Novel for Men

A bad film that gets one and a half stars rounded down. But it's not the director's fault, it's the screenwriter's. Uninteresting and unsympathetic characters talking nonsense, acting like either stupid idiots or stupid wannabe tough guys... And that's it. The star goes to Táňa Pauhofová (and it is mainly my lust for her), the rest to Tomáš Bařina and the music. Otherwise, it was quite disappointing. Wait a sec... Disappointment? Something I didn't expect anything from shouldn't disappoint me, right? And yet! (17/09/2010)

A pointless collection of overstretched shots, elevator music and cheap smirks for those who laugh when Donutil says “cock" and get a hardon at the idea that Táňa might show a tit. Viewegh's book version had at least some stimulating perspective on the reader-subject, whilst Bařina's film is just cheap. Vulgar and pathetic emaciation that can easily rival The Case of Unfaithful Klara, which at least it entertained with its soft-pornography, while Novel for Men is only good for a striptease among the ubiquitous shirts of television shows. (15/09/2010)

I found the film boring at times, I could sure do without those constant scenic rides that Czech filmmakers are so fond of for some reason. Otherwise, the story was quite watchable, but I would appreciate a larger portion of humor. And now for the positives. The actors in the roles of the three siblings gave excellent performances – three completely different characters and all of them well-acted. I also appreciate the excellent parody of Matušovič, Filip Čapka really cracked me up. (28/12/2019)

To be honest, I wasn't really looking forward to this movie. From the trailers it looked "not great". But in the end, I enjoyed it mainly because of its cast. Donutil's role was really top notch. I left the cinema with a smile and a lot of laughs...I will gladly watch Novel for Men again. FUNNY. (28/10/2010)

Tomáš Bařina wanted to aim even higher than with "Bobule". He exchanged optimistic search for a sweet summer for an apparent bet on certainty. After all, Viewegh is popular in all layers of readers and adaptations of his works, despite any quality, have always been successful. And specifically not the novel. The author's screenplay ambiguously plays both on the tone of absurdly humorous and also on the melancholically-thoughtful, which has always been the priority for me. Those who came to the cinema expecting vulgar fun, led by bon vivant Miroslav Donutil, had to inevitably freeze already at the opening credits. And the viewers who, after the trailers unnecessarily highlighting all the swear words that will be heard in the film, wanted to indulge in a new Czech nonsense, can argue for their arguments both through those vulgarisms and through the lascivious plot. And it's a pity because it's obvious that Bařina and Viewegh wanted to turn the genre of vulgar frivolous Czech comedies upside down and create a clever absurdity, optimism with a sad smile, or simply a good film. They succeeded, but precisely because they try on multiple fronts, they could only succeed with a smaller percentage of the audience spectrum. (18/08/2011)