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Metascore
57 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 33 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 68 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Starring: Dennis Quaid, Thomas Haden Church
  • Summary: Professor Lawrence Wetherhold might be imperiously brilliant, but when it comes to solving the conundrums of love and family, he's as downright flummoxed as the next guy. His teenage daughter is an acid-tongued overachiever who follows all too closely in dad's misery-loving footsteps, and his adopted, preposterously ne'er-do-well brother has perfected the art of freeloading. A widower who can't seem to find passion in anything anymore, not even the Victorian literature in which he's an expert, Lawrence seems to be sleepwalking through a very stunted middle age. When his brother shows up unexpectedly for an extended stay just as he accidentally encounters a former student, Janet, the circumstances stir him from his deep freeze, with often comical, sometimes heartbreaking consequences for himself and everyone around him. (Miramax)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 33
  3. Negative: 1 out of 33
  1. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    88
    A sharp, superbly acted character-driven comedic drama.
  2. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Zack Haddad
    60
    It is just too bad that this film isn't as snarky and groundbreaking as it would like you to think it is.
  3. Premiere
    Reviewed by: Ryan Stewart
    38
    Dennis Quaid is mostly lost at sea as Lawrence Wetherhold, the Carnegie Mellon lit professor; he apparently saw fit to tinker with his performance as filming went along, greeting us in some scenes as a noticeably swishy highbrow, while at other moments he's channeling the smiling, drunken menace of Nicholson's Jack Torrance.

See all 33 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 27
  3. Negative: 9 out of 27
  1. MickyJ.
    10
    Loved it. Because of the cast and maybe the marketing, people were expecting something other than the intelligent, thoughtful, and intimate dark comedy that this is. Amazing performances from all the leads, sharp writing, and top-notch directing make this one of the best films of 2008.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. PatrickD
    5
    The problem with the movie is that it is uninspired. It's not terrible in any aspect. The acting is credible, the direction is okay, but it lacks any heart. The worst sin of the movie is that it's boring.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. Mark
    3
    Interesting story that was poorly written. Cliche and attempted to be deep -- weak.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 27 User Reviews

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