Advanced Search >
Help Me Search

Movies

Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
Best / Worst of the Decade

Wide Releases
Now In Theaters

sort by namesort by score

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Limited Releases
Now In Theaters

sort by namesort by score

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Around the Bend

EMAILPRINTWarner Independent Pictures

Around the Bend reviews
46
8.1 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 31 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 11 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >

Movie Info

Genre(s): Drama

Written by: Jordan Roberts

Directed by: Jordan Roberts

Release Date:
Theatrical: October 8, 2004
DVD: February 22, 2005

Running Time: 85 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: R for language

Starring Michael Caine, Christopher Walken, Josh Lucas, Glenne Headly, Jonah Bobo, David Eigenberg, Robert Douglas, and Carlos A. Cabarcas

Around the Bend tells the story of four generations of men who are suddenly brought together by the chance to uncover the truth about their family's past. The journey will take them out on the road to a world full of surprises -- some comic, some dramatic and all of them personal. (Warner Independent Pictures)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

75

USA Today Claudia Puig

A bittersweet relationship drama with enough honest emotion and gentle humor to move even the steeliest heart.

Read Full Review >
70

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Mr. Walken performs with a marvelously minimalist precision.

70

The Hollywood Reporter Richard James Havis

Slick, well-packaged emotional drama.

Read Full Review >
70

LA Weekly Ron Stringer

The final revelation which, however anticipated, however contrived, stings just enough to make it feel like life.

Read Full Review >
67

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

A fine, familial elixir to remedy despair and soften hardened hearts, Around the Bend is likely just the first of many feathers in Roberts shiny new directorial cap.

Read Full Review >
63

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

Who would have guessed that, among all the cutesy curves in Around the Bend, the guy walking the straightest line is Christopher Walken?

Read Full Review >
63

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The movie, unfortunately, doesn't really work; it's one of those films where the characters always seem to be Behaving, as if ordinary life has to be jacked up into eccentricity.

Read Full Review >
60

Chicago Reader Staff (Not credited)

Roberts never surmounts the cracker-barrel contrivance of the plot, but his low-key humor, clear affection for the characters, and strong cast are enough to put this gentle drama across.

Read Full Review >
60

Empire David Hughes

One of those films that seems like it was made mainly for film festivals - and it has the awards to show for it.

Read Full Review >
60

Variety Eddie Cockrell

Self-consciously mannered yet fitfully interesting, Around the Bend gets the most mileage it can from the eccentric, low-key charisma of Christopher Walken.

Read Full Review >
50

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

The story is spotty, but the acting is fine, especially when Walken is around.

Read Full Review >
50

Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano

Gentlemen, it's a male chick flick - "The Dirty Secrets of the Ya-Ya Brotherhood."

Read Full Review >
50

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

An awkward amalgam of road movie, buddy comedy and melodramatic conventions, first-time writer-director Jordan Roberts' male weepie ricochets between affecting scenes and insufferably maudlin ones.

Read Full Review >
50

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Might as well have been titled "That Kentucky Fried Chicken Movie." That's how it will be referred to, anyway, though some people may insert an adjective such as "convoluted," "disappointing," or "anti-climactic" before the name of the fast-food franchise.

Read Full Review >
50

The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson

There are good ideas in Around The Bend, but they're presented in outline form, as the bare, dry bones of what could have been a living body.

Read Full Review >
50

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Around the Bend doesn't inspire one to care.

Read Full Review >
50

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

If nothing else, director/screenwriter Jordan Roberts knows good music. If only we could say the same about his script.

Read Full Review >
50

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

Writer/director Jordan Roberts aims for heartwarming drama and settles for tepid entertainment.

Read Full Review >
50

Boston Globe Ty Burr

The result is a curious hash: warmly funny in the comic scenes and shamelessly sentimental during the sad bits, of which there are many.

Read Full Review >
50

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub

For the silent masses who cherish those "Hallmark Hall of Fame" specials, but wish they had just a little more profanity, the release of Around the Bend is occasion to rejoice.

Read Full Review >
50

Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell

Plays like a certain brand of indie film I hadn't seen in a while: the Self-Consciously Odd Journey of Self-Discovery Through the American Southwest, in which people learn Important Life Lessons while encountering "colorful" characters in small-town diners and motels amid the tumbleweeds.

Read Full Review >
50

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

What makes the film work better than its nearly unbearable cuteness suggests is the casting of Christopher Walken as the son; the movie has yet to be invented that Walken can't improve simply by showing up.

Read Full Review >
42

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

It's the showy story, script, and even staging that wear a fella out in this relentlessly precious feature debut by writer-director Jordan Roberts.

Read Full Review >
40

The New York Times Manohla Dargis

A heavily padded, thinly conceived, well-meaning movie.

Read Full Review >
40

Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky

The movie comes off as willfully eccentric when it should have been charmingly touching.

Read Full Review >
38

Chicago Tribune Allison Benedikt

A well-intentioned, ill-conceived blip of a movie that just happens to star two of the most esteemed actors of our time--Michael Caine and Christopher Walken.

Read Full Review >
38

New York Post Lou Lumenick

The longest 85-minute road trip you could imagine.

Read Full Review >
38

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

As a vegetarian, I'm grateful that Around the Bend -- an extended commercial for KFC passing itself off as a heartwarming family drama -- is a loser.

Read Full Review >
30

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

So programmatic, so dogged in hitting the right steps at the right time that it completely lacks spontaneity.

Read Full Review >
30

Washington Post Desson Thomson

First-time filmmaker Jordan Roberts worked on this project for years, but merely ended up with dreary cliche.

Read Full Review >
30

Village Voice Joshua Land

Veers deep into male-weepie territory.

Read Full Review >

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 8.1 (out of 10) based on 11 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Tom M. gave it a9:
Great direction, great performances, and great story. What else is there? Oh, yes, a great soundtrack! I purchased the soundtrack a half-hour after I watched the film.

Paul B. gave it a7:
Worth watching - Walken is, as usual, hard not to like in his role and the grandson is portrayed very wonderfully.

Greg T. gave it a7:
The Village Voice stated that this veers into male weepie territory. So what? This movie depicted a young boy, his 30 something father, his 50 something grandfather and his 70 something great grandfather, all interacting at some level. Why can't men interact or are we all robots and only women are attuned to life's tragedies. Fathers should rent this movie and see it with their teenage sons.

Cameron R. gave it a9:
Man! You'd think this was Lassy, the way the critics are kicking it. What the film is... is 'emotional', not sentimental. Simply and honestly emotional. What a pleasant and rare treat to see a film that quietly explores feeling, especially among men. Why on earth is it ruffling so many feathers?

Erin G. gave it a 10:
Great Film.

Mikkel J. gave it a 9:
A film, that takes you on an emotional trip. A great story from at very promising first-time director.

Popular on CBS sites: College Signing Day | Olympics | Lost | iPhone | Cell Phones | Video Game Reviews | Free Music

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2010 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy (UPDATED) | Terms of Use