A bona fide populist laugh riot.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
This is probably the funniest Mamet piece to date (but not the weightiest), and it might be destined to take a seat alongside "The Player" and "Sunset Boulevard" in the front row of movieland satires.
At its best, State and Main is fast and sharp, but when a movie like this goes off the rails, it's more disappointing than when a bad movie does.
Baltimore Sun by Chris Kaltenbach
A snarling satire of Hollywood single-mindedness and its lack of any moral underpinning.
Philadelphia Inquirer by Desmond Ryan
His (Mamet) direction is unobtrusive, unflashy, and always willing to allow the hilarious cast all the room it needs.
New York Daily News by Jack Mathews
Gently hilarious comedy.
Village Voice by Jessica Winter
State and Main is a Hollywood satire as cynical and thickheaded as its supposed targets.
Los Angeles Times by Kenneth Turan
A quintessentially wised-up insider comedy, ideally cast and filled with sharp writing from start to finish.
TV Guide Magazine by Maitland McDonagh
Mamet's jabs at Tinseltown's silken ruthlessness are quietly pointed, and the ensemble cast -- even the brittle and sometimes annoying Pidgeon (Mamet's wife) -- is brilliant.
Rolling Stone by Peter Travers
You may want to revisit this profanely hilarious Hollywood satire. . .just to catch the zingers the audience often drowns out with laughter. Hollywood corrupts absolutely, and Mamet turns the toxic process into the year's best and smartest comedy.