Movie Review

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh (2009)

Reviewed by Owen Gleiberman | Apr 11, 2009

Owen Gleiberman

Owen Gleiberman is a film critic for EW

Comments
Add your comment

EW's GRADE

Details Limited Release: Apr 10, 2009; Rated: R; Length: 95 Minutes; Genres: Action/Adventure, Comedy; With: Sienna Miller and Mena Suvari

$Three\'s company: Peter Sarsgaard, Sienna Miller, and Sarsgaard take shots in Mysteries$

Image credit: Bruce Birmelin

Three's company: Peter Sarsgaard, Sienna Miller, and Sarsgaard take shots in Mysteries

The paradox of a truly atrocious literary adaptation is that everything on screen — a crummy postcollegiate job, a love triangle, even a  burglary — must be embedded with little wisps of higher ''meaning,'' and therefore ends up meaning nothing at all. In The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, a stillborn rendering of Michael Chabon's first novel, Jon Foster plays Art Bechstein, the son of a Jewish gangster (Nick Nolte), but he comes off as the dullest of WASP preppies. His fascination with a young couple — heartfelt Jane (Sienna Miller) and her pretentious, chopper-riding, bisexual boyfriend Cleveland (Peter Sarsgaard) —  plays like Gossip Girl written by a bad F. Scott Fitzgerald imitator. D

See all current movie reviews from EW

Originally posted Apr 08, 2009 Published in issue #1043 Apr 17, 2009 Order article reprints

Comments
Add your comment

Add your comment

The rules: Keep it clean, and stay on the subject or we might delete your comment. If you see inappropriate language, e-mail us. An asterisk * indicates a required field.