The Decline of the American Empire (1986) Reviews

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A rousing "he said/she said" endeavor, The Decline of the American Empire begins by separating the boys from the girls. Preparing a gourmet dinner, four male intellectuals begin trading stories of their sexual experiences. At the same time, four well-read women, all working out in a gym, exchange their own tales from the love front. The film is set in the lofty circles of academia, a world well known to Canadian director Denys Arcand. The anecdotes related herein are based on actual events in the lives of Arcand's professorial friends. There's nothing bookish, however, about the subject matter of the stories themselves, which ranges from mild philandering to S & M. The Decline of the American Empire was the winner of eight Canadian Genie awards (that's the above-the-border equivalent of the Oscar), including Best Picture. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Starring:: Pierre Curzi, Rémy Girard, (more)

Director(s):: Denys Arcand

Theatrical MPAA Rating:: R

Format(s):: DVD
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Average Ratings

(8 member reviews)

Member Reviews

	Phyllis L.

8 out of 8 people found this review helpful

I found this movie to be rather interesting. The intensely personal sexual escapades spoken of by both male and female characters was a bit unexpected. Not a fan of "Sex & the City" because I found it's sexuality boring, this was much more realistic in it's depiction of the intellectualization of sex by its couples. A story of what couples do together and apart, as friends and as lovers. I valued the depictions of adult sexual situations, discussions of marriage, relationships, affairs by reasonably attractive, intelligent men and women. All in all this film was enjoyable for an afternoon. Lots of nudity and sexual situations, but nothing too graphic or at all "pornographic".

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	Carol C.

0 out of 0 people found this review helpful

Carol C. Strongsville, Oh I couldn't relate to these people. They seemed so amoral and lacking in loyalty and simple taste. Are French Canadians really like this? I doubt it. All the couples were faithless and hedonistic. The women were as bad as the men. No one valued marital privacy. I didn't like anyone. I couldn't identify with any one.

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	Keith G.

0 out of 0 people found this review helpful

Engaging often funny, intelligent talkfest about sexuality. Sort of a French-Canadian ÂBig Chill, but smarter, if less emotional. There really is no plot. The first 1/2 of the film 4 upscale, yuppie male friends (one gay) prepare a meal and talk about sexual adventures and problems, while their female counterparts do the same at a gym. The 2nd half is the two groups sharing dinner, where the talk is more muted, but the personal stakes much higher. Probably overrated when it first came out, now treated too harshly. The acting is strong throughout, and the satiric reality that all of the characters believe themselves self-knowing, but are really all living in denial and delusion is a little obvious, but interesting in execution.

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	David H.

0 out of 0 people found this review helpful

I very much liked "The Barbarian Invasions," the recent sequel to "The Decline of the American Empire," so I was looking forward to seeing the latter. Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly as good a movie as it could have been. There was a good deal of witty dialogue and intellectual references, and the movie did finally get around to making some important (and ahead of its time) points about sexual double standards and gender inequality in the academic world. However, the first half of the movie spent way too much time in juvenile sexual boasting and innuendo. I almost stopped watching. I'm glad I didn't, because the second half of the film was much better than the first, but I can't really recommend it.

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