Metascore

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 4 Ratings

  • Starring: Chandler Canterbury, Jake Sandvig, Jason Ritter, Rebecca Hall
  • Summary: A Bag of Hammers revolves around the friendship of two charming grifters, Ben and Alan. Ben and Alan have built a successful though larcenous business, posing as car valets, only to steal the vehicles instead of parking them. Because of their less-than-ideal childhoods and a "job" that allows them to remain likeable boyish rogues well into their 20's, their penchant for crime is almost forgivable. However, everything changes when they meet a twelve-year-old boy named Kelsey. Neglected by his mother, Kelsey is drawn to Ben and Alan and they to him--eventually, Kelsey becomes part mascot, part protege. His presence ultimately forces Alan and Ben to choose between a life of crime and fun (an extended childhood) and the opportunity to grow up and deal with the emotional consequences that come with it. (MPI Media Group) Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 11
  2. Negative: 2 out of 11
  1. Reviewed by: Joe Leydon
    May 8, 2012
    70
    First-time feature helmer Brian Crano maneuvers some tricky tonal shifts with impressive ease in A Bag of Hammers, a droll, quirky comedy with a pleasant amount of heart.
  2. Reviewed by: Michelle Orange
    May 8, 2012
    60
    A few striking performances - Ritter, Preston, and Canterbury are especially great - smooth out what might have been a much bumpier ride.
  3. Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    May 10, 2012
    60
    Woven amid the glib one-liners and contrived scenarios is an unexpected, and undeniably touching, sense of heart.
  4. Reviewed by: Robert Abele
    May 17, 2012
    30
    Thin, neatly folded, paper-airplane of a movie threatens to nose dive into tweeville.

See all 11 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 1
  2. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. 5
    For a directorial debut this was overall a pretty good movie. The shifts in tone are smooth yet somehow still misplaced, as the film begins as a comedy and gradually loses its focus as it swerves between tragic and heartfelt territories. However, if you can overlook the amateur directing and the amateur actors, it really is worth a watch if you're not interested in thinking very hard. Expand

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