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Year One
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
My First Mister
Mixed or average reviews
Based on 27 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 14 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Romance
Written by: Jill Franklyn
Directed by: Christine Lahti
Release Date:
Theatrical: October 12, 2001
DVD: April 23, 2002
Running Time: 115 minutes, Color
Origin: Germany / USA
Summary
RATING: R for language and some sexual material
Starring Albert Brooks, Leelee Sobieski, John Goodman, Michael McKean, Carol Kane, Mary Kay Place, and Desmond Harrington
Portrays an unlikely bond between two total opposites. As their relationship develops, a friendship that seemed impossible becomes inevitable. (Paramount Classics)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer 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
A human-scale comedy that reaches across generations to tickle, connect and embrace.
Read Full Review >New Times (L.A.) Gregory Weinkauf
As it stands, it's cute, occasionally poignant and outrageously implausible.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Lawrence Van Gelder
Leelee Sobieski and Albert Brooks, especially Mr. Brooks, deliver outstanding performances in the first feature film to be directed by Ms. Lahti.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Loren King
Offers something rare for a modern movie: an uncynical depiction of the redemptive power of human relationships.
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
About reaching out, about seeing the other person, about having something to say and being able to listen. So what if the ending is in autopilot? At least it's a flight worth taking.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
While My First Mister has considerable charm, it suffers somewhat from comparison with "Ghost World."
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Jay Carr
Risks seeming too earnestly therapeutic for its own good. But what makes My First Mister a successful feature directing debut for Lahti is the emotional veracity it summons.
Slate David Edelstein
It's a measure of Brooks' stature that he survives the self-sabotage and comes through with his most engaging performance in years.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly F. X. Feeney
Christine Lahti, making her directorial debut, wrings good laughs and strong emotion throughout, largely through the performances.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
In its first two-thirds, My First Mister, which marks Christine Lahti's feature directorial debut, looks to be a winner. But it takes a disastrously wrong turn toward the end that all but destroys the good work that's come before.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
It's a real shame the film gets mushy at the end. The result is an all too conventional ending on a film that should have been much better.
USA Today Claudia Puig
The harder this film tries to be quirky and edgy, the more it feels like a run-of-the mill TV movie.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
My First Mister, which was written by Jill Franklyn, watches Jennifer with lively interest, but rarely pierces the mysteries of her soul.
Miami Herald Connie Ogle
Sobieski manages to make Jennifer's inevitable transformation more than a little bittersweet. Apparently even clichés click sometimes.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Ronnie Scheib
A bathetic TV-movie-type "learning experience" that provides about as much insight into teenagers as 40s westerns did into Indians--it's all in the costumes and customs.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Russell Smith
The splendid performance by Sobieski, who ends her long run as industry-mag buzz princess and arrives as a full-fledged star.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Michael Dequina
Lahti's feature directorial debut plays like a watered-down variation ("Ghost World") -- that is, until the final third, when the film not only deviates but flat out derails.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
By the film's interminable, unforgivably embarrassing third act it sinks in a sticky swamp of sentimentality.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
Brooks guards the movie from overheating in a surfeit of warmedy.
Read Full Review >Variety Todd McCarthy
Lahti's feature directorial debut walks an innocuous middle line between the story's maudlin possibilities and its meaningful potential.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jack Mathews
Drifts from goofy situation comedy to pop culture parody to a last-act load of sentiment that would sink a trash barge.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
Although the movie has its moments, it's a tearjerker that jerks too hard.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ken Fox
One hundred and nine minutes of drama and not a single moment rings true.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Stephen Hunter
The movie is fussy and organized rather than moving. It follows a pattern so precisely, it's as if Lahti thought points would be taken off if she colored outside the lines.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Jessica Winter
The best that can be said about director Christine Lahti's feature debut is that it doesn't fall into any ready category.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Kim Morgan
Intelligent teens will hate this film, and adults will just be embarrassed.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.9 (out of 10) based on 14 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Lain gave it a10:
It's a great movie. Critics say it was too cliche? How old are these critics? They seem to have forgotten what it felt like to be that age. Intelligent teens will find this movie interesting and relate to the notion of leaving teen-angst behind, to come to a better understanding of the world around them. Adults might just remember that 9-5 routines aside, they are not all that dead yet and still have that strong will to live free. Very good acting and directing. I'd recommend it anytime.
Joe Q. gave it a10:
Not for the sophisticate but rings true. Fine work by the principals - Sobieki & Brooks most for all - no false surfaces.
Patricia S. gave it a10:
Every year, there is a movie that I love every minute of and have to immediately watch again for the sheer enjoyment of it. This film is it for me this year. I eschew the comments from those who question the reality of the teen character or the wonderful ending. As a high school teacher, mother of 5 and a former teen, it amazed me in its insights. The performances by all cast were top notch. This has made my "Need to See Every Year List." As for the critics, they work so hard to keep their jobs by practicing what Rob Brezny calls "pop nihilism." A steady stream of social cynicism is boring, lazy and has gotten very old.
Kevin E. gave it a4:
I rented on the premise that anything featuring Albert Brooks has got have some value. Well.. he may have jumped the shark on this one. No fault of the actors, the story is very contrived and ambitious - resulting in a sort of an edgy Lifetime movie. I was barely connected to it before the 'heartbreaking turn of events' where I happily dropped out, emotionally.
Kevin H. gave it a 9:
A gem. I just bought this ex-rental and watched it 2nd time with the commentary today. This film could have been mundane, pretentious and of course does suffer from not fitting into a single easily marketable category. I just read a critic essentially being annoyed at the self centred teenager - but that is part of it. Humans are funny like this and that; and its how we relate, how we grow beyond the stereotypes and perceptions of self that give us colour. For me the film was very convincing and the 2 main actors were spot on. The film gives food for thought and is enriching. It's a refreshing change to cardboard characters and cut out templates for plots in so many more "successful" films. PS I like the mix of critics being compiled here and public contributions. Also if you're looking for another movie about friendship try the British film "Me Without You."
Kat K. gave it a 10:
Regardless of what pretentious critics may say, this movie is a subtle masterpiece. Perhaps, in ways, the sappy ending detracts from the overall originality of the film's interesting beginning, but Sobieski's performance salvages it all. I am insulted to hear that "intelligent teens wouldn't like this movie." This movie is a reality for me! Before even viewing it, my life has been much like the character of Jennifer's. Sometimes film characters are less than realistic due to the fact that filmmakers want to portray a less conventional,less widely accepted face of humanity. Jennifer's metamorphisis may seem dubious, but the character's habits, soul, and actions ring true to human nature. As a graveyard haunter and brooding coffee shop, black-clad poet myself, I give this film an emphatic "groovy!"
Dan C. gave it a 9:
Surprisingly well done. Can't believe it wasn't a hit. This was an art-house movie that had the potential to be a sleeper. Was likely overwhelmed by 9/11 and anthrax.
