Rocket Science

Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell

A dry, vicious and deeply moving little comedy that sort of takes the structure of a teen sports movie, then undermines that structure at every turn.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

Fresh, funny and unfailingly observant, Rocket Science is a mood-swinging movie about adolescence that lifts audiences' spirits even when its hero is down in the dumps.

Film Threat Zack Haddad

This is one of those films that will either hit it big as an indie crossover like "Little Miss Sunshine,” or just make some money and become a film nerd favorite. Either way I recommend you don’t miss this awkwardly fun gem.

TV Guide Ken Fox

Teenage angst and adolescent agony are the stuff of sharp, observant comedy this quirky, wonderfully dry first fiction feature from documentary filmmaker Jeffrey Blitz (Spellbound).

Premiere Stephen Saito

As fate would have it, Rocket Science might prove to be the handiwork of a burgeoning cinematic genius.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jennie Punter

The movies have given us plenty of loquacious teenagers – from such fast-talking truants as Ferris Bueller to such overachieving political animals as Tracy Flick ( Election). Hal Hefner is not one of these kids.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

I suspect a lot of high school students will recognize elements of real life in the movie, and that the movie will build a following. It may gross as little as "Welcome to the Dollhouse" or as much as "Clueless," but whichever it does, it's in the same league.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Paula Nechak

An odd charmer with a whisper of autobiography (Blitz makes his film's protagonist a stutterer, just as the director was in school) and it's made even better by young lead actor Reece Thompson.

Austin Chronicle Toddy Burton

There is one absolutely inspired scene in Rocket Science, and for this scene alone, it’s pretty much worth the price of admission. It occurs when our hero, Hal (Thompson), an occasionally incoherent teenage stutterer delivers his opening remarks during a high school debate.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

When it's not opting for whimsy, Rocket Science makes you cringe, which is what's good about it.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

Rocket Science doesn't go too far into Todd Solondz-style mockery, either; though painful to witness at times, Thompson's determination to face his fears--not just of speaking, but of girls, too--is heartbreakingly noble and courageous.

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub

Rocket Science has the makings of either a tragedy or a crowd-pleasing underdog story, but writer-director Jeffrey Blitz instead takes the movie on a different, and ultimately more rewarding, direction.

USA Today Claudia Puig

It is smart, witty and blessedly unpredictable.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

A quirky comedy-drama that gets the bulk of its humor from the well-placed non sequitur. It never seems to be going where you think it is, and that includes its oddly endearing dialogue.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

To his credit, Blitz throws in an unexpected twist that delivers a more ambivalent ending than your typical sports movie.

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

Blitz captures high school atmosphere well – not an easy thing to do – but overall the movie coasts on quirkiness.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Blitz captures the melancholy, the rage, the wackiness and drama of adolescence, and he gets winning performances out of his young stars.

The Hollywood Reporter Duane Byrge

Catapulted by an endearing lead performance by Reece Daniel Thompson as a stuttering high-school student, Rocket Science transcends the predictable high-school yarn and arcs into usually unexplored domains of self-discovery and personal growth in a coming-of-age film.

Variety Justin Chang

This unusually voluble comedy is as eloquent about love, self-realization and adolescent angst as its protagonist is endearingly tongue-tied.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

The surest sign of the movie’s integrity is that it resists any temptation to build the story to a climactic debate.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

A well-meaning little picture that's piercingly genuine in places and annoyingly affected in others.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Jeffrey Blitz's smart, deceptively lighthearted movie gives audiences an endearing nerd-messiah to revisit that angst for all of us and -- maybe, just maybe -- he'll end up in love and ahead.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

Quietly written and convincingly played, this coming-of-age story mines its rueful laughs from a thick vein of performance anxiety, in both senses of the term.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

Doesn't quite work but is worth seeing anyway.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

The problem with Rocket Science is that the character at the center of the drama isn't very energetic or, truth be told, interesting. This makes it difficult at times to remain engaged in the unfolding tale.

Village Voice Jim Ridley

Once Rocket Science enters the realm of the debate competition, the director's eye for detail never deserts him.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

One of those terminally annoying, depressive-yet-coy Sundance faves in which the tale of a mopey teen misfit unfolds behind a hard candy shell of irony.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

For all its flashes of emotional honesty and mordant humor, is nonsense at its core.