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Momma's Man

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Momma's Man reviews
84
6.0 User Score:

Movie Info

Genre(s): Drama

Written by: Azazel Jacobs

Directed by: Azazel Jacobs

Release Date:
Theatrical: August 22, 2008
DVD: May 5, 2009

Running Time: 94 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: Not Rated

Starring Matt Boren, Flo Jacobs, Ken Jacobs, Richard Edson, Dana Varon, Nan Archilesi, Eleanor Hutchins, and Piero Arcilesi

Momma’s Man chronicles the increasingly anxious dilemma of Mikey, a young husband and father who stops off at his parents’ loft during a business trip to New York and finds himself emotionally unable to leave. Unsure of his own motivations, he makes up excuses about why he’s staying – his flight is delayed; his flight is canceled – but while his doting mother (the director’s real mother) is more than happy to enable his procrastination, his father (the director’s real father) grows suspicious of his sons changes of plans. (Kino International)

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...

100

Village Voice J. Hoberman

One of the sweetest, saddest stories Franz Kafka never wrote.

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100

New York Post V.A. Musetto

It's time to stop calling Azazel Jacobs a "promising" filmmaker. With Momma's Man, Jacobs achieves the promise.

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100

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Beautiful, wise, and poker-faced comedy of discombobulation.

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100

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

It works from a specific place and lets audiences relate to that place, and the people in it, like trusted intimates.

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90

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

Mastery of tone is everything here, and Azazel's control, combined with his wit, perception, discretion and easy command of the visual and of his cast makes Momma's Man a gem.

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90

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

A highly unusual combination of craft, emotion and integrity.

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90

The New York Times Manohla Dargis

Mr. Jacobs has succeeded at one of the most difficult tasks given a director, which is to make a character come alive through the filmmaking, not exposition.

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88

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Deeper, darker currents move through Momma's Man, eddying around fears of letting go on both sides of the generational divide.

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83

Portland Oregonian Stan Hall

Perhaps the most indispensable cast member is the Jacobs' dwelling, their residence since 1966.

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83

The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray

A comedy of sorts, though to Jacobs' credit, he doesn't aim for cheap laughs.

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80

Variety Scott Foundas

Wryly comic, sometimes heartbreaking and altogether original film about a thirtysomething Angeleno who pays a visit to his aging New York parents and finds himself unwilling or unable to leave.

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80

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

A little miracle, Azazel Jacobs' lovely story of a life lost and found tackles big issues -love, maturity, fulfillment - in deceptively modest fashion.

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75

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Insightful and involving.

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70

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

Momma's Man takes that germ of an idea and lets it flower, in a way that is both odd and oddly compelling.

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70

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

Momma's Man taps into that ambivalence, and those moments when all of us long to flee adulthood and sink back into being our parents' beloved baby birds, whether or not we ever were in the first place.

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50

Film Threat Jamie Tipps

The movie is quiet and minimal in its dialogue, and it has flashes of humor and thoughtfulness. However, it's also unbearably slow and hard to empathize with Mikey when we don't really know what his problem is.

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50

San Francisco Chronicle Walter Addiego

Really doesn't pay off much.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 6.0 (out of 10) based on 8 User Votes

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

Julie E. gave it a0:
We walked out. For reference, I liked Tell No One, Roman De Geur and thought with Burn After Reading was fun. There ya have it. Save your money.

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