''Barry Munday'' (alternatively known as ''Family Jewels'') is a 2010 American

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Chris D'Arienzo; it is based on the novel ''Life is a Strange Place'' by Frank Turner Hollon. It is D'Arienzo's directorial debut. The film stars

Patrick Wilson Patrick Joseph Wilson (born July 3, 1973) is an American actor. He began his career in 1995, starring in Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals. He received nominations for two Tony Awards for his roles in ''The Full Monty (musical), The Full Mont ...

as the title character, as well as

Judy Greer Judith Therese Evans (born July 20, 1975), known professionally as Judy Greer, is an American actress. She is primarily known as a character actress who has appeared in Judy Greer filmography, a wide variety of films. She rose to prominence for ...

Chloë Sevigny Chloë Stevens Sevigny ( ; born November 18, 1974) is an American actress. Known for her work in independent films with controversial or experimental themes, her accolades include a Golden Globe Award, in addition to a nomination for an Acade ...

Jean Smart Jean Elizabeth Smart (born September 13, 1951) is an American actress. Jean Smart filmography, Her work includes both comedy and drama, and List of awards and nominations received by Jean Smart, her accolades include six Primetime Emmy Awards a ...

Shea Whigham Shea Whigham (born January 5, 1969) is an American actor best known for portraying Elias "Eli" Thompson in the drama series ''Boardwalk Empire''. He also appeared in the first season of ''True Detective'' and the third season of '' Fargo'' a ...

Missi Pyle Missi Pyle (born November 16, 1972) is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in films including ''Galaxy Quest'' (1999), ''Josie and the Pussycats (film), Josie and the Pussycats'' (2001), ''Bringing Down the House (film), ''Bringing ...

Christopher McDonald Christopher McDonald (born February 15, 1955) is an American actor. McDonald is best known for playing the villainous professional golfer Shooter McGavin in the 1996 comedy '' Happy Gilmore'', a role he’d later reprise in 2025’s sequel '' H ...

Billy Dee Williams William December Williams Jr. (born April 6, 1937) is an American retired actor, novelist and painter. He has appeared in over 100 films and television roles over six decades. He is best known for portraying Lando Calrissian in the ''Star Wars ...

and

Malcolm McDowell Malcolm McDowell (born Malcolm John Taylor; 13 June 1943) is an English actor. He first became known for portraying Mick Travis in Lindsay Anderson's ''if....'' (1968), a role he later reprised in ''O Lucky Man!'' (1973) and ''Britannia Hospital ...

. The story revolves around a womanizer who wakes up to find that his testicles have disappeared and he is facing a paternity lawsuit by a woman he can't remember having sex with. The film premiered at the

South by Southwest Film Festival South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has continued growing in both s ...

on March 13, 2010, got picked up by

Magnolia Pictures Magnolia Pictures LLC is an American independent film distributor and production company, and is a subsidiary of Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner's 2929 Entertainment. Magnolia was formed in 2001 by Bill Banowsky and Eamonn Bowles, and specializes in ...

and was given a limited release on October 1. ''Barry Munday'' garnered negative reviews from critics who praised Wilson's performance but criticized D'Arienzo's quirky filmmaking leading the vulgar material.

Plot

Barry Munday, a lonely womanizer, wakes up after being attacked to realize that he's missing his "family jewels". To make matters worse, he learns he's facing a paternity lawsuit filed by a woman, Ginger, he can't remember having sex with. Though unintentional, the two discover that their meeting and subsequent "accidents" opened up new opportunities for personal growth and relationships.

Cast

as Barry Munday *

as Ginger Farley *

as Jennifer Farley *

as Carol Munday *

Cybill Shepherd Cybill Lynne Shepherd (born February 18, 1950) is an American actress, singer and former model. Her film debut and breakthrough role came as Jacy Farrow in Peter Bogdanovich's coming-of-age drama '' The Last Picture Show'' (1971) alongside Jef ...

as Mrs. Farley *

as Mr. Farley *

as Donald *

as Lida Griggs *

as Lonnie Green *

as Dr. Preston Edwards *

Colin Hanks Colin Lewes Hanks (born November 24, 1977) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his role as Gus Grimly on the FX crime series '' Fargo'' (2014–2015), which earned him nominations for a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy ...

as Heavy Metal Greg *

Mae Whitman Mae Margaret Whitman (born June 9, 1988) is an American actor. She began her career as a child actor, starring in the films '' When a Man Loves a Woman'' (1994), '' One Fine Day'' (1996), ''Independence Day'' (1996), and '' Hope Floats'' (1998), ...

as Candice *

Kyle Gass Kyle Richard Gass (born July 14, 1960) is an American musician and actor, best known for being a member of Tenacious D, a Grammy-winning comedy band. He is also a member of Trainwreck and the Kyle Gass Band. Early life Kyle Richard Gass was ...

as Jerry Sherman from Barry's support group * Barret Swatek as Lucy *Trieu Tran as Moe * Razaaq Adoti as Spiro *

Emily Procter Emily Procter (born October 8, 1968) is an American actress and activist. She played Ainsley Hayes in the NBC political drama ''The West Wing'' (2000–2002; 2006) and Det. Calleigh Duquesne in the CBS police procedural drama '' CSI: Miami'' ...

as Deborah *

Matt Winston Matthew Winston is an American actor. He is the son of special effects artist Stan Winston. Career Winston's television appearances include the HBO dramas '' Six Feet Under'' and ''John from Cincinnati'', and as Crewman Daniels in '' Star Tre ...

as Kyle Pennington *

Sam Pancake Sam Pancake (born May 10, 1964) is an American actor, improviser, writer, and comedian. He began his career with small roles in TV and film, such as '' Wings'' in 1990 and '' Pizza Man'' in 1991. Early life Sam Pancake was raised in Romney, We ...

as D.J. *

Bruna Rubio ''Barry Munday'' (alternatively known as ''Family Jewels'') is a 2010 American comedy film directed by Chris D'Arienzo; it is based on the novel ''Life is a Strange Place'' by Frank Turner Hollon. It is D'Arienzo's directorial debut. The film stars ...

as Sasha

Release

On February 4, 2010, ''Barry Munday'' was selected as one of the Spotlight Premieres for the 2010

, and made its world premiere on March 13.

bought the film's distribution rights after its premiere at SXSW, first releasing it on August 27 as part of its Ultra VOD program, and giving it a limited release on October 1.

Reception

''Barry Munday'' received negative reviews from critics. Eric Kohn of '' IndieWire'' praised Wilson's "gentle, unassuming performance" for making the title character "work well enough to generate a steady volume of pathos" but felt the film suffered from "an ever-present lightness despite its vulgar nature," criticizing D'Arienzo's screenplay for containing a "constant barrage of personal gripes and directionless vulgarity that lacks enough ingenuity" to elevate the film's light-hearted tone that "occasionally manages to create a gently bittersweet vibe due to this decisive blend." He concluded that the film's positive elements "simply fail to compensate for the greater lack of competence needed to excuse the shoddy, half-baked plot. The movie's forgettable qualities set it up for a put-down on its own lame terms: "Barry" is mundane." A writer for ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' called it a "frumpy version of "

Knocked Up ''Knocked Up'' is a 2007 American romantic comedy film written, produced and directed by Judd Apatow, and starring Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Jason Segel and Martin Starr. It follows ...

" playing out in a sadder, stranger world," praising Wilson for giving "another successful against-type performance," but felt the "garish and unfashionable" production choices alleviate the seriousness of the story's overall tone, saying "the film's focus on some pretty unappealing quirks limits its commercial appeal." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' film critic

Joe Leydon Joseph Patrick Michael Leydon (born August 22, 1952) is an American film critic and historian. A critic and correspondent for '' Variety'' since 1990, he is the author of ''Joe Leydon's Guide to Essential Movies You Must See'' (Michael Wiese Pro ...

gave praise to both Wilson and Greer for being "almost too convincing" and giving "some welcome emotional truth" to their respective roles but was critical of D'Arienzo for overusing his supporting cast and laying the "self-conscious quirkiness" thick in his "uneven but modestly diverting indie" film. Robert Abele of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' commended Wilson for portraying the title character with "admirable comic understatement" and the film for having "acceptable heart tugs towards the end", but concluded that: "D'Arienzo's love of trite indie-movie signposts of comic quirkiness — deadpan delivery, overly formal camerawork, characters delivering dialogue into the camera, stunt casting (Billy Dee Williams as Wilson's boss) — is ultimately regrettable." Scott Tobias of ''

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

'' also commended Wilson for giving the titular character "a puppy-dog eagerness that's refreshing in its total lack of vanity" but felt the film was a "deeply off-putting independent comedy," criticizing D'Arienzo's direction of Greer's character into being "irredeemably, almost inhumanly nasty" and the "egregious stunt casting" of his supporting actors, saying "''Barry Munday'' clashes as violently as its retro-patterned sweaters and hideously ornate wallpaper."

Nathan Rabin Nathan Rabin () is an American film and music critic. Rabin was the first head writer for ''The A.V. Club'', a position he held until he left the ''Onion'' organization in 2013.

of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' gave it a "D+" grade, criticizing D'Arienzo for ignoring the movie's overall message and replaced it with "random wackiness, distracting stunt casting, and ''

Napoleon Dynamite ''Napoleon Dynamite'' is a 2004 American Independent film, independent Coming-of-age story, coming-of-age comedy film produced by Jeremy Coon, Chris Wyatt (producer), Chris Wyatt and Sean C. Covel (producer), Sean Covel, written by Jared and J ...

''-style production design." He concluded that "this sluggishly paced quirkfest is awfully sophomoric for a film all about giving up the facile thrills of youth for the responsibilities of adulthood."

References

External links

* * * * {{Metacritic film, title=Barry Munday 2010 films 2010 directorial debut films 2010 independent films 2010 romantic comedy films 2010 romantic comedy-drama films 2010s American films 2010s English-language films 2010s pregnancy films 2010s sex comedy films American comedy films American independent films American pregnancy films American romantic comedy-drama films American sex comedy films English-language independent films English-language romantic comedy-drama films English-language sex comedy films Films based on American novels Films set in Los Angeles Films shot in Los Angeles