OMENS: The Ten

The Ten

Starring Paul Rudd, Winona Ryder, Jessica Alba, Ken Marino, Famke Janssen, Rob Corddry, Adam Brody, Gretchen Mol, Oliver Platt, Liev Schreiber. Written by Ken Marino and David Wain. Directed by David Wain. Release: 3 August 2007. ThinkFilm, 93 mins., Rated R

Plot: Ten skits based on the Ten Commandments with various hilarious interpretations.

THE TEN is a comedy that will definitely split audiences. Either you're going to hate the film because it's unfunny or blasphemy even, or you're going to find most if not all of it bloody hilarious and think about watching it again pretty much ASAP. I fall into the second camp of folks. The comedy hits its mark more often then it misses, and with ten skits based on the commandments, that's pretty much a accomplishment.

The film is...odd, to say the least. "Remember the Sabbath and Keep It Holy", for example, is the oddest of the compilation, which is saying something when "Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness" is basically an animated short about a lying rhinoceros that finds out a bunch of people are dying from lethal STD but no one believes him cos of that whole lying thing. One has a bunch of nude guys and the other gross-out animated sequence. At the very least, one can't fault writers Marino and Wain for not being original. These two aforementioned shorts aren't my favorite of the batch, but that's only two outta ten. The rest are great: the absolute best is "Thou Shalt Not Take the Lord's Name in Vain" where a tight female librarian experiences sex for the first time and gets in a relationship with a person she believes to be Jesus Christ [I nominate this my favorite because the writing is so bloody clever - I loved it]. "Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor's Goods" is another stellar skit with Liev Schreiber buying a hundred or so CAT scans to best his neighbor. Oh! And there's another one that no doubt gets a lot of attention: the above screencap with Winona Ryder, let's just say she fancies dummys...

It's messed up at times, hilarious most of the time, and overall 100% fun.

With a star line-up that's pretty impressive (look above), everyone is quite strong in their roles, from minor to big league. By minor, I mean Rashida Jones who is in it for mere seconds, or Jessica Alba who is in two scenes and is required to do nothing more than make out with Paul Rudd. Speaking of Rudd, he was surprisingly the weak link, not really delivering any funny, nor really being all that impressive. The one-up feud between Schreiber and Joe Lo Trugilo is fantastic thanks to the hilarious deadpan performances. Adam Brody is pretty much Adam Brody in the opening skit but he's a great asset to the cast, nonetheless. Gretchen Mol is hilarious as the sexually repressed librarian that gets her buttons pushed for the first time since ever. Oliver Pratt is priceless as a professional Arnold Schwarzenegger imitator. Mastermind Ken Marino's facial expressions are the king in his two skits. And Famke Janssen - well, she's just pretty...and pissed, a lot. But overall the cast is great, they obviously love their material and want to go all out for it.

THE TEN isn't for everybody. As evidenced by the reviews, audiences were mostly torn but generally leaning towards the negative on this one. But for the most part, with the exception of two particular skits, this was my kind of show. It's absolutely mad and bonkers at some parts, and at times, brilliantly clever. Just uh...don't watch this at church.

Netflix Rating: Liked It