The Odd Life of Timothy Green

Name: The Odd Life of Timothy Green
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Comedy
Released: August 15, 2012
Duration: 105 min
Rating: 47
Cast: Cameron 'C.J.' Adams, Jennifer Garner, Joel Edgerton

2012

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 67 Ratings

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6.1	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 67 Ratings

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The Odd Life Of Timothy Green

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Movie Details & Credits

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | Release Date: August 15, 2012 | PG

Starring: Cameron 'C.J.' Adams, Jennifer Garner, Joel Edgerton

Summary: The Odd Life of Timothy Green is a magical story about a happily married couple, Cindy and Jim Green, who can’t wait to start a family but can only dream about what their child would be like. When young Timothy shows up on their doorstep one stormy night, Cindy and Jim—and their small town of Stanleyville—learn that sometimes the unexpectedThe Odd Life of Timothy Green is a magical story about a happily married couple, Cindy and Jim Green, who can’t wait to start a family but can only dream about what their child would be like. When young Timothy shows up on their doorstep one stormy night, Cindy and Jim—and their small town of Stanleyville—learn that sometimes the unexpected can bring some of life’s greatest gifts. (Disney Pictures)… Expand

Director: Peter Hedges

Genre(s): Drama, Fantasy, Comedy

Rating: PG

Runtime: 105 min

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Critic Reviews

Roger Ebert

Aug 15, 2012

Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton are appealing together as far from perfect parents, and CJ Adams has that ability of so many child actors to be pitch-perfect. Read full review

Owen Gleiberman

Aug 15, 2012

The movie should have been called Diary of a Wimpy Forrest Gump. It's genuinely soft-hearted (you're all but guaranteed to cry) but mush-brained, too. Read full review

Michael Phillips

Aug 15, 2012

Hedges is a determined romantic and a bit of a saphead. He's also humane. Read full review

Michael O'Sullivan

Aug 15, 2012

In the end, what mars "Timothy Green" most is its middle-of-the-road approach. Its appealingly quirky, fairy-tale-like center is so coated with sugar, it cloys. It's not that "Timothy Green" is odd, but that it isn't odd enough. Read full review

Matt Maytum

Mar 25, 2013

An outdated oddity. Read full review

A.O. Scott

Aug 15, 2012

The ghastliness of this damp and squishy comedy is the byproduct of a confused and earnest sentimentality, a willful devotion to wide-eyed wonder that confuses simplicity with simple-mindedness. Read full review

Elise Nakhnikian

Aug 12, 2012

Disney draws a big fat bullseye on the fast-growing infertile-couple demographic with this airless misfire. Read full review

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User Reviews

alexandraa130

Aug 22, 2012

I LOVED this movie! It was a great family movie! It is funny and at the end it made me cry!! I totally recommand this movie, it is amazing! The actors did a fantastic job!! :] xox

2 of 5 users found this helpful23

Freekandi

Feb 23, 2014

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I have had the privilege of watching this two weeks before it got released and I admit to crying even while watching it for the second time. This is a great film to promote fostering and adoption and stealthily pokes in hints of Christianity. a great film altogether and deserves at least an eight.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Inert_Static

Aug 20, 2012

As a person who has gone through a situation like one in the movie(Don't want to give to much away). I thought it was wonderful. I would see it again, anytime.

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

Iky009

Nov 27, 2016

Although not having a flashy and even engaging storyline, Timothy Green, it's not all bad, the story may not even stir you have your good time .

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

The3AcademySins

Jan 28, 2020

A little odd, like the title suggests, but this is ultimately a very inoffensive movie. Its an okay watch, and has a lot of good themes about helping other humans and helping the environment. A lot of the movie feels slapped together, and not very well thought out, but I enjoyed it just the same.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

hoops2448

Apr 26, 2013

Jennifer Garner's movie career has been fairly sketchy. She has had her successes (Juno) but has accompanied them with a plethora of failures (Elektra, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past). She has done well with her TV career and I view Alias as one of my all time favorite shows but she hasn't beenJennifer Garner's movie career has been fairly sketchy. She has had her successes (Juno) but has accompanied them with a plethora of failures (Elektra, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past). She has done well with her TV career and I view Alias as one of my all time favorite shows but she hasn't been as prolific as some would have imagined. The Odd Life of Timothy Green unfortunately carries on the trend of disappointment but not because of Garner. When wannabe parents Jim (Joel Edgerton) and Cindy Green (Jennifer Garner) discover they cannot have children they decide to write their own fantasy child's characteristics and aspirations and wish for them (and to some extent, him) The next day, as if out of nowhere Timothy crawls from the ground outside their house with leaves growing out of his ankles. Jim and Cindy must take care of him while keeping his unique secret from the rest of town. Garner tries to tap into her character from Juno with another mother desperate for a child and she is just as good in this as she was in Juno giving the film a wealth of emotion right from the get go. The supernatural elements of this story work as they are never as important as the relationships between the characters. In fact the supernatural parts allow for some of the movies strongest moments, especially the end. The story by Ahmet Zappa (Son of Frank) is clever and also a bit childish. The film should bask in its childish tendencies but isn't allowed to because the film is filled with side stories that add context to the ending but aren't all that enjoyable. In fact the film should have spent a little more time having fun with its characters instead of providing meaning, some things are better left to the imagination. The film tries to tell too many stories. The film looks at small town life in America but it does so by introducing many side characters, none of which provide much fun to this family film except for Dianne Wiest's Bernice, a sullen museum owner, town grouch and wife of the local factory owner. The look at the disillusion of a small town in modern America thanks to the economic downturn is a courageous move for Disney but it never really rings true when it is juxtaposed with the supernatural plot and the overall tone of the film. In fact the film removes all tension from the story line at the beginning of the film thanks to an opening that reveals a little too much. Ultimately its a film that casts such a wide net in terms of story that it has to handle many topics and characters throughout the film so that nothing is looked at closely enough and most of the important themes like the relationship between fathers and sons are never fully fleshed out or realized making for a not unpleasant but empty experience.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

NavyBean

Aug 21, 2012

Everyone tries too hard and nothing has any resonance. Jennifer Garner's over acting is particularly poor and the husband comes across as a big old scare-dy cat. Tone deaf, badly paced and full of stereotypes it all adds up to thin soup. Leaf it alone.

2 of 8 users found this helpful26

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