What The Ten is actually about
The Ten isn't a reverent retelling. It's a comedy anthology where each of the ten biblical commandments gets its own short film treatment, though "treatment" might be generous—these stories barely connect to their source material beyond a winking title card. Released in 2007, the film takes the premise that if God had meant the commandments literally, He'd have written them in stone (which, okay, He did—but the tagline's funnier). What you're getting is a series of vignettes that range from genuinely clever to bewilderingly pointless, held together only by their shared irreverence and a willingness to offend pretty much everyone equally.
Director David Wain, working alongside co-writer Ken Marino, crafted something that feels less like a cohesive narrative and more like a sketch-comedy album where not every track lands. The runtime clocks in at a brisk 96 minutes, which—given the anthology structure—means each commandment gets roughly ten minutes to make its case. Some stories are quick, punchy gags. Others meander. The whole thing has the energy of a late-night comedy show where the writers threw everything at the wall and filmed whatever stuck.
Behind the making of The Ten
The Ten arrived as an international co-production between the United States and Mexico, distributed through ThinkFilm on August 3, 2007. David Wain, already known for his work on the cult-favorite MTV series Stella and later for films like Wet Hot American Summer, brought his particular brand of absurdist humor to the project. Ken Marino, who co-wrote the screenplay, is no stranger to comedy either—he's spent years in sketch and comedic acting roles. The film's production team included Ascot Elite Home Entertainment and City Lights Pictures, lending it a relatively modest budget for an anthology feature.
Box office performance was... let's call it underwhelming. The film didn't exactly set the theatrical world on fire during its limited release. Reviews were decidedly mixed—the kind of mixed that suggests some critics found it refreshingly weird and others found it aggressively pointless. On IMDb, it sits at 4.772 out of 10, which tells you that audiences were split. The DVD release followed on January 15, 2008, giving it a second life on home video, though by then the film's moment had largely passed. What's striking is that despite the lukewarm reception, The Ten has maintained a small but devoted cult following among comedy fans who appreciate its willingness to swing for the fences, even when it whiffs.
Why The Ten divides audiences
The thing nobody mentions is that The Ten's greatest strength and its fatal weakness are the same thing: it's aggressively uncommitted to any single tone or target. One moment you're watching a story about infidelity that's almost touching, the next you're in a sketch about a guy who's stuck in an uncomfortable elevator. The performances—which include appearances from various character actors and comedians—are uniformly game, and that commitment to the absurd is sometimes enough to carry a sketch past the point where the premise has worn thin.
What makes The Ten stand out, if you're generous, is its sheer refusal to play it safe. There's no attempt to be universally likable or to soften the irreverence for mainstream audiences. It's genuinely weird in ways that contemporary comedy often isn't—not weird for weird's sake, but weird because the filmmakers were interested in following a joke to its logical endpoint, no matter how uncomfortable or nonsensical that endpoint became. Some sketches land because the writing is tight and the payoff is genuine. Others crash because the premise was thin to begin with. Hard to say if that inconsistency is a bug or a feature, honestly. For some viewers, that unpredictability is exactly what makes it worth watching.
Where to stream The Ten online
If you're curious about checking out The Ten, it's currently available on major OTT services—the exact platforms rotate, but Movie OTT tracks current streaming availability across all the major providers, so you can see exactly where it's playing right now without hunting around. Rather than listing specific platforms here (since licensing deals shift constantly), the "Where to Watch" widget at the top of this page will show you every service currently carrying it in your region. Movie OTT does the heavy lifting of keeping that information current, so you don't have to.
The film's relatively modest runtime makes it a low-commitment watch—you can get through all 96 minutes in an evening, which is ideal for something this uneven. Stream it on a night when you're in the mood for something deliberately weird and don't mind if it doesn't all work.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Who directed The Ten?
David Wain directed and co-wrote the film alongside Ken Marino. Wain's known for his absurdist comedy style, evident in his work on Stella and Wet Hot American Summer. The Ten represents his attempt at feature-length anthology comedy.
Q: Is The Ten based on a true story?
No. It's a comedy anthology loosely inspired by the Ten Commandments, but each story is fictional and largely disconnected from the actual biblical text. The connection is mostly comedic—think of it as a premise rather than an adaptation.
Q: What's the runtime of The Ten?
The film runs 96 minutes total, which breaks down to roughly ten minutes per commandment-themed segment. It's a relatively quick watch for an anthology feature.
Q: Where can I watch The Ten?
The Ten is available on major OTT streaming services. Check the "Where to Watch" widget on this page for current availability in your region, as licensing agreements change regularly.
Q: Why does The Ten have such a low IMDb rating?
The film received mixed reviews upon release, and audiences were divided on whether its absurdist, irreverent approach was clever or just self-indulgent. It currently sits at 4.772 out of 10, reflecting that split opinion. Some viewers appreciate its commitment to weirdness; others find it frustratingly uneven.
Final thoughts on The Ten
The Ten isn't for everyone—that much should be clear from its ratings and mixed reception. But if you're the kind of person who enjoys ambitious comedy that doesn't worry about landing every joke, or if you've got a soft spot for absurdist sketch humor, it's worth a watch. David Wain and Ken Marino swung for the fences here, and while they didn't hit a home run, there's something admirable about the attempt. Check it out when you're in the mood for something deliberately weird, and don't expect it all to work. Sometimes that's exactly the point.
