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Secondhand Lions
New Line Cinema


8.0

based on 33 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 15 votes
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Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: PG for thematic material, language and action violence

Starring Michael Caine, Robert Duvall, Haley Joel Osment, Kyra Sedgwick, Nicky Katt, Josh Lucas, Michael O'Neill, and Deirdre O'Connell

When the introverted young Walter (Osment) finds himself forced to spend the summer with a pair of eccentric great-uncles (Caine, Duvall) on a remote ranch in Texas, he's understandably unnerved. But left to their own devices, this mismatched threesome begins to forge an unlikely bond. A heartwarming comedy about adventures, discoveries, growth and trust. (New Line Cinema)

GENRE(S):	Comedy \| Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Tim McCanlies
DIRECTED BY:	Tim McCanlies
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: February 3, 2004 Video: February 3, 2004 Theatrical: September 19, 2003
RUNNING TIME:	109 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	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...

Film Threat Kevin Carr

It's a feel-good movie, but not in a bad way. It makes you feel good the way that “Forrest Gump” made you feel good, as if the filmmakers were seriously trying to make a fun, wholesome, entertaining movie without taking on the industry with a moral agenda.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

Entertaining, thrilling and honestly sentimental, it's an equal-opportunity crowd-pleaser.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

It's not perfect - infrequently the comedy and drama rub up against each other too much - but it is the genuine article: a wholly unique family film that can moisten your eyes even while it quickens your pulse.

Miami Herald Charles Savage

Even without handicapping for the limitations of its gentle genre, the film has moments of whimsical humor and thoughtful plotting that soar tantalizingly close to something that could be enjoyed on its own merits.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Has enough charm and whimsy to capture the attention and imagination of children and parents alike, and arguably represents one of the best live-action family films to enter theaters this year.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Smart and entertaining almost every step of the way.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

When a director has two actors as iconic and skillful as Robert Duvall and Michael Caine for his leads, all he has to do is point the camera in their direction and it's hard to go wrong.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

A gentle and sweet whimsy, attentive to the love between the two brothers, respectful of the boy's growth and curiosity.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

May be pure hokum, but at least it knows how to spin a yarn.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps

Writer-director Tim McCanlies works in broad, kid-friendly strokes, and he's not afraid to lay on the sentiment, but his cast makes sure it's well-earned.

The Hollywood Reporter Sheri Linden

Awash in nostalgia, "Lions" combines a gentle coming-of-age story with swashbuckling fantasy. While it lacks a necessary tension in its establishing scenes and might be too soft for those who prefer grittier fare.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

This is the sort of funny, humane, honorable story that families need more of, though viewers of any age should be hooked by the mystery surrounding the brothers' riches.

Empire Joe Berry

Caine and Duvall paired on screen would be worth the price of admission even if they were just reading the Yellow Pages.

Variety Ronnie Scheib

May score higher with parents than the kids they bring in tow. Writer-director Tim McCanlies' ("Dancer, Texas Pop. 81") feel-good celebration of youth and old age enriching each other is carefully leavened with humor.

Entertainment Weekly Scott Brown

With no baseline ''truth'' to be found among the cartoony characters and cheesy twists, the whole production feels like a Texas-size load of secondhand lyin'.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Osment, playing a fatherless 14-year-old, has entered the sort of awkward adolescence that afflicts so many male child stars - and seems utterly intimidated by his esteemed co-stars.

USA Today Claudia Puig

The movie, though predictable and formulaic, is not that simple, although it might have been better off had it been so basic. It interweaves clichés from several other genres and ends up a mishmash of stories.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

These pros lift this button-pushing blob of faux folksiness to a higher plane than it deserves.

TV Guide Sabrina Rojas Weiss

Granted, it's unfair to compare an actor's precocious child persona with his awkward 14-year-old self, but Osment relies so often on his furrowed brow to convey emotion that you have to keep reminding yourself that the technique actually worked in "The Sixth Sense."

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Edgeless as a marshmallow and twice as syrupy.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

Slow and ultimately distressing.

San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann

Coming-of-age schmaltz fest.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

One of those headed-for-cable oddities that must have sounded like a good idea at the time.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Mr. McCanlies's style lurches between the lyrical, the fantastical (flashbacks to the uncles' youth) and the clumsily antic, and Mr. Osment's performance is woefully stiff and inexpressive.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

A predictable outcome is not bad if it's fun getting to it. But this story is so lamely conceived and presented that it's a grind.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Something we want to like more than we can. It's a mild family film with an excellent cast that never develops traction.

Village Voice Ed Park

The self-consciousness is unintentionally touching, but it wet-blankets the film into a thirdhand lark.

New York Magazine Peter Rainer

The only saving grace is that Caine and Duvall don’t overdo the southern-coot stuff.

LA Weekly Scott Foundas

Despite the considerable imagination that has gone into realizing period scenes on a modest budget, all the episodes (past and present) feel hurried and clipped, like they've been passed through too many impatient editing-room hands, and the picture never fully absorbs you.

Chicago Tribune Allison Benedikt

With such a bang-up cast, this setup could at least elicit some tears, but in its 107 minutes, nary a one welled up in my eyes.

Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky

Cornier than the cornfields spread out in front of the dilapidated rural Texas manse inhabited by Robert Duvall and Michael Caine, playing grumpy old brothers with mismatched accents.

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

It's pretty appalling, and it's boring.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

It's less a children's movie made for contemporary children than a children's movie made for people who still remember, and pine for, how children's movies were made 50 years ago.

The average user rating for this movie is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 15 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Ape E. gave it a10:
This is indeed a feel good movie. And you feel great after watching it. Is that bad? A brilliant mix of fantasy and reality, this movie will touch your heart, unless your heart is burdened with pessimism and malcontentedness, as some reviewers seem to be afflicted with. One of the best underrated movies of all time. A great sigh of relief in a world of bad movies.

Pants gave it a10:
This movie makes you feel good all over. If you need to feel like there is still hope for humanity watch this. Good stuff.

[Anonymous] gave it an8:
Similar to Tim Burton's Big Fish. For some reason, this one brings back pleasant childhood fantasies, and sometimes seems like it was made a a tribute to the old films that thrilled our childhood imaginations.

joe l. gave it a10:
This movie is inspiring and whimsical- the happiest movie ever. i love it.

Pat C. gave it a 3:
An interesting concept piece, but even Duvall and Caine can't save it from one-dimensional characters, Osment's overacting and an atrocious application of the musical score. There is something deeply flawed in a movie where the most interesting thing is the expressions of dogs watching the action.

Marilyn W. gave it an 8:
Enjoyment of fiction requires "a willing suspension of disbelief." If the premise of the plot is granted, Secondhand Lions is a great story and a lot of fun. I watched it twice, back to back.

Xiong C. gave it a 6:
McCanlies directs this deeply flawed film like a boy trying to learn to ride a bicycle. If you, like me, will go to see anything with Duvall and Caine in it, you'll be disappointed to see them groping through this awkward mix of sentiment, fantasy, and crusty humor. Particularly obnoxious are the flashbacks, played by young men pretending to be young Duvall and young Caine, managing to be nothing at all. Still, fine performances by the lion and an especially ugly dog, while Osment almost manages to strike a consistently believable note. This could have been a much better movie if McCanlies had know what kind of movie he wanted it to be.

Secondhand Lions New Line Cinema

Secondhand Lions
New Line Cinema