# The D Train
*The D Train* is a 2015 American-British comedy-drama directed and written by Andrew Mogel and Jarrad Paul, starring [Jack Black](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-black) as Dan Landsman, a [Pittsburgh](https://www.edgepedia.org/pittsburgh) family man who schemes to bring a former high school classmate, played by [James Marsden](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-marsden), to their twenty-year reunion. The film premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, was acquired for U.S. release by IFC Films, and earned $774,780 worldwide against a limited theatrical run.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70341-THE-D-TRAIN) • [2](https://www.amcglobalmedia.com/2015/01/25/ifc-films-boards-jarrad-paul-and-andrew-mogels-the-d-train-with-plans-to-roll-the-film-out-in-u-s-theaters-nationwide-this-year/) • [3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt2690138/credits/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | Premiered January 23, 2015 at the Sundance Film Festival; U.S. limited release May 8, 2015 through IFC Films[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70341-THE-D-TRAIN) • [2](https://www.amcglobalmedia.com/2015/01/25/ifc-films-boards-jarrad-paul-and-andrew-mogels-the-d-train-with-plans-to-roll-the-film-out-in-u-s-theaters-nationwide-this-year/) |
| Directors and writers | Andrew Mogel and Jarrad Paul, their feature directorial debut[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70341-THE-D-TRAIN) • [4](https://www.flicks.com.au/movie/the-d-train/) |
| Cast | Jack Black (Dan Landsman), James Marsden (Oliver Lawless), Kathryn Hahn (Stacey Landsman), Jeffrey Tambor (Bill Shurmur), Mike White (Jerry)[5](https://www.paramountpictures.com/movies/the-d-train) |
| Rating and runtime | Rated R; 97 minutes per AFI and Paramount, though UK listings give 101 minutes[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70341-THE-D-TRAIN) • [6](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-d-train) |
| Box office | $774,780 worldwide: $673,151 domestic (86.9%) and $101,629 international; domestic opening $469,000[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt2690138/credits/) |
| Critical reception | 54% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 132 reviews; Metascore of 55 from 33 reviews[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/d_train) • [8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2690138/criticreviews/) |
| Production | UK/US coproduction by Ealing Studios, Electric Dynamite, and Londinium Films, among others; music by Andrew Dost[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70341-THE-D-TRAIN) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Dan Landsman (Jack Black) is a husband, father, and associate at a small consulting firm in Pittsburgh who chairs his high school class's alumni committee and has trouble making friends because he tries too hard.[9](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/the-d-train) When he spots his former classmate Oliver Lawless (James Marsden), once the most popular boy in school, in a television sunscreen commercial, he decides that recruiting Oliver, now a commercial actor in Los Angeles, will make the twenty-year reunion a success.[9](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/the-d-train) • [10](https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/the-d-train-features-a-scene-stealing-james-marsden-in-a-reunion-comedy/2015/05/06/c4a0602c-f361-11e4-bcc4-e8141e5eb0c9_story.html)
Dan lies to his wife Stacey ([Kathryn Hahn](https://www.edgepedia.org/kathryn-hahn)) and his boss Bill Shurmur ([Jeffrey Tambor](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeffrey-tambor)) about a fake business meeting so he can fly to Los Angeles and recruit Oliver in person.[11](https://www.undertheradarmag.com/reviews/the_d_train/) Once there, Dan falls in with Oliver's drug-fueled night life and ends up in bed with him.[9](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/the-d-train) The encounter sets off a chain of deceptions: Dan lies to his boss in order to spend more time with Oliver, and Oliver's homecoming visit upends Dan's home, career, and family life before the reunion.[6](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-d-train) • [5](https://www.paramountpictures.com/movies/the-d-train)
## Production and release
Mogel and Paul developed the story around Black's character, a man obsessed with his high school persona and the question of how far he would go to change it; the reunion premise and the character of Oliver grew from there.[12](https://www.backtothemovies.com/bad-bromance-the-d-train-interview/) The filmmakers wrote the part with Jack Black in mind, though they did not expect to get him; once he agreed, they adjusted the character in his direction, and James Marsden responded to the script in one of their first meetings.[12](https://www.backtothemovies.com/bad-bromance-the-d-train-interview/)
The film premiered at the [Sundance Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/sundance-film-festival) on January 23, 2015. Two days later, IFC Films announced from the festival that it was acquiring U.S. rights, with [Sony Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/sony-pictures) distributing internationally; the deal was negotiated by Arianna Bocco of Sundance Selects/IFC Films with UTA Independent Film Group and WME Global.[2](https://www.amcglobalmedia.com/2015/01/25/ifc-films-boards-jarrad-paul-and-andrew-mogels-the-d-train-with-plans-to-roll-the-film-out-in-u-s-theaters-nationwide-this-year/) IFC released it in U.S. theaters on May 8, 2015.[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt2690138/credits/) Producers were David Bernad, Mike White, Jack Black, Priyanka Mattoo, Ben Latham-Jones, and Barnaby Thompson.[2](https://www.amcglobalmedia.com/2015/01/25/ifc-films-boards-jarrad-paul-and-andrew-mogels-the-d-train-with-plans-to-roll-the-film-out-in-u-s-theaters-nationwide-this-year/)
Reported runtimes differ by territory: AFI and Paramount list 97 minutes, Time Out and the [British Council](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-council) list 101 minutes, and the BBFC certificate records 100 minutes 47 seconds for the UK release.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70341-THE-D-TRAIN) • [6](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-d-train) • [13](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-d-train-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zodq3ndg)
## Reception
The film earned mixed reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes it holds a 54% Tomatometer from 132 reviews and a 25% audience score from more than 2,500 ratings; the site's critics consensus says the film offers Jack Black a too-rare opportunity to showcase his range but that its story and characters are too sloppily conceived to hold together.[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/d_train) Metacritic recorded a score of 55 from 33 reviews.[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2690138/criticreviews/)
**Praise for the cast.** Reviewers repeatedly singled out Marsden. The Washington Post called his performance scene-stealing and described his burlesque of actorly narcissism as honest, funny, and bravely aware; Hitfix and IndieWire both scored the film 83, crediting Marsden's turn and a strong third act.[10](https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/the-d-train-features-a-scene-stealing-james-marsden-in-a-reunion-comedy/2015/05/06/c4a0602c-f361-11e4-bcc4-e8141e5eb0c9_story.html) • [8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2690138/criticreviews/) The Independent called Black's work one of his most nuanced and affecting performances, making Dan engaging, seedy, and pathetic at once.[14](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/the-d-train-film-review-10506550.html) [The New Yorker](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-new-yorker) found that Black, Marsden, Hahn, and Tambor sold the story with nuance and verve despite a schematic script.[9](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/the-d-train)
**Criticisms.** Detractors targeted the story's construction and tone. Time Out's David Ehrlich wrote that the film generates few laughs from its thin "be yourself" message, and [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hollywood-reporter)'s Todd McCarthy called it a feel-bad comedy that takes its characters to places that feel more implausible than transgressive.[6](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-d-train) • [8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2690138/criticreviews/) The Independent faulted a messy, unconvincing final reel in which the filmmakers backtrack to contrive a happy ending.[14](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/the-d-train-film-review-10506550.html) The Washington Post also criticized the waste of Kathryn Hahn in what it called a lifeless, stereotypical role.[10](https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/the-d-train-features-a-scene-stealing-james-marsden-in-a-reunion-comedy/2015/05/06/c4a0602c-f361-11e4-bcc4-e8141e5eb0c9_story.html)
**Subject matter.** Several critics framed the film as a darker take on the bromance genre. Time Out wrote that it foregrounds the homoeroticism of [Judd Apatow](https://www.edgepedia.org/judd-apatow)'s bromantic comedies, and the Washington Post compared its treatment of male friendship and the need for approval to *Superbad*.[6](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-d-train) • [10](https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/the-d-train-features-a-scene-stealing-james-marsden-in-a-reunion-comedy/2015/05/06/c4a0602c-f361-11e4-bcc4-e8141e5eb0c9_story.html) In a 2015 interview, Marsden defended the film's central plot twist as one of the more subversive comedies he had read, saying it was not a cheap punch line.[15](https://time.com/3847505/james-marsden-the-d-train-plot-twist/)
## Box office
The film grossed $673,151 domestically (86.9% of its total) and $101,629 internationally, for $774,780 worldwide, on a domestic opening of $469,000.[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt2690138/credits/) International releases included Germany (September 17, 2015, grossing $66,209), the United Kingdom (September 18, 2015, $13,233), and Spain (September 25, 2015, $5,586).[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt2690138/credits/)
## References
1. [The D Train (2015), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70341-THE-D-TRAIN)
2. [IFC Films Boards Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel's The D Train, AMC Global Media (January 25, 2015)](https://www.amcglobalmedia.com/2015/01/25/ifc-films-boards-jarrad-paul-and-andrew-mogels-the-d-train-with-plans-to-roll-the-film-out-in-u-s-theaters-nationwide-this-year/)
3. [The D Train (2015), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt2690138/credits/)
4. [The D Train, Flicks](https://www.flicks.com.au/movie/the-d-train/)
5. [The D Train, Paramount Pictures](https://www.paramountpictures.com/movies/the-d-train)
6. [The D Train review, Time Out (David Ehrlich)](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-d-train)
7. [The D Train, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/d_train)
8. [The D Train (2015), Metacritic reviews via IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2690138/criticreviews/)
9. [The D Train, The New Yorker (Richard Brody, April 30, 2015)](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/the-d-train)
10. [The D Train features a scene-stealing James Marsden, The Washington Post (May 7, 2015)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/the-d-train-features-a-scene-stealing-james-marsden-in-a-reunion-comedy/2015/05/06/c4a0602c-f361-11e4-bcc4-e8141e5eb0c9_story.html)
11. [The D Train, Under the Radar (May 11, 2015)](https://www.undertheradarmag.com/reviews/the_d_train/)
12. [Bad Bromance (The D Train) Interview, Back to the Movies](https://www.backtothemovies.com/bad-bromance-the-d-train-interview/)
13. [The D Train, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-d-train-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zodq3ndg)
14. [The D Train, film review, The Independent (Geoffrey Macnab, September 17, 2015)](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/the-d-train-film-review-10506550.html)
15. [James Marsden: The D Train's Big Plot Twist Is Not 'A Cheap Punch Line', TIME (May 8, 2015)](https://time.com/3847505/james-marsden-the-d-train-plot-twist/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2015 to 2016 › Titles symbols to J*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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