at the festival as a judge and to premiere his film there. Cox, caught between opposing obligations, chose to hold the international premiere at the festival. Upset, Kayzer lost interest in screening the film. The Rotterdam screening went poorly, which Cox attributed to audiences wanting a fast-paced, entertaining film like Repo Man, rather than a slower, philosophical film. Like most of Cox's films, it received a limited theatrical release. Reception Writing for Variety, Oliver Jones called it "a dramatically turgid concept piece" that nonetheless has a satisfying ending and good acting from Cox. Although criticizing the writing, Jones complimented Davies' producing. Brendan Boyle of PopMatters rated it 7/10 stars and compared it to city symphony films, saying the focus is on abstraction. He cited the play Waiting for Godot and the film The Exterminating Angel as influences, calling Three Businessmen more humanistic. In Screening Early Modern Drama: Beyond Shakespeare, academic Pascale Aebischer described it as a critique of consumerism that was influenced by the Latin American film movement Third Cinema. References External links 1998 films 1998 comedy films American comedy films British comedy films Dutch comedy films 1990s English-language films English-language Dutch films Films about businesspeople Films set in Liverpool Films directed by Alex Cox 1990s American films 1990s British films