GAMES: GameSpot | GameFAQs MUSIC: Last.fm | MP3.com MOVIES: Metacritic | Movietome TV: 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

67 $9.99
75 24 City
66 Adoration
74 Afghan Star
48 Alien Trespass
56 American Violet
82 Anvil! The Story of Anvil
57 Away We Go
81 Beaches of Agnes, The
62 Big Man Japan
28 Big Shot-Caller, The
78 Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story, The
55 Brothers Bloom, The
82 Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country
xx Call of the Wild
63 Cheri
62 Cherry Blossoms
63 Dead Snow
65 Departures
18 Downloading Nancy
58 Easy Virtue
70 End of the Line, The
77 Every Little Step
64 Examined Life
80 Food, Inc.
38 Gigantic
56 Girl from Monaco, The
67 Girlfriend Experience, The
87 Gomorrah
89 Goodbye Solo
63 Great Buck Howard, The
79 Harvard Beats Yale 29-29
xx Home
82 Hunger
91 Hurt Locker, The
16 I Hate Valentine's Day
81 Il Divo
54 Is Anybody There?
71 Jerichow
58 Julia
74 Lemon Tree
36 Life is Hot in Cracktown
40 Limits of Control, The
42 Little Ashes
64 Lymelife
50 Management
57 Merry Gentleman, The
66 Moon
35 New York
62 Not Forgotten
xx Offshore
78 O'Horten
64 Outrage
40 Paris 36
54 Pontypool
71 Pressure Cooker
52 Quiet Chaos
83 Revanche
67 Rudo y Cursi
86 Seraphine
65 Sex Positive
70 Shall We Kiss?
77 Sin Nombre
59 Sleep Dealer
74 Song of Sparrows, The
54 Stoning of Soraya M., The
82 Sugar
84 Summer Hours
61 Sunshine Cleaning
28 Surveillance
42 Tennessee
63 Tetro
64 Throw Down Your Heart
80 Tokyo Sonata
63 Tokyo!
70 Tony Manero
74 Treeless Mountain
88 Tulpan
74 Two Lovers
83 Tyson
83 U2 3D
60 Under Our Skin
69 Unmistaken Child
69 Valentino: The Last Emperor
22 What Goes Up
45 Whatever Works
57 Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love

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: iPhone 3G | Fantasy Football | Moneywatch | Antivirus Software | Recipes | E3 2009

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use