Barry Munday

source: Barry Munday

Barry Munday cannot pass an opportunity in which to have sex with any women that strike his fancy. Barry is an insurance salesman whose work is a sort of an afterthought. He and Donald, his partying friend, are always chasing women they can have an easy time with. Most of the time he scores, so when he spots a shapely young woman going into a multiplex movie complex, he decides to follow her. She wants to sit on a specific location. As Barry starts getting frisky with the woman, a man coming out of nowhere holding a trumpet, attacks him viciously. Next thing we see is Barry Mundy in a hospital room. He wakes up to terrible news, because of the attack, he has lost his testicles! As if that was not enough, Barry Munday gets hit with another setback: a paternity suit from Ginger, a woman claiming they engaged in unprotected sex, and now she finds herself pregnant. Barry comes from a background where his own father abandoned his mother and himself, at an early age. As much as he tries, Barry cannot, however much he tries, to recollect his time in the sack with Ginger. So Barry goes along, albeit reluctantly trying to make good about something he does not even remembering doing. The months preceding the baby's birth are not happy for Barry. To make matters worse, Ginger is the antithesis of the woman he went after. On top of that, she makes it clear, all she wants is a father for her baby, nothing more. With his new handicap, Barry has to face a future that is not too bright, but with the help of his single-mother he confronts the situation head on. Ginger, on the other hand, gives no hint as to how they met since Barry does not remember their time together. An interesting premise by Chris D'Arienzo, who is making his screen debut. He also contributed to the screenplay which is based on a novel by Frank Turner Hollon, which we never read. The material is fresh, although the director makes Ginger to be someone hard to love by anyone. The idea of a man castrated because he messes with someone else's lover is not exactly new, but as written, one feels for what life had dealt Barry, despite his womanizing and wild days. The comedy involves the families of Barry and Ginger who can do crazy things when they are together. Then, there is also the question of the Asian neighbor who might, or might not have been involved with the plain Ginger, something that is not explored by Barry. Patrick Wilson is a fine actor who gets better with each new appearance. His life as a Lothario dominates the first portion of the movie. Barry had a way with the ladies. Judy Greer has been kept busy lately. She deserves all the work she gets for she is an actress that even in the tacky outfits she is made to wear, always delivers. The only thing that does not work is the character of Jennifer, Ginger's sister, who does not seem real, and as played by Chloe Sevigny, she is an obnoxious presence in the film. Jean Marsh is wonderful as Barry's mother. Others in supporting roles include Malcom McDowell, Cybill Shepherd, and the suave Billy Dee Williams playing Barry's boss.

The world of quirky indie comedies can be an annoying pool to wade through, speckled with entries that can be too quaint and odd for my liking. But every once in a while they throw out one that's funny in its own little way for specific reasons, and just a bit touching too. I found Barry Munday to be one just like this. Lovable Patrick Wilson, an actor who keeps impressing me in different ways with his naturalistic charm and laid back ease in front of the camera, is hilarious as Barry Munday, a dumbbell of a dude who fancies himself the ladies man and haplessly tries to get himself laid. A lot. When he loses his testicles in an accident involving an underage girl, a trumpet and a movie theatre (I know), he becomes hopelessly depressed. When awkward Ginger Farley (adorable and underrated Judy Greer <3) contacts him claiming that he got her pregnant after a drunken hookup, his life is both upheaved and given ironic purpose as he gets to know her, deal with her 'out there' personality and his own, and be there for the birth of his kid. Wilson faces each scene with the cavalier innocence of a high schooler in a mid thirties man's body and is priceless whenever on screen. Greer is a frumpy little bunny as Ginger, a grouchy, socially awkward chick with brief flashes of feeling that she fiercely guards. Malcolm McDowell and Cybill Shepherd smirk their way through their work as Gingers parents, Jean Smart is loopy fun as Barry's hippie mother, Chloe Sevigny a sly devil as Ginger's slutbomb of a sister, Billy Dee Williams as Mcdowell's colleague, Shea Wigham steals scenes as Barry's moronic buddy, and there's a nice cameo from Shooter Mcgavin himself, Christopher McDonald. It's a low key turn from everyone, but in not going to crazy mode they find the subtle beats of comedy that to me are always more fun than going silly and over the top.

Barry Munday (Patrick Wilson) is a lascivious womanizer slacker. He's a real boob man. He hits on a young girl at the movie theater and her dad smashes his balls with a trumpet. He wakes up in the hospital with his testicles removed. His girlfriend returns and breaks up. He gets a paternity suit from Ginger Farley (Judy Greer). Despite not remembering the night, he accepts responsibility. He starts to act differently. Carol (Jean Smart) is Barry's single mother. He doesn't know his father. Ginger has her parents (Malcolm McDowell, Cybill Shepherd) and her outgoing sister Jennifer Farley (Chloë Sevigny). It's a wacky premise similar to Knocked Up although castration is no manwaxing. The characters are less likable. The comedy is unfunny because of that. There is a sad aura around the whole thing. This has a cast of great comedic actors but it's missing the comedic writing. Chris D'Arienzo is no Judd Apatow.

This movie is so off Hollywood that most stores don't carry it. I sought it out because it gives a rare starring role to Patrick Wilson, a talented and amazingly handsome character actor. He has been my idol since I saw his co-star turn in Little Children, and if you like him you will want to check him out. Even with his looks muted by bad hair and a ridiculous goatee, he is a pleasure to watch. Barry Munday works better as a romance than a comedy, and better as a character study than either. Munday is a recognizable caricature of American men as seen by a resentful feminist like his co-protagonist Ginger Farley (Judy Greer). Much of the movie is amusing, but it is rarely LOL funny. Munday starts out the film as an unambitious schlub whose only genuine interest is chasing skirts. The father of one of his amours follows him into a theater and smashes his testicles with a trumpet, so that they have to be removed. Just as he recovers, Ginger, one of his last hookups, claims to be pregnant with his child. At first coldly contemptuous of Barry, she gradually warms to him, even as he grows to become a loving husband and father. Aware that he can have no other children, Barry uneasily bypasses several hints that he is not the real father. The first time I saw this, I was disappointed that Barry seems to react to his "accident" as if he lost an IRS refund check. But instead of becoming angry, Munday even more uncentered than he was before and uses different approaches to acting like an adult. Toward the end, as Barry and Ginger come to a mutually supportive relationship, he literally finds his voice and his face just glows. The movie is not entirely clear where Barry and Ginger wind up, however. It is clear that Ginger and Barry come to love one another. But their scene in bed ends in an unsatisfactory way, she doesn't marry him, and she doesn't give the daughter his name, even though he badly wants her to. At the end, we are told rather than shown that Barry, Ginger, and their respective families are happy. Greer appropriately repellent at the outset and handles her transformation convincingly. The supporting cast does well, especially Jean Smart as Barry's mother.

I sought out this movie for one reason, it has Marc Tubert in a brief role as a maternity doctor. I met Marc last month as we walked the fairways of the Texas A&M golf course, watching his daughter and other University of Arkansas golfers contend for the NCAA championships. He is a very nice guy, and after meeting him there, it was fun to see him in a movie role! I like Patrick Wilson, he is a very talented singer and an actor able to tackle a variety of roles. Here he is simpleton and slacker Barry Munday, seemingly spending all of his waking energy minimizing the amount of work he actually does, while chasing "tail" at every opportunity. One fateful day he meets a randy young lady, well actually a teenage girl, and they end up in the movie theater together. When the girl's father shows up, with a trumpet in his hand, and assaults Barry to protect his daughter. Barry wakes up in the clinic, not certain at all what happened to him. He soon is told that he lost his testicles, both of them were damaged during the attack and could not be saved. Barry is coping as well as he can in succeeding days, when he gets word that Judy Greer as Ginger Farley is pregnant, and Barry is the father. He asks "how sure are you that I am the father?" She is sure, she was a virgin before she met him, and he is the only one she had been with. Wilson and Greer are remarkably good in this different kind of romantic comedy. This premise could have gone into the slapstick gutter very quickly, but it didn't because of an intelligent script. For the first time in his adult life Barry had something to care about, and for the first time in her adult life Ginger found someone who seemed to genuinely care about her. We enjoyed it. SPOILERS: Barry and Ginger grow on each other, he is there for childbirth, it appears that they are becoming a close-knit family as their child begins to grow up.

I am tired of seeing movies featuring men incessantly abused by women with the expectation that people are to accept it as somehow humorous. There was nothing funny about how Barry was constantly insulted and humiliated by just about everyone in the film. What's worse is that Ginger tells her entire family he drugged and raped her. Is that supposed to be funny? Here's a guy walking around with people thinking he's a rapist and he actually becomes enmeshed with a woman that would lie about that kind of thing to obscure the fact that SHE didn't want to take responsibility for having sex with him. Where is the humor here? It denigrates the horror of rape and dilutes a woman's chances of being taken seriously when it does happen. All this movie did is annoy me. There was nothing insightful or interesting or funny about this film. It's unfortunate such a good cast got tangled up in such a bad film.

"Barry Munday" is the type of comedy that will give you a certain inner warmth, but not necessarily make you laugh out loud. And in a way it is nice with a comedy like that, but I was missing on more funny moments throughout the movie. It is the sort of movie that makes you appreciate life and all its unpredictable moments. The cast in "Barry Munday" is quite good. And I must say that the movie is carried by Patrick Wilson (playing Barry Munday) as a very kind, good-hearted and lovable person. And there were also some pretty good names on the supporting roles list, such as Malcolm McDonald, Billy Dee Williams, Cybill Shepherd and Colin Hanks. I found the movie to be surprising in the way that it shows that despite life throws you a curve ball, you can still manage to make something good out of the situation you are in. Keep your head up high and be positive, and that is a good morale for the movie. The story is nicely acted out on the screen and you want to see what happens next. Sure the story is not a fast-paced one, but it gets you to where it needs to be in its own manner and pace. However, if you are planning a night of fun and laughter, "Barry Munday" might not be the best of choices. That being said, this is not a bad movie at all. It is nice in its own way. "Barry Munday" is a movie that should be watched by all who appreciate life and the joy of living.

As others have testified, Patrick Wilson's Barry is treated like the worst human alive for reasons not made clear...enough. He's a womanizer? Yeah, and all the women he bedded WANTED it at the time, including Judy Greer's Ginger. I got so sick of her constant berating that I had to yell some unspeakable words at the screen. Sorry, Ginger, but you had it comin'! What makes it all bearable is Wilson's good-ole-guy Barry, almost innocent in his train-wreck approach to women. He seems so sweet and puppy dog up against all the arseholes who use him to channel their inner hatreds against. And Ginger eventually softens up and owns up to her fault and has a pretty good line about the blessings of ugliness. Good enough all around to watch instantly if you have Netflix.

The idea itself is absolutely unique and to be honest till near the end of the movie i thought (like most of who watched it) that she was faking the story and Burry didn't do it!! She came to him after he became desperate for removing his testis, she came in that ugly looks and was blaming and swearing and he didn't push it back at all. And as he told her later on while they were in his car that she appeared now to (redirect) him! He believed that she became pregnant from him however he didn't remember a thing at all of that night. The main idea is never to give up and to see the good things in everything. Way to go! I love it Thank you very much Cheers