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Year One
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Answer Man, The
Mixed or average reviews
Based on 16 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 3 votes
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Comedy | Romance
Written by: John Hindman
Directed by: John Hindman
Release Date:
Theatrical: July 24, 2009
DVD: November 3, 2009
Running Time: 95 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R for language
Starring Jeff Daniels, Lauren Graham, Lou Taylor Pucci, Olivia Thirlby, Kat Dennings, and Nora Dunn
From first-time writer-director John Hindman, comes The Answer Man, a romantic comedy about love and the search for meaning. Arlen Faber is the reclusive and misanthropic author of "Me and God," a book that has redefined spirituality for an entire generation and has been translated into over 100 languages. On the eve of the 20th anniversary of his still wildly popular book, Arlen is still sought after as the man who has all the answers. Arlen find his world turned upside down when his life collides with Elizabeth, a single mother who might just be able to provide the salvation he needs. In addition, Arlen forms an unlikely friendship with Kris, a young man fresh out of rehab who is searching for meaning. Both Elizabeth and Kris are hopeful that Arlen has the answers, but the truth is, he hasn't got a clue. (Magnolia Pictures)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
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...
Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
Though his film is a tad choppy and a lot chatty, Hindman elicits sympathetic performances from leads who demonstrate a deep understanding of movie physics.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
The Answer Man is a passable way to kill two hours on a lazy summer afternoon, and perhaps an excuse to get out of the heat.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer
A promising premise and some very good actors are smothered in goo in The Answer Man.
Read Full Review >NPR Mark Jenkins
A theological trifle that ultimately twists itself into a romantic comedy.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
A perfect example of an Intelligent Bad Movie.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
How much more interesting is a film like "(500) Days of Summer," which is about the complexities of life, in comparison with this one, which cheerfully cycles through the cliches.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
Daniels plays Arlen with a kind of cuddly crankiness; he makes him a jerk who just needs a hug.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Ella Taylor
Hindman is a stand-up comedian with many Turgenev-size issues on his mind--inadequate fathers and troubled sons, overprotective mothers, the search for belief--whose weight this slight picture can hardly bear. But the laid-back charm of Daniels and Graham's bumpy courtship gives the movie a much-needed edge of idiosyncrasy.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Glenn Whipp
Conveniently, everyone wears their symptoms on their sleeves, but because the characters are so haphazardly drawn, their pain remains elusive to the end.
Read Full Review >The New York Times A.O. Scott
Never shows enough passion to be interestingly bad.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joanne Kaufman
Its crackly sarcasm and smart talk turn out to be simply coating for a soft, icky, center.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin
Unoriginality is the greatest and most flagrant of its many sins.
Read Full Review >Variety Justin Chang
Jeff Daniels' gleeful misanthropy and Lauren Graham's emotional openness are poorly served by the pic's transparently phony story and therapeutic uplift
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Joe Neumaier
This two-bit echo of "The Accidental Tourist" is a preachy pill that wastes the genial, funny Jeff Daniels and the criminally underused Lauren Graham.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.6 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
