a sales contest has been created. As Alec Baldwin put it in his chilling speech in the beginning of the movie "First place is a Cadallic, Second place is a set of Steak Knives. Third place is....You're fired." The remainder of the movie tracks the efforts of the salesmen to get their jobs back. There is competition, backstabbing, deceit, and everything else that you can imagine. The most striking aspect of this movie is the dialogue. It is incredibly well written and this cast is first rate. Here is what you need to know: **Alec Baldwin - The super sucessful salesman from "downtown." He drives a BMW and is sent on a mission of mercy to try and get the other guys to produce. He only has about 10 minutes in the movie, but his part will leave you stunned. **Al Pacino - The young guy. Spends most of his time trying to smooth talk bar patrons into buying real estate. He is the up and comer and an extremely smooth talker. **Jack Lemmon - The has been. Shelly "the machine" Levine spends his days clinging to his long lost glory. He used to be a major producer, but has hit a streak of bad luck and is in danger of losing his job. **Ed Harris - The complainer. Spends most of his time complaining about hot he is not getting the good leads and that he has done everything he can with the leads he is given, but fails to produce. **Kevin Spacey - The spineless office manager. Has no consideration for his employees and just does whatever "downtown" tells him too. Buy this movie and watch it!
Rating:
Summary: If you're in sales, this movie will settle into your bones..
Review: The greatest sales movie ever. If you are in sales, settle into an uncomfortable chair when it's raining and watch - and get set to feel both the worst and the best of your sales career all over again. The drill-down by the sales manager, the euphoria of the deal that was won, the utter confusion and denial of the won deal that goes south - it's all here for the taking.
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