Tiptoes

I have just viewed this film and, as usual went online to see others comments. This is one of the first times that I have ever felt compelled to comment myself... I am mad at the actors, the director and the writer. One sigh of relief came when I saw that the writer has not written anything since that has made it to the screen. I sat stunned for most of the film. The dialogue was so trite that if one more person asked Kate Beckinsale's character "how are you?" I was going to scream. In one scene they actually cut from Gary Oldman's character asking her the question and went to another scene in which he asked her the exact same question again! It's a shame. I was looking forward to this film when I saw the cast line up. I can only hope and assume that everyone involved in the film was sufficiently embarrassed and upset by the finished product. A huge waste of talent. (Potential spoiler) In one scene, you can actually see Kate Beckinsale stepping over Gary Oldman's legs that are not supposed to be there. Enough. Really bad and, stealing the title from John Water's newest film (actually if he would have made this film, it would have been interesting)- it's a dirty shame.

I don't know why this film got such bad reviews on IMDb. I'm becoming a big fan of Kate Beckinsale and this project is a natural progression in her career. I first saw her in 'much ado about nothing'. the movie is about little people but is most definitely not patronizing. it shows a variety of life situations and problems they face, from social to medical to how to get laid. it really was a realistic film and thas what I look for, PLAUSIBILITY, regardless of the genre. don't be afraid of the R rating, there isn't any nudity and just a bit of the f word here and there. I'm not surprised it won an award at sundance, regardless of how many people walked out. maybe they couldn't face such a challenge to their stereotypes of little people. 7/10

Huge disappointment. Great cast, and it started out really promising, but by the end it was total Movie of the Week. Not sure what they were thinking - the movie seemed nicely offbeat during the first half but then it got bogged down in melodrama. I learned a lot about dwarfism of course, which seems like it was the point, but I didn't enjoy the movie and that's a shame. Kate Beckinsale is a terrific actress who can move effortlessly among genres, but she is ultimately wasted here in a part that a much less talented woman could have played. It was fun to see so many well-known Little People, and they were all excellent, but not enough to save the movie. Too bad, because this could have been something special.

It is never easy to portray the lives of the few in a medium for the many without taking big risks and making certain compromises. This film takes the risks and also makes the compromises, it seems to me. The overall acting of the story was very good. There is big talent here. Beckinsale, McConaughey, Oldman, Dinklage. Each did well by his/her part. The original concept was courageous, but I fear the end result shows the buffering of too many cooks stirring the plot. Adding the kinky and bizarre edges of characters to counteract the saccharine seems pretty obvious and forced to me. I may be wrong here. Perhaps little people's lives are edgy and bizarre as a result of the burdens of big-people prejudice. It just seems improbable to me that so many twists and turns would occur in the lives of just one couple's experience of dealing with these particular differences. I think my vote of 8 is still well deserved. It is given in appreciation of the courage it took to mount a production of this quality about an issue that is invisible to most people.

I was unprepared for this movie -- I happened upon it by accident. As with many of Gary Oldman's movies, I didn't even realize it was him playing the role until someone told me later. He's an absolute master, and his delivery of a (this will sound trite, sorry) "real" dwarf was startling. Rarely does a film portrayal so candidly depict the life of an under-represented faction of society. I learned a tremendous amount. That's not common within American files these days -- but, that makes sense, since this was a French film. The Europeans are far better at taking risks. That being said, TIPTOES does bring to mind a comparable American, but independent, film -- TWIN FALLS, IDAHO.

I am a "little person" with a similar body type as the character Gary Oldman played. I had never heard of this movie until tonight when I was flicking through cable and it had already started. I watched for an hour thinking to myself that this guy looked like Gary Oldman... "holy crap this guy could play a dwarf Gary Oldman in some sort of movie". I finally realized it was him when they would never show his feet. A lot of people said in there reviews that he wasn't convincing but I'll tell ya as someone who looks like he was supposed to, he was convincing! There were some key things he did which I thought was impressive. He never fully straightened his elbows or fingers. People like me are naturally like that due to arthritis and other bone ailments. Anyway I'm still extremely annoyed that another movie with a "little person" as a lead role is played by a "regular" person. I could have played the part since I look a lot like the character. I also would have loved to have been smooching with Kate Beckinsale!! I would have done the movie for free just for that opportunity LOL

This film premiered at Sundance and I was happy to have the opportunity to see it. I am a big fan of Gary Oldman and was looking forward to seeing him play a dwarf. The storyline was interesting; however the movie fell flat. Strangely enough, I was distracted by Oldman's portrayal of a dwarf...I kept wondering how they made him look so small instead of concentrating on the story. I never did figure out what Peter Dinklage and Patricia Arquette's characters had to do with the story; perhaps just to show that little people have relationships with "normal" size people...I don't know. I thought Dinklage, Arquette, Oldman and Kate Beckinsale all turned in good performances, but somehow all of them couldn't save this movie.

Regardless of what you think of the film, you have to give Gary Oldman credit for not only wanting to play a dwarf, but actually getting to do it. In this age of warped political correctness, even the greatest actors working today are limited to roles within their own race, age, gender, and overall physical appearance. Gone are the days when actors like Paul Muni and Marlon Brando applied some make-up and transformed themselves into strong, sympathetic characters from the East. And lest we forget the great Jose Ferrer who played diminutive French artist Toulouse-Lautrec in John Huston's "Moulin Rouge". A film that I am sure provided some pointers on how to make a 5' 11" actor look half that size. In "Tiptoes", Oldman plays Rolfe, twin brother to Steven played by Matthew McConaughey. Not only do these twins look nothing alike, but Rolfe also happens to be a dwarf while Steven appears to be perfectly normal young man - on the outside at least. As twins go, Rolfe and Steven are not very close. In early scenes of them together, you can't help but sense an underlying current of envy and guilt in their relationship. A feeling that only dumb luck made one more normal than the other. And when Steven's girlfriend Carol, played by the always lovely Kate Beckinsale, announces her unplanned pregnancy, the issue is once again raised as there is a chance their child may be born a dwarf. For what it's worth, "Tiptoes" has its heart in the right place. There are moments in the film where it tries to break new ground and show us not only what it would be like to be a dwarf, but also what it would be like to simply be in their social circle. The film also gives us a look at three very different romantic relationships - Steven & Carol [of normal size], Rolfe & Sally [dwarfs], and Maurice & Lucy [dwarf & of normal size]. And while each one appears physically unique, we soon find out that the problems that rip them apart are not. But it doesn't take long for all these seemingly sincere moments to take on the semblance of an ABC Afterschool Special entitled "Dwarfs are People Too." Take the scene in which Carol meets Rolfe for the first time. We can't exactly be sure what her reaction is going to be, and Beckinsale plays it beautifully. When Rolfe asks her who she is, she answers as her hand unconsciously moves over her stomach. A motion used to both identify her relationship with Steven and the fear for what her baby may become. All in all, an excellent scene. But moments later, the whole sequence ends on a incredibly manipulative note of false sympathy and sentimentality with Carol caring for an exhausted Rolfe. Even the score milks the sequence for everything its got. As for the performances, only actors Gary Oldman and Peter Dinklage really provide anything worthwhile here. Despite some poor direction, Oldman brings in a quiet and subtle performance, while Dinklage - complete with a phony French accent - gives us a character completely different than the one he played in "The Station Agent". I will say, however, that Oldman's performance is undercut by some truly awful special effects created to maintain the illusion of dwarfism. You can't help but laugh when you see him obviously sitting inside a couch with fake legs propped up near his waist. Overall, the film is to be commended for trying something new, even if it failed miserably. And it is aptly named as it does tend to "tiptoe" around every important point it is trying to make. Rating [on a 5 star system] : 2 1/2 stars

This is quite possibly the worst film I have ever seen. The writing is both bizarre and predictable. The film has very little flow and except for Peter Dinklage all of the performances are stiff. I sincerely hope that Bill Weiner never picks up a pen again. I really do not understand how such big names could have been involved in what is effectively an after school special. There are a few scenes that qualify as funny in a campy sort of way, but the overall effect is that of sentimental schlock. I find myself deeply ambivalent about the characters; they were simply too idiotic and immature to connect with effectively. I regret not turning this film off half-way through; it represents an hour and a half of my life that I will never get back.

The beginning of "Tiptoes" is simply excellent and approaches a totally original theme: the painter Carol (Kate Beckinsale) and the firemen instructor Steven (Matthew McConaughey) are a young couple in love. The ambivalent Steven has a deep inner secret: he is the unique normal size man in his family of dwarfs, and he loves his family but he does not live comfortable with this situation. When Carol gets pregnant, coincidently the twin dwarf brother of Steven, Rolfe (Gary Oldman), pays an unexpected visit to Carol. She becomes shocked with the situation, while being introduced to Steven's family. The movie works perfectly up to this point, showing an open-minded woman accepting literally the minorities. However, from the moment when the Jewish parents of Carol are introduced to Steven's family on, the screenplay becomes irregular, corny in some moments, silly in others, and the open conclusion is very disappointing, indeed terrible. It was good to see Gary Oldman in a sensational role, and the gorgeous Kate Beckinsale playing a really beautiful character, without any prejudice and accepting the imperfections of life. Patricia Arquette is still very hot, but she is very stereotyped in the role of the crazy Lucy. I regret that such excellent original idea being wasted in an awful screenplay. My vote is five. Title (Brazil): "Na Ponta dos Pés" ("Tiptoes")