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Greenfingers
IDP Distribution


9.1

based on 25 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 7 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: R for language and some sexuality

Starring Clive Owen, Helen Mirren, David Kelly, Warren Clarke, and Danny Dyer

The beauty and delicacy of a flower seem a sharp contrast to the rough exterior of a prison inmate. Yet these two images are exactly what writer/director Joel Hershman brings together in Greenfingers, a story of redemption that not only tickles the funny bone, but touches the soul. (IDP Productions)

GENRE(S):	Comedy
WRITTEN BY:	Joel Hershman
DIRECTED BY:	Joel Hershman
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: January 2, 2002 Video: January 2, 2002 Theatrical: July 27, 2001
RUNNING TIME:	90 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	UK / USA

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...

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Big muscular guys pruning roses IS funny and charming.

USA Today Susan Wloszczyna

Clumsier hands could have planted this load of pungent sap and come up with sticky fingers. But the creators of this based-on-truth fable carefully cultivate the material so it comes off fresher than it sounds.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

Only occasionally does the film fall into the trap of making the prisoners cute, but it never falters in important ways.

New Times (L.A.) Jean Oppenheimer

Proves a lovely, sweet alternative for audiences fed up with the latest hell-on-wheels action thriller or the newest horror film comedy spoof.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Entertaining and heartwarming -- especially when Mirren sweeps into scenes with acid observations that fail to disguise a heart of gold.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

This is not challenging filmmaking by any means, more like a comfortable old slipper. But it's a perennial that's guaranteed to please.

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

It's pleasant, mildly uplifting entertainment, one of the few recent movies to use plants as its muse.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

It's hard not to be charmed by scenes like the one in which Briggs gives his posies a little pep talk, assuring them that just because they sprouted behind prison walls doesn't mean they can't compete with those hoity-toity flowers at Hampton Court.

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

Ingratiating trifle.

Salon.com Charles Taylor

Certainly pleasant enough, and if you can put the preachiness out of mind it's entertaining, in its square, conventional way.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

The latest in a line of quirky, feel-good British comedies, Greenfingers fits right into the breezily entertaining mold but doesn't expand it.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

It's too quick, too pat.

Boston Globe Elizabeth Barchas

Plants the seeds of comedy that grow into a mild feel-good flick, but it won't reap much viewer satisfaction.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Amusing enough to watch and passes the time, but it's the kind of movie you're content to wait for on your friendly indie cable channel.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Between Owen's quiet intensity and Mirren's showy color, they make a complementary pair for screen or garden.

Chicago Tribune Loren King

Unambitious and transparent, but that doesn't mean it won't warm the hearts of audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.

Village Voice Amy Taubin

Owen and Mirren are fun to watch, but the film, despite the many shots of gardens in full bloom, lacks visual distinction.

The New York Times Dave Kehr

The film is as synthetic as a rubber rose, but it is all but indistinguishable from the organically grown, bred-in-Britain article.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

Relentlessly smarmy and contrived, and its pitch for the cause of prisoner rehabilitation preachy and heavy-handed.

Mr. Showbiz Michael Atkinson

Watching this movie go through its simplistic dramatic motions, you begin to understand why some actors stick to summer stock and live Ibsen revivals.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

If your allergy to comedies bred from British style mugging crossed with Disney style prancing has, like mine, flared up in recent years, this hybrid from writer director Joel Hershman (''Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me'') will make you wheeze.

Chicago Reader Reece Pendleton

Where "The Full Monty" earned its laughs with rich characterizations and a biting take on economic hardship, Greenfingers is content to trot out predictable stereotypes, adding a romantic subplot as filler.

Variety Dennis Harvey

This shameless knockoff marches lock-stepped through moves that were already looking as tired as the Macarena.

Washington Post Rita Kempley

Ought to have been called "The Sap Also Rises."

Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones

And then there's the overacting. And then there's the hamminess of the script. And then there's

The average user rating for this movie is 9.1 (out of 10) based on 7 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jac E gave it a10:
Loved it!! It made me laugh, it made me cry; what more can you ask for?

Donna A. gave it an8:
I really liked this movie. Sure is was sappy. Sometimes sappy can be good. And lets face it. It is ever so nice to look at Clive Owen even in prison clothes.

John D. gave it a 10:
Great.

Anthony S. gave it a 9:
While dealing with a deft hand, often light hearted, this movie has profoundly important subtexts and themes that go to the heart of a free country's penal system.

Steven S. gave it a 9:
We felt great while watching it, and were still feeling energized when thinking about it weeks latter. If you're human and looking for such an experience, this should be a 9+. Don't go expecting more, while there is a lot going on subtle & deep - especially through Clive Owen & Helen Mirren.

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Greenfingers IDP Distribution

Greenfingers
IDP Distribution