The Family Tree
The Family Tree Image
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Metascore
24 out of 100

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 7 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 5 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
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  • Summary: Life in suburban Serenity, Ohio is never quite as serene as it appears. The dysfunctional Burnett family – Bunnie, Jack and their twin 17 year olds Eric and Kelly – seems like a lost cause. When a freak accident leaves Bunnie with a case of amnesia, the Burnetts get an unexpected second cha chance at happiness. Meanwhile, next door neighbor Simon is relieved that his tryst gone wrong with Bunnie remains undetected, at least for the moment. Before long, a slew of past relationships, kids with guns, a suicidal teacher, a very zealous religious club, misinterpreted advances, corporate down-sizing, and one fateful squirrel combine to create enough mayhem to test the resolve, sanity and future of any family! (Entertainment One U.S.)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 7
  3. Negative: 3 out of 7
  1. Time Out New York
    Reviewed by: Andrew Schenker
    Aug 24, 2011
    40
    Surprise! The upper-middle-class family is still rotten to the core. In Vivi Friedman's overstuffed farce, the parents cheat on each other, the daughter dresses like a streetwalker, and the Bible-thumping son starts carrying a Glock.
  2. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Gary Goldstein
    Aug 25, 2011
    40
    Director Vivi Friedman's inability to successfully reconcile the film's duality undercuts an eclectic cast gamely committed to Mark Lisson's thematically ambitious, if scattered, script.
  3. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Mark Holcomb
    Aug 23, 2011
    40
    Thin as it is, Family Tree is no slog - the droll, attentive performances by Davis and Mulroney are endearing, and the extraneous guest-star bits (including Christina Hendricks as a secretary, no less) and rambling B stories aren't overly distracting.
  4. Slant Magazine
    Reviewed by: Chuck Bowen
    Aug 22, 2011
    38
    A few trite race and religion jokes goose up what's mostly a sentimental story of a dysfunctional family suddenly and magically learning to function again.

See all 7 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. argybargy
    9
    This movie has a great cast and heart. Not a perfect movie, but a very fresh and funny look at what it takes for a family to survive in suburban American chaos. I especially liked the young actors (Brittany Robertson, Max Thieriot, Madeline Zima) and also Hope Davis. And Mad Men's Christina Hendricks adds enough spice to keep men awake at night. All in all, a refreshing indie change from the summer's same old same old.… Expand

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