Dear Dictator

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2:10

Dear Dictator

2018

1h 30m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

17%

Tomatometer

23 Reviews

41%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

When an outcast teen, Tatiana, gets a school assignment to write a letter to a person she admires, she jokingly writes to a foreign dictator named Hector because she likes his fashion sense. Hector takes to the admiration, and the two become unlikely pen pals, however, when Hector has to flee his country during a coup, he seeks refuge in the house of his only remaining friend.

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Critics Consensus

Dear Dictator never comes close to taking advantage of its wildly silly premise -- or the assortment of talented veterans who round out the cast.

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J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

03/09/2020

Unfortunately writer-directors Lisa Addario and Joe Syracuse can get only so much mileage out of it, and they cede too much screen time to Katie Holmes as the girl's mother.

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Karen Han

The Daily Beast

03/16/2018

There's something sharper and smarter in Dear Dictator, but that ground is left regrettably unexplored; it's a film that ultimately doesn't live up to its premise. Going deeper would require considerably more guts.

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Simon Abrams

RogerEbert.com

03/16/2018

3/4

[A] just-shy-of-great teen comedy.

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Josh Goller

Spectrum Culture

07/20/2019

1.75/5

Appropriates and then drains all subversion out of its punk and revolutionary trappings in favor of contrived, melodramatic pap.

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Austin Trunick

Under the Radar

07/02/2018

3/10

Dear Dictator makes you hope for something subversive, and there occasional flashes of potential, but then it always falls back into the easiest, most obvious route.

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Susan Granger

SSG Syndicate

05/06/2018

5/10

While Michael Caine is always fun to watch, unfortunately, the pacing/editing is not on a par with the writing. The satire should have been sharper and more subversive.

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Curtis G

@RT91610606 09/30/2024

I could not finish it. I think it’s one of the worst movies I have ever seen.

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Michael A

@Kinich61 07/05/2024

Why on earth is Michael Caine in this very sloppily made movie??? Last time I saw Michael Caine and Katie Holmes in the same film was Batman... what goes on in Hollywood casting?

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Cork B

@RT87142816 11/17/2023

Pretty good cast and a pretty good idea. But this thing just fails on execution. It was just plain not funny, and I found myself losing interest in the characters and the story.

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11/30/2021

Total train wreck of a film. How in holy heck did Sir Michael Caine get wrapped up in this monstrosity? Maybe he was seeking to negate his film legacy and thought this would be a good way? Like the rebels in the fictional banana republic that Caine's character rules over, let's hope that everyone involved in the making of this film gets put up against the wall. Caine better have fired his agent for this one. And Holmes? She used to be a semi-serious actor. This movie made her career seem deader than her marriage with Cruise. Talk about securing your position on the D-list.

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mike g

@RT73155044 11/16/2021

Whoever sold Michael Caine on wigs and pubic mustaches should be fired. This is cringe.

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07/26/2021

Warm-hearted comedy! Definitely would recommend!

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Lisa Addario

Director

Joe Syracuse

Director

Michael Caine

General Anton Vincent

Odeya Rush

Tatiana Mills

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Darlene Mills

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Dear Dictator: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

When an outcast teen, Tatiana, gets a school assignment to write a letter to a person she admires, she jokingly writes to a foreign dictator named Hector because she likes his fashion sense. Hector takes to the admiration, and the two become unlikely pen pals, however, when Hector has to flee his country during a coup, he seeks refuge in the house of his only remaining friend.

Director: Lisa Addario, Joe Syracuse
Producer: Lisa Addario, Jorge Garcia Castro, Robert Ogden Barnum, Mary Aloe, Daniel Grodnik, Lucas Jarach
Screenwriter: Lisa Addario, Joe Syracuse
Distributor: Cinedigm
Production Co: Cinedigm, Defiant Pictures
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 16, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 16, 2018
Runtime: 1h 30m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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