Rory O'Shea Was Here
Metascore
59 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 23 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
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  1. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Claudia Puig
    88
    Buddy movies are a Hollywood staple, but Rory O'Shea Was Here puts a new and profoundly affecting spin on the tired genre.
  2. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    75
    Funny and moving, and more entertaining than some of the movies you are considering this weekend.
  3. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    75
    Superbly acted.
  4. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Steven Rea
    75
    It addresses the essential human need for dignity, for freedom, for mastery over one's life.
  5. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Ruthe Stein
    75
    Sweet and deeply moving.
  6. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Michael Rechtshaffen
    70
    The kind of inspirational movie that actually earns its crowd-rousing response as opposed to merely pushing the same old, emotion-coaxing buttons.
  7. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Ella Taylor
    70
    O'Donnell's directing is assured and glossy as befits a former maker of television commercials, and Jeffrey Caine's exuberant script sidesteps cliché -- just.
  8. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
    70
    Better than the usual three-stage journey of courage, heartbreak and redemption. In this case, the triumph of the human spirit comes with a small bitter chaser.
  9. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    70
    If there's such a thing as freedom for everyone, Rory's determined to give the prospect its most grueling road test.
  10. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    70
    Constrained by formula but executed with heart and humor.
  11. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    63
    As a feel-good movie about disabled youths, Rory O'Shea Was Here gets the job done, but it isn't interesting or daring enough to make it worth a trip to a theater.
  12. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Daniel Wible
    60
    A harmless little charmer with a uniformly fine cast, played by the numbers for full tear-jerking effect.
  13. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Nathan Rabin
    60
    It wants to humanize the plight of the disabled, but it undermines its worthy aims by presenting its leads as martyrs and saints.
  14. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Jessica Winter
    60
    A plea for equality of opportunity, a worthy objective somewhat obscured by non-disabled actors occupying the lead roles. In any case, one imagines Rory himself would prefer a Farrelly disability blooper reel.
  15. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Thomas
    60
    A shameless heart-tugger of considerable appeal that, like many movies that start off with much going for them, could have been so much better had its makers aimed higher.
  16. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Marc Mohan
    58
    Perhaps a better moniker would have been "One Flew Over My Left Foot."
  17. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Allison Benedikt
    50
    McAvoy does his best with this subpar, heart-tugging material. At times his mix of easy charm and inner demon pulls Rory out from under the tired script, but those pesky dramatic forces keep pushing him back in for every predictable plot development.
  18. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    50
    McAvoy is unerringly charming as Rory, a man who quickly discerns and dismisses well-meaning condescension. So one can't help wondering what he would think of this film, whose sentimentality comes across as smug.
  19. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    50
    Grows ever more manipulative and predictable.
  20. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Liam Lacey
    50
    The script, despite doses of irreverent humour, feels manipulative, and the music is oblivious to nuance, with a spectacular misuse of Johnny Cash singing "Hurt."
  21. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    50
    The manipulative climax works, even as you feel like the jerk in tear-jerking.
  22. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    50
    Rory O'Shea Was Here gazes at the physically afflicted and just about begs for our sympathy long after we've grown restless and eager to feel something else.
  23. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: Joe Morgenstern
    50
    Talented as they are, the wheelchair-bound stars of Rory O'Shea Was Here can't transcend a manipulative script.
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User Reviews

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User Score
8.8 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 5 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. KeithW.
    10
    See it-Not pandering-Lovely and honest.
  2. WilliamC.
    7
    A very human story. In the same genre as Murderball and My Left Foot, where the normal viewer gets to understand a bit about the life and dreams of disabled people. Romola Garai adds sparkle and a glimpse of how each of might react to these courageous men.… Full Review »
  3. DianeM.
    10
    Unlike others, I feel that this movie does not pander, but shows the possibilities for independence that people with disabilities can have. The acting is superb, particularly that of the charismatic McAvoy and the ensemble cast really works. I did not feel that I had seen a clone of "My Left Foot" but another genuine masterpiece that could stand on its own.… Full Review »
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