redmeatreview

'Let's see what the critics have to say'

Red Meat
1997
A Collection of Article/Review Exerpts

*note from webmaster: Despite the fact that "Red Meat" was released on Video/DVD in the fall of 2002, there is an appalling lack of review or article material to be found on this indie film. What follows are a collection of mostly synopsis' from various Video/DVD sites.
These sites all seem to disagree on what year it was first released -- 1996, 1997 or 1998. They also can't agree on which category to put this film in -- comedy or drama, -- one film site even lists it's genre as "Death". Okay! Personally, I found little humor in it -- I would only ever call it a drama. I would have say that all the actors gave good performances, I just couldn't stand most of the characters or scenarios. Both James Frain and Lara Flynn Boyle's performances were touching and about the only thing worth watching in the entire film. Traci Lind (doing double duty as a co-producer for the film), as the waitress was also quite good.

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from amc.com:

What do men talk about when they're alone? Filmmaker Allison Burnett serves up a varied menu as three single guys in Los Angeles chow down for a dinner of ribs and talk about women. Stefan (John Slattery), a callous Casanova who prides himself on his blunt, selfish honesty, meets up with his wimpish screenwriter buddy, Chris (Stephen Mailer), for their monthly Sunday stag night. But this night is different, as there are two unexpected guests: Victor (James Frain), an actor who disappeared from their group, and a hard-as-nails waitress (Traci Lind) who quickly sizes up these "gentlemen" as boys.

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Red Meat

SYNOPSIS

The Red Meat Club is an infrequent gathering of male friends who discuss macho topics over a manly steak after a trip to the spa. Stefan and Chris meet to partake in the masculine ritual and run into Victor, an old friend. Sitting in a restaurant over steaks they munch on, the trio verbally spar with a sassy waitress and tell tales of their most lurid sexual experiences. Victor finally tells a tale which shocks them all, though, and not for the misogynistic reasons that the others' tales do. His story concerns a woman (Lara Flynn Boyle) who he had a relationship with as she was dying. The compassionate tale is told in flashbacks. John Slattery, Traci Lind, James Frain and Chris Mailer in 'Red Meat'

John Slattery, Traci Lind, James Frain and Chris Mailer in 'Red Meat'

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RED MEAT

(director: Allison Burnett; cast: John Slattery, Stephen Mailer, James Frain, Lara Flynn Boyle, Jennifer Grey, Traci Lind; 1996)

This low-budget indie film takes awhile to digest but once you see what direction it is going you realize that this is not your typical, safe Hollywood take on the subject of a male womanizer. He is excellently played by Slattery who crows to his male friend (Stephen Mailer)and sometimes co-conspirator about his female conquests. At first, you are struck by how cold and obnoxious this dude is and you are saying to yourself, where are we going with this? But the film switches gears and goes from wicked humor and irony to tenderness and compatibility, and it works out surprisingly well. As a result we have a wonderful little film, weighing in with some insights on the always perplexing subjects of sex, love and relationships. I heartily recommend it, if you can find it on the menu of your cable station.

GRADE: B

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Red Meat (1998)

The monthly male-bonding ritual of a formerly close-knit group of friends is not what it used to be. Most have moved on, leaving only two--bitter lawyer Stefan and struggling writer Chris. When they run into old friend Victor, Stefan and Chris recognize the different paths their lives have taken as they compare their shallow, womanizing escapades with Victor's emotional encounter with a terminally ill woman. Lara Flynn Boyle, John Slattery, James Frain star. 94 min.

Category: Drama
Director: Allison Burnett
Cast: Lara Flynn Boyle, James Frain, Jennifer Grey, Anna Karin, Traci Lind, Stephen Mailer, Andrea Roth, John Slattery

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Red Meat

quotes and synopsis' from the DVD cover:

"A darkly comic exploration of contemporary sexual and romantic mores."
-TV Plus

"Funny and harrowing at the same time."
- Eric Bergeson, Athens Observer

Stefan and Chris are the only guys left in a male bonding group that meets weekends for spa time, red meat and girl talk. They are getting nowhere fast with their self-absorbed attitudes when they meet a former friend, Victor, at a restaurant. Told through flashbacks the film weaves together their dating games, each embellishing his version of the truth to look more macho, dominant and sexist. When it is Victor's turn he tells of his encounter with a dying woman, Ruth (Laura Flynn Boyle), with whom he had his first meaningful relationship. His story is so at odds with his friends that the storyline is catapulted onto a different platform posing questions about giving, relationships and love.

and another cover:

Ever wish you knew how a guy's mind works? Careful what you wish for.

Once a month, Stefanand Chris meet up with their buddies to go to the gym, eat red meat and talk about girls. They run into Victor, Chris's long-lost friend, and invite himto join in the manly ritual. Each man has had his share of women: loving them, using them, and leaving them. It's the testosterone talking.

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from TMNC.org

RED MEAT (1997)

Directed and Written by: Allison Burnett
Starring: John Slattery, James Frain, Lara Flynn Boyle, Jennifer Grey, Stephen Mailer

The Movie: 5 out of 10
There's a tendency in Hollywood for multiple writers to have the same ideas at the same time. Look no further than Volcano/Dante's Peek, Armageddon/Deep Impact, Antz/Bug's Life, etc. Now, Red Meat came out a good three years before Whipped, so I have to wonder if Peter M. Cohen is really to blame for that travesty. Maybe he just stole it, and Allison Burnett is really at fault. But that would be unfair, because Red Meat is much less offensive than Cohen's disaster.

James Frain as Victor in 'Red Meat'
Actually, the movies have their differences, but you wouldn't know it from the setup. In this movie, a group of friends get together once a week to "work out, eat red meat, and talk about girls." At the start of the movie, however, the group has dwindled to two -- sexual predator Stefan (Slattery) and divorced, wannabe -womanizer Chris (Mailer). The movie is framed around one such encounter at a steakhouse, and the romanctic escapades are told through flashbacks. A long lost-friend (Frain) of Chris's happens to be at the restaurant as well, and joins them to discuss why he's been long lost. His story is by far the most interesting, as he entered into a relationship with a terminally ill woman (Boyle) that changed his life.

Ultimately, however, the movie suffers from way too much dialog, that quite frankly, isn't that funny or witty. The characters are fairly amusing though. Stefan is an incredible jerk, to both women and his friends. Chris means well, but makes bad decisions by always taking the path of least resistance. Only Victor (Frain) seems to have any emotional depth at all, and surprise, he's the only one with meaningful relationships.

It's a short movie, with low production values, and an uneven script, but has a few good moments. And of course some attractive women. Having already seen Whipped certainly made watching Red Meat more interesting for me. But you can probably miss both and still be okay.

The DVD: 1 out of 10

Holycrap, I didn't know DVDs could be so bad. Apparently, interactive menus and chapter search really are special features, because this one had neither. Worse yet, the presentation was full frame, which made me almost forget how lame the audio was. I can honestly say I've never seen such an utterly awful DVD.

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Excerpt from an interview from Sky Magazine May 1996:

And shortly after our conversation he's jetting off to America to do a low-budget independent film about a group of lads who get together every couple of months, talk about women, get drunk and tell stories. "But I don't know how I'm going to do it - I'm knackered. They're going to have to give me loads of drugs and some crutches and I'll just wing it."

IMDB link for Red Meat

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