CNET Networks Entertainment GameSpot | GameFAQs | SportsGamer | Metacritic | MP3.com | TV.com
Home | About Metacritic | About Metascores | What's New | Wireless Versions | Discussion Forums | Advertising Inquiries | Contact Us | RSS
Metacritic.com: We Deal With Criticism
     Help
> Switch to Advanced Search  
Film Video/DVD Music Games TV

Film

Upcoming Release Calendar
Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Film In Our Forums

 

Wide Releases

sort by name sort by score

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

 

Limited Releases

sort by name sort by score

83 Alexandra
80 Band's Visit, The
76 Beauty in Trouble
47 Bella
80 Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
59 Blind Mountain
55 Bra Boys
60 Brick Lane
70 Caramel
49 Children of Huang Shi, The
83 Chop Shop
83 Chris & Don. A Love Story
78 Counterfeiters, The
52 Diminished Capacity
64 Dreams with Sharp Teeth
73 Duchess of Langeais, The
84 Edge of Heaven, The
52 Elsa & Fred
79 Encounters at the End of the World
62 Expired
64 Fall, The
51 Finding Amanda
57 Flawless
86 Flight of the Red Balloon, The
63 Foot Fist Way, The
60 Fugitive Pieces
45 Full Grown Men
55 Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
69 Go-Getter, The
74 Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
63 Gunnin for that #1 Spot
68 Heartbeat Detector
34 Holding Trevor
68 Honeydripper
55 Irina Palm
69 Jellyfish
60 Jihad for Love, A
68 Kabluey
62 Kiss the Bride
63 Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
82 Last Mistress, The
38 Life Before Her Eyes, The
70 Love Songs
64 Married Life
30 Meet Bill
33 Miss Conception
53 Mister Lonely
74 Mongol
52 Mother of Tears, The
52 My Blueberry Nights
71 My Brother Is an Only Child
84 My Winnipeg
61 On the Rumba River
69 Operation Filmmaker
61 OSS 117: Cairo - Nest of Spies
83 Paranoid Park
72 Priceless
51 Promotion, The
55 Quid Pro Quo
29 Red Roses and Petrol
79 Reprise
71 Roman de gare
56 Sangre de mi sangre
51 Savage Grace
76 Shotgun Stories
66 Son of Rambow
70 Standard Operating Procedure
62 Stuck
72 Surfwise
81 Tell No One
56 Then She Found Me
xx Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic
71 To the Limit
54 Tracey Fragments, The
70 Trumbo
72 Tuya's Marriage
83 U2 3D
56 Unknown Woman
86 Up the Yangtze
79 Visitor, The
62 Wackness, The
37 War, Inc.
64 Water Lilies
66 When Did You Last See Your Father?
55 Without the King
72 Woman on the Beach
64 XXY
67 Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
75 Young@Heart

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

 



Printer-Friendly Version Email This Page Discuss In Our Forums

Talent Given Us, The
Daddy W Productions

Talent Given Us, The reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 72 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
7.3 out of 10
based on 17 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 3 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: Not Rated

Starring Allen Wagner, Judy Wagner, Emily Wagner, Maggie Wagner, Judy Dixon, Billy Wirth, and Andrew Wagner

A road movie about a family that is forced to come together, for better or worse. (Daddy W Productions)


GENRE(S): Comedy  |  Drama  
WRITTEN BY: Andrew Wagner  
DIRECTED BY: Andrew Wagner  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: July 11, 2006 
Theatrical: June 17, 2005 
RUNNING TIME: 98 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

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...

91
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
A film of uncommon originality.
Read Full Review
88
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
A brave, funny, affecting film.
Read Full Review
80
LA Weekly Ella Taylor
A painful, hilarious and immensely moving rumination on mid-life angst.
Read Full Review
80
Film Threat Jeremy Mathews
A cross between a road movie, a documentary and a therapy session.
Read Full Review
80
Variety Scott Foundas
Brutally truthful, funny and touching in nearly equal measure.
Read Full Review
80
The New York Times Manohla Dargis
The strange and delightful Talent Given Us is a movie that shouldn't work but does rather remarkably.
Read Full Review
75
New York Post Lou Lumenick
Limps to a fairly lame conclusion, but until then its remarkable candor is like spending a memorably hilarious, harrowing and unforgettable weekend with your wacky in-laws.
Read Full Review
75
Chicago Tribune Jessica Reaves
One fears, however, that not every uncomfortable scene was scripted, and that we have just been privy to some awfully private moments. It makes for uneasy viewing, sure, but it's one of the most compelling rides around.
Read Full Review
75
Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
This isn't a movie, it's a thingamajig - frequently as off-putting as can be, but unassailably one of a kind.
Read Full Review
70
Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
The most poignant performance comes from Allen, a retired stock analyst who clings to his masculine pride even though his body's falling apart on him.
Read Full Review
70
Village Voice Dennis Lim
Raw, fascinating, often unpleasant film.
Read Full Review
70
The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen
An engaging portrait of a functionally dysfunctional family.
Read Full Review
63
New York Daily News Jami Bernard
It's weird and wonderful.
Read Full Review
58
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
Autobiographical or not, the frankness and family hysteria of this rolling therapy session gets awkwardly intimate and at times tough to endure, as much for its raw candor as for its confessional contrivance. Too bad the revelations of past mistakes are more interesting than the story played out screen.
Read Full Review
50
San Francisco Chronicle Walter Addiego
Occasionally funny and touching, but often embarrassing and cringe-inducing.
Read Full Review
50
Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
It's difficult, though, to see how this picture -- essentially chronicling a long car trip -- could mean much to anyone but the Wagners and their friends and relatives.
Read Full Review
50
TV Guide Ken Fox
This curious blend of fact and fiction is ultimately worth the trip -- just don't forget to pack the Advil.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 7.3 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Courtney B. gave it an8:
At first I thought, Whaaaat have I gotten myself into! From the first listing of the actors...most of whom had the same last name, it was readily apparent that The Talent Given Us was not your ordinary film. But I was immediately drawn in by the quirky interactions of this complex, contentious, ultimately loving family on their Pilgrim's progress from New York to LA. I highly recommend this film.

Gary gave it a5:
It has it's funny moments but the plot is a bit of a stretch and mostly the characters are just mean spirited and annoying.

Discuss this movie in our forums

Return to top of page
Home | FILM | DVD/VIDEO | MUSIC | GAMES | TV | Forums | About Metacritic metacritic.com

Popular on CBS sites: World News | Fantasy Football | Amy Winehouse | Baseball | E3 | Batman | Firefox 3 | iPhone 3G

About CNET Networks | Jobs | Advertise

© 2008 CNET Networks, Inc., a CBS Company. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use