Diggers

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Manny Lewis

Ultimately, the movie is about finding contentment during tough times.

Village Voice Ella Taylor

Rudd is sweet and funny; Ron Eldard and Josh Hamilton are great as the town's aimless stud muffin and philosophizing pothead, respectively. But the movie belongs to Ken Marino, who is riotously funny.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

A quintessential American independent movie, Diggers isn't going to change the history of cinema. But it has integrity. It feels like life.

TV Guide Ken Fox

Likably low-key, character-driven dramatic comedy.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

What separates Diggers from its kin - notably the Ed Burns movies - is the testosterone balance of its masculine script and Dieckmann's sensitive direction. Maybe we need more buddy movies by women.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

This seriously funny group portrait of third-generation clam diggers (and their wives and sisters) is fresh as today's catch and about as tasty. Its '70s soundtrack positively swaggers.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

As befits a heartfelt ode to working-class values, Diggers puts in lots of hard, honest work that finally pays off in a wholly predictable yet unexpectedly moving conclusion.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

Ken Marino, who plays the silliest of the diggers, wrote the script, and when it isn't straining after elegiac moments, it's fresh and unpredictable.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust

Archetypal characters and somewhat formulaic plot notwithstanding, Diggers has the conviction to avoid tying things up with a bow and allows us the privilege to imagine where its denizens will go afterward.

Variety Dennis Harvey

Basically "Diner" in wading boots, it feels very familiar in conceit and unadventurous in execution, but offers the undeniable pleasures of a well-observed, well-played modest seriocomedy.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

The best thing in Diggers, besides the close-up of the back end of the Vista Cruiser, is the interplay between Rudd and Tierney. They really do seem like brother and sister, adults yet not entirely grown up.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

The movie is strong and holding as long as it's shambling about in the Montauk dusk; when Dieckmann has to bring things to a resolution, Diggers turns ordinary -- sweet, but you've seen it many times before.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Ken Marino of "Dawson's Creek," who wrote the somewhat autobiographical script, plays one of Rudd's pals.

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

Overall, Diggers is like an Ed Burns movie -- but with fishing gear.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

Never quite breaks out of its talky inertia.

Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar

Diggers isn't a bad film, but the underlying premise - the longing one feels to escape from a dead-end, small town life - has been so beaten to death in the movies that no amount of accurate 70s design or subtlety in the performances can hide the fact.

Premiere Ethan Alter

This tale has been told so often (in fact, its roots can be traced back to Fellini's 1953 coming-of-age classic "I Vitelloni") the only way to keep it remotely fresh is to keep changing the time period and the professions of the principal characters.

San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein

Sitting through Diggers is so tedious that you might find yourself envying the clam diggers. At least they get to be outdoors.