Grilled Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
You can't beat their meat.
They have 12 hours to make a sale... or they're cooked.
Two meat salesmen (Romano, James) will stop at nothing to get a sale.
| Ray Romano | Maurice |
| Kevin James | Dave |
| Sofía Vergara | Loridonna |
| Juliette Lewis | Suzanne |
| Kim Coates | Tony |
| Burt Reynolds | Goldbluth |
| Michael Rapaport | Bobby |
| Eric Allan Kramer | Irving |
| Barry Newman | Boris |
| Jack Kehler | Abbott |
| Jon Polito | Leon Waterman |
| Donzaleigh Abernathy | Karen |
| Mary Lynn Rajskub | Renee |
| Jim Doughan | Andy |
| Lisa Jane Persky | Sally |
| Jason Ensler |
5.30 out of 10 (1372 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Decent time-passer
posted on 19 Jun 2009This movie is not what you might expect from the Raymond everybody loves and the King of Queens. To appreciate this, you'll need to set aside any expectations you have about Romano and James. It's a dark comedy more than anything else, but it's light-dark, if that makes any sense. Performances are very good throughout, and you just never know where this thing is gonna take you, so it kept my interest without the temptation to hit the fast-forward button - which puts it above most comedies these days. The only disappointment was Juliette Lewis, who does a very good job of playing a whack-job female druggie/boozer - unfortunately, we've seen that same character far too many times from her, and in this outing she does not bring anything special to the movie.Nothing special, but passes the time well.
Soft nice comedy
posted on 05 Jun 2009As i hate spoilers I'm gonna be as brief as possible. Its a soft comedy,it will make you laugh sometimes and bring a smile to your face. Do see it, its worth it. I've seen some comedies lately and they were not as much enjoyable as this one was. It will cleanse all stupid and goofy humor films out of you, and yet it will give you a smile to your face,its rewarding! It has a plot, its emotional and very,very funny sometimes. Loved the acting of all characters, well done!! I personally think its a good movie to see in the afternoon and just chill and give a good laugh. It has a dark humor added as to failure situations in life but with a smile in it, and it has that feeling that if you keep trying you will be rewarded :) enjoy the movieCheers (sorry about my 2 inches of raw meat English) ;)
Good for a few laughs
posted on 18 May 2009Grilled is a dark comedy about two meat salesmen that run into problems as they try and sell people bulk meat subscriptions. They fall into the wrong crowd and are faced with getting some subscriptions or die trying. The whole scenario is pretty depressing, but the stars do an adequate job of turning the problems into humor. I waited a month for the DVD to return to the rental store, it was always out of stock, which promised a good show that didn't really materialize for me. I guess I like each of these actors in their respective TV comedies, but there wasn't that much chemistry between them on the same screen. Good for a few laughs, solid acting, good camera work, but over all not that great.
Perfect for me
posted on 11 Mar 2009I like watching Ray Ramono much like Jim Carey or Bill Murray. Have a couple drinks, watch the movie, and don't over-think it. I agree it is somewhat cliché and superficial, but hey I don't like to have to use my brain too much when I watch a comedy. Certain celebrities bring an intangible energy to their character that surpasses the words they are saying. To me this is Ray Ramono's gift. I liked the movie and felt Ray stayed true to his well known character. But hey I was half drunk so it may have sucked to anyone that over analyzes it. So I gave it an 8 because I am a huge Ray Ramono fan and laughed out loud several times just looking at him.
Booooring TV talent shows they should stay on TV.
posted on 22 Jan 2009The King of Queens and Raymond can't pull it off in this crapfest. This movie is hamstrung by being too PC in its' treatment of every joke and in doing so - removes all the humor as well. There's a zone that comedians shoot for that is the "clean" circuit- the place where you can make the most money, but also the biggest ass of yourself when you participate in completely non humorous projects such as this one. Every idea had potential as a joke, but they all were so sanitized they never got down into something that would make me laugh for real. I kept getting a feeling like a good joke was coming on, and then it would fizzle.PLOT: Two guys trying to sell some contracts for in home meat delivery run afoul of a mob problem. Typically the tagline would include "and hilarity ensues" but no such hilarity to be found here. Just boredom and lack of talent.
a fun straight to video comedy with an interesting cast
posted on 13 Nov 2008I love Kevin James (except for Hitch) and was quite interested to see James, Romano, Renolds, and Lewis all in the same movie.James and Romano played meat salesmen that were desperately trying to sell meat so they can keep their jobs. On one of their stops they get caught in a bad situation with killers.The laughs were there but not non-stop. The frustration that the lead characters were noticed as a car gets too close to James and James screams "I'll punch your a$$!" (I think that's what he said). Jullette Lewis was the funniest to me as she played a complete idiot. The best part was, James and Romano didn't try to out do each other.Give this movie a try. It's enjoyable.
Avoid at all cost
posted on 11 Nov 2008Can there be a negative rating? Wasn't expecting much for this direct to video debacle, but it shocked me on the YIKES!!! scale. Horrid dialog, dreadful pace, not funny, cheesy plot. Whoever came up with this stinker should be arrested. How can even B list actors work on this?Romano and James should be able to come up with better stuff in their sleep.Don't they read the script before signing the contract or was it a blackmail deal.
underachieved, but still enjoyable thanks to good acting
posted on 11 Nov 2008"Grilled" depicts vicissitudes of two desperate door-to-door meat salesman who are attempting to sell the huge amount of beef at all costs. This farce idea of the film is maybe improbable, but quite original and triggers off some laughs. However, the film is not very intense and uses mostly situational humor. The real stress is put on the leading actors who managed quite well. In particular, Kevin James is hilarious and Juliette Lewis in a supporting role as a loony suicide is as always great. Nevertheless, I think that screenwriters really didn't properly make use of an enormous potential flowing from this project. Thus, the script seems half-baked. This black comedy should be funnier and contain more types of humor. All in all, "Grilled' is an average flick with not enough laughable scenes and good acting
Great film (watch with a open mind)
posted on 08 Sep 2008I liked this film, I really did! My girlfriend rented it one night (knowing that I am a big fan of 'King of Queens', with Kevin James, and 'Everbody Loves Raymond', with Ray Romano), and at first I was a little sceptical! From past experiences, straight to D.V.D releases have burned a hole in my eyes, with bad acting, bad direction etc, but this film had a certain charm to it! I must admit, the rebel in me loved hearing Kevin James curse like a angry hillbilly, and Ray Romano looked like a real bad ass with that beard (my girlfriends opinion), and Julliete Lewis done a great job as a crazy drunk bitch, I don't think she had to act much though;) Burt Renoylds, even though he was in a small part of the film oozed all the class, and coolness you would expect from him! Although you would expect it to be a comedy with two comedians playing the leading roles, it was more of a drama, with funny parts thrown in for good measure! Kevin James and Ray Romano actually 'act', instead of doing silly dances and complaining about their parents, they do a pretty good job at playing desperate salesmen (being in sales, I could relate to their predicament), I am not going to give away the plot/ending, because I didn't know anything about this movie before I watched it, and I really think you should watch with a open mind!! All in all, I would recommend this film to anybody who has nothing better to do than sit in with your girlfriend, drink beer and eat pizza...........what a perfect night!!!
Different Comedic Style Than Both Sitcoms
posted on 06 Sep 2008The two geniuses behind Everybody Loves Raymond and The King Of Queens come together to bring us Grilled.First of all and this is very important Grilled has a completely different comedic style than both sitcoms so don't expect The King Of Queens or Everybody Loves Raymond.The humour style of Grilled is very subtle and rather dark as Dave and Maurice get themselves in and out of hilariously dark situations.The acting is what makes Grilled funny Ray Romano, Kevin James, Juliette Lewis, Burt Reynolds, and Michael Rappaport give amazing performances that are unique and show all the talent the have in the genre of comedy.Where the pacing is concerned it is very slow and yes Grilled does get a little stale but they always put in a good plot twist to get your interest back and hold it.The movie has a lot of film noir like humour the kind of humour you'd find in Lucky Number SLevin or Pulp Fiction but it also has it's fair share of physical humour as well.It is overall a very fantastic movie but definitely not as good as either Everybody Loves Raymond or The King Of Queens it is however a funny film worth watching at least once.Ray Romano and Kevin James show they have a lot of potential and a lot of talent in more than one division of the comedy genre.I enjoyed the slow yet amusing tale of two meat salesmen hellbent on making a sale no matter what the situation so I give Grilled a 6 out of 10 it would receive a 7 if the pace was faster and there was a little more physical comedy.
Grilled, but not well-done
posted on 27 Aug 2008Everyone seems to agree we expect more from Ray and Kevin.Starts off slow. Best line is .....punch your A-hole. That's what this movie needs. And when you get to the end, what's the point? Actually throughout the movie- no point or flow: the 'mobsters', the suicide attempt by Juliette, Kevin 'pretending' be a counselor could have been a lot funnier.Is it me - or is High Def not a good idea for some actors? Too many close shots of Ray looking thru a door's window (as if in a busy banquet hall, no one would be coming in and out), over and over again.What was supposed to be sexy with Ray and the woman skeeved me out. He just seemed so creepy. It actually got more interesting when it was revealed she was a 'man' (like that is believable).Best performance: Tony. Seemed unscripted and kept you wondering what he was going to do next. When he was bumped off....the story that had potential hope also died.And $21,000 (minus commission) is supposed to be a large sum to change one's life? Not even a happy ending.........Budget must have ran out.
An out and out dud
posted on 05 Aug 2008Two door-to-door meat salesmen, in a desperate attempt to save their miserable yet much-needed jobs, get caught in the middle of a poorly explained underworld war. Even though they ought to get out of the way, their need to make one last sale keeps them in harm's way. That about sums up the plot of this fairly dire film which really doesn't seem to know exactly what it wants to be. With Ray Romano and Kevin James in the lead roles, you'd expect a comedy, but the genuine laughs are few and far between here. Instead, it seems to want to be the kind of thing Elmore Leonard might have scripted, yet without the arch wit and quirky characters. We have no idea why the hit men want to kill Tony, or why Boris wants to bump off Goldbluth. We also don't know why Suzy is the way she is. Similarly, the back stories on the two main characters are thin as rice paper. Long story short, a bunch of ho-hum TV actors conned somebody into letting them make a movie and even quality film performers like Juliette Lewis and Jon Polito can't rescue this turkey. As for Burt Reynolds, there's no whore like an old whore.
Pleasant, but not a Comedy
posted on 05 Aug 2008Two meat salesmen (Romano and James) are desperate for sales and their last lead finds them in the middle of mobsters trying to kill one another…and maybe them too. Oh, oh! One would think that because Ray Romano and Kevin James are in this that there will be laughs somewhere in here. Didn't happen. This is light drama, not a comedy. Not one line or even physical comedy showed up in this movie. Not one line. Even in light drama or heavy drama you can find at least one good line. Not here. Everything was played straight. For light drama it was okay.The acting was good all around and Michael Rappaport, one of the bad guys named Bobby, was refreshing playing a part straight and not going ballistic when it comes time for him to talk. Burt Reynolds needs to get into more movies as he is extremely watchable and good. His part here was too short.All in all a pleasant movie and if you see laughs where I didn't, you must also laugh yourself silly watching The Office, a TV show that some sick people find funny. Oh, yes that TV show wins awards, but the awards are given by those same sick people. I cannot win.
Pretty bad movie
posted on 26 Jul 2008Ray Romano & Kevin James should just stick to their respective sitcoms on TV. OK, well maybe it's not their fault this movie stank, it's probably just the weak story line. That, and the fact that if this is supposed to be a comedy, it's not really that funny. You won't find yourself laughing at the jokes, because, well, there really aren't any. And while I'm not offended by vulgar language, the overuse of profanity in this movie seemed very clumsy & unneeded, kind of like a 13 year old trying to impress his friends by talking dirty.Overall, it's no surprise this turkey went straight-to-DVD. And it's not even worth renting.
Average movie, needs better direction and quality
posted on 16 Jul 2008Ensler's straight-to-video dark comedy starring TV stars Ray Romano and Kevin James is a good effort, but just doesn't have the complete overall atmosphere or perforamnces to make it a good movie. It had plot holes at times, some horrible scenes, but at times was pretty funny and the two leads were pretty good in bringing their TV personalities onto the big screen. The supporting performances were decent, but it had a B-movie feel throughout the film. At times Romano seems to fall out of character, James was a bit better, but overall Ensler's film just fails to click as a good comedy or a worthy criminal flick. The editing was odd, the cinematography was decent but the score seemed to not be there, in general, the film lacked quality and thus is just an average effort, still its good i guess for a straight-to-video film, its a bit better than The Confessor which i saw recently starring Christian Slater. -- IMDb Rating: 5.6, my rating: 7/10
From SLOW to Fast in 35 minutes!
posted on 08 Jul 2008This is one of those movies that you watch waiting and hoping for it to get better. And the good news is Grilled gets better. The movie was s-l-o-w for first 35 minutes; and after that Grilled is fast, suspenseful, clever, and funny. Don't skip the slow part though or you'll be lost in the last half of the film. The actors excellent performances compensate for the bland story line. This movie is like a bag of potato chips. Its junk food, not gourmet, but some times we all like a little junk food.The movie's irregular pace explains why Grilled was released straight to DVD. Its a B movie worth a rent, but not worthy of any home shelf space.
average movie. i expected better from these two
posted on 18 Jun 2008it was an OK movie. i wish it had been a great, hilarious, movie like most would expect from these two comedians, but it wasn't. it is more of a dark comic and less of a comedy. yes, there are some truly hilarious scenes, but nothing seemed original, it seemed like a ripoff of some b-movie. now that i think about it, i just watched this movie, and although i laughed a couple times, its just not very memorable. not one scene really stands out as a highlight of the movie. it is worth watching once though. ^(^)^(^)^if you liked this movie you will really like "the big white" with robin williams/woody Harrison, and "Trigger happy" aka "mad dog time" with jeff goldblum, and every gangster from every gangster movie,(plus, billy idol get shot in the head) totally must see dark comics!
Pretty darn bad
posted on 14 Jun 2008This turkey was shown recently on Comedy Central, which is ironic because, well, there's not much comedy in this movie. I saw this after it came out to video when my sister rented it.Kevin James & Ray Romano play meat salesmen out to make the big sale and get involved in a bizarre situation with a couple of mob hit men who kill the guy they are trying to sell meat to. Then, instead of trying to escape with their lives, they try to sell meat to the hit men! After escaping from the trunk of their car and fleeing for their lives, what do they do? They finally make the big sale! There. I saved you a couple hours of your life. You won't really care how the movie ends. I didn't, just wanted it to get over with so I could watch something else.This movie really has no point, the acting is stiff & boring, and the awkward overuse of profanity will disappoint anyone expecting to see the lovable king of Queens and Raymond. There really isn't much of a plot, no humor, and the characters are one-dimensional. If James & Romano think that movies like this will be their big leap to the big screen, well then, everybody will hate Raymond.
Decent movie with good characters and a weak plot
posted on 27 May 2008When I first heard that Kevin James and Ray Romano were doing a movie together, I thought it was a great idea. Shortly after that, I learned that the movie was being re-tooled and would be headed straight to DVD. Obviously this curbed some of my enthusiasm.However, after seeing the movie, I think it was good enough to be released in theaters. I have seen many theatrical releases that were worse than this.Certainly there are problems, mostly with the plot (meat salesmen following leads?) and story lines left undeveloped (the relationship between Kevin James' character and his daughter). But the one redeeming quality that makes the movie worth watching is the characters. James and Romano both play their parts well. However, I will say that James is better suited for his loud mouth, slapstick-style humor that can be seen in King of Queens or the sweaty, nervous guy that he played in Hitch and his character in this movie could have used a little more of either. The supporting/cameo roles turned in by Burt Reynolds, Juliette Lewis, and Michael Rapaport along with a few other familiar faces are quite good.All in all, this is an average movie. I'm a little surprised it went straight to DVD since I think it would have done alright in the theaters given its star power. I'm not saying it would have won any Oscars, but I'm sure people would have gone to see James, Romano, and Reynolds with the right kind of promotion. I'd recommend the DVD for fans of James and Romano, although it won't measure up to their respective sitcoms.
VERY underrated ... VERY cool
posted on 25 Jul 2009This movie has an original and hilarious story, normally that would be enough for me, but add Ray Romano, Kevin James and a cast of talented actors and actresses plus great scenery and music, I don't know what the folks in Hollywood were thinking not plugging this movie. if you ask me, you're missing out. The story evolves around two partners (Romano and James) who sell fine quality meat door-to-door. Dave (James) is a family man trying to take care of his little daughter and Maurice (Romano) is a swinging bachelor. The story starts when they go on a bad luck streak and get an ultimatum and 3 lead cards from their boss. They both know it's do or die time and it picks up from there.