The “pitiful” 2001 comedy Roger Ebert couldn’t stand: “This movie is hopeless”
Roger Ebert dismissed the 2001 comedy war film *All the Queen’s Men*, arguing that its promising premise failed to work on screen. He called the result “pitiful” and “hopeless”, faulting the film as a whole rather than simply objecting to its genre or subject.
Directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky and starring Matt LeBlanc and Suzy Eddie Izzard, the film follows men who disguise themselves as women to infiltrate an Enigma machine factory in wartime Berlin. Though reportedly based on a true story, its plot and treatment of gender drew criticism; Ebert said different casting and a black-and-white style might have helped, but he could not imagine the film working as made.
- Ebert found the comedy’s execution hopeless.
- The film follows a wartime attempt to infiltrate an Enigma factory.
- Its promising premise was undermined by its cast and overall execution.