Men & Chicken

Funny European craziness, from which, however, I also expected some kind of a sociological message or that the film’s creator would comment on something. But he did not. To persuade the Scandinavian acting elite to embody redneck dumbasses in front of a camera with such gusto, but without a higher purpose, just to contribute to the hall of fame of movie bizarreness is, in my opinion, a bit of a waste of talent, though remarkable and not seen elsewhere. Mikkelsen in particular is unrecognizable. (14.01.2016)

The group surrounding director Anders Thomas Jensen isn’t alien to me. I have appraised all of his previous movies with five stars and so I counted on Men & Chicken to also be unorthodoxly funny. And it was. The director obviously leans strongly toward dark humor and even in The Green Butchers, it was really walking on the verge of tolerability. But I didn’t know then what this movie would bring. Men & Chicken mixes disgustingness with humor, which works in the movie, with the exception of a few scenes, but in my mind, I will always ask what insanity did I watch? The four stars don’t mean that the movie was worse than its predecessors. I only think that despite the number of absolutely brutal jokes, I probably don’t want to see this story ever again. (09.05.2016)

A totally bizarre black tragicomedy! I can imagine that some viewers will be thrilled and others will wonder about what they just watched... I'm somewhere in the middle of the road; on the one hand, I had a good time, but on the other hand, it was sometimes entertaining to the point of being unbearable, and I felt a slight sense of disgust at times. The scale tipped upwards, however, thanks to the quartet of excellent Danish actors (Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Søren Malling, and Nicolas Bro), whose portrayal of the completely unhinged brothers literally fascinated me, with some of them going somewhat against their acting nature. (80%) (20.04.2020)

There are movies that caress, and there are those that resist it. Jensen once again proves that nothing is sacred to him and that he has an inexhaustible supply of imagination. Social taboos are of no concern to him, and he doesn't care about offending a part of the audience that gets upset by jokes targeting physical disabilities or morally unacceptable forms of sex. I share Jensen's politically incorrect view of the world and thoroughly enjoyed his journey into the realm of crazy scientific experiments. The excellent cast of the quirky family significantly contributed to this. Scandinavian acting aces unleashed their mischievous clowning in a grand style, sparing no one and nothing. I wouldn't recommend watching this film to just anyone, but personally, I was on Jensen's side as he broke the laws of nature and social norms. I can't help but wonder how far he's willing to go next time. Overall impression: 90%. (02.02.2021)