Do you want to see ‘An American Affair’?

An American Affair (2009)

tomatometer

All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 3.7/10
Reviews Counted: 38
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 32

With a plot both undercooked and cliche riddled, An American Affair unsuccessfully mixes a coming-of-age story and a presidential conspiracy thriller.

Average Rating: 3.7/10
Critic Reviews: 16
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 14

With a plot both undercooked and cliche riddled, An American Affair unsuccessfully mixes a coming-of-age story and a presidential conspiracy thriller.

audience

liked it
Average Rating: 3.2/5
User Ratings: 1,594

My Rating

Added to your Facebook Timeline. — undo

Movie Info

Gretchen Mol and Cameron Bright star in director William Sten Olsson's period drama set in 1963, which details the friendship between a John F. Kennedy paramour and her 13-year-old neighbor. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

R, 1 hr. 36 min.

Mystery & Suspense, Drama

Directed By: William Olsson

Written By: Alex Metcalf

In Theaters: Feb 27, 2009 Wide

On DVD: Jul 28, 2009

Screen Media Films

An American Affair Trailer & Photos

More Photos (4)

Cast

Gretchen Mol
Catherine Caswell
Cameron Bright
Adam Stafford
Noah Wyle
Mike Stafford
James Rebhorn
Lucian Carver
Mark Pellegrino
Graham Caswell
Perrey Reeves
Adrienne Stafford
Corbin Bernsen
Sam Brady
Maryam d'Abo
Genevieve
Thomas G. Waites
Mulroney
Jayne Heitmeyer
Barbara

Critic Reviews for An American Affair

All Critics (38) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (8) | Rotten (32) | DVD (3)

An earnest, fictional coming-of-age story is squeezed from a bitter, true-life local tragedy. And it works.

March 13, 2009 Full Review Source: Washington Post

| Comment

Dan Zak

Washington Post

Top Critic

The title sums up the bland, unimaginative and cliche-laden thriller/coming-of-age tale.

March 12, 2009 Full Review Source: USA Today

| Comment

Claudia Puig

USA Today

Top Critic

There are scenes that work here and there, but regrettably not nearly enough to hold the film together. In the end, this affair is definitely not one to remember.

March 6, 2009 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times

| Comment

Betsy Sharkey

Los Angeles Times

Top Critic

Painfully contrived

March 2, 2009 Full Review Source: At the Movies

| Comment

Ben Lyons

At the Movies

Top Critic

Start to finish, [the film] makes absolutely no sense.

March 2, 2009 Full Review Source: At the Movies

| Comment

Ben Mankiewicz

At the Movies

Top Critic

It's all presented so earnestly... that you barely realize at the time how preposterous it all is. Intrigue! Cubans! The Bay of Pigs! JFK! It's the coming-of-age tale filtered through the mind of Oliver Stone,

February 27, 2009 Full Review Source: Film.com

| Comment

MaryAnn Johanson

Film.com

Top Critic

gets in its own way by not knowing what kind of story it's telling, and by not knowing whose story it's telling

March 2, 2011 Full Review Source: 7M Pictures

| Comment

Kevin Carr

7M Pictures

A flick for Kennedy assassination conspiracy buffs which puts a whole new spin on the phrase 'grassy knoll' courtesy of the flamboyance of a nearly-naked Gretchen Mol.

July 26, 2009 Full Review Source: Sly Fox

| Comment

Kam Williams

Sly Fox

so absurd and convoluted that even JFK's legacy can't subdue its preposterousness

July 22, 2009 Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com

| Comment

Bill Gibron

Filmcritic.com

A dash of Ingmar Bergman and Oliver Stone in this Capitol Hill noir, as kinky DC sexual politics collide with flaky JFK conspiracy theories, and Bay of Pigs CIA boozer masterminds wonder if communists are having more fun.

May 20, 2009 Full Review Source: NewsBlaze

| Comment

Prairie Miller

NewsBlaze

Out of its mind at a deep, essential level, An American Affair plays its dubious scenario with a straight face that makes the silly thing quite watchable.

March 13, 2009 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News

| Comment

Bob Strauss

Los Angeles Daily News

Before An American Affair is over, you can be sure that Adam will learn a very familiar life lesson.

March 8, 2009 Full Review Source: PopMatters

| Comment

Cynthia Fuchs

PopMatters

Turns out An American Affair needed more than a name change to save itself from embarrassment.

March 2, 2009 Full Review Source: Washington City Paper

| Comment

Tricia Olszewski

Washington City Paper

Even the famous M Street stairs from "The Exorcist" are out of place in the climax of this lightweight movie.

March 1, 2009 Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com

| Comment

Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

The most compelling moment comes from archival footage.

February 27, 2009 Full Review Source: Metromix.com

| Comment

Geoff Berkshire

Metromix.com

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for An American Affair

View All

In "An American Affair," teenaged Adam(Cameron Bright) goes through several rites of passage in Washington, DC in 1963. The first is a fight with his best friend Jimmy(Jimmy Bellinger) when he chips a tooth. The second is spying Catherine(Gretchen Mol), an artist and his new neighbor across the way, not only smoking,

June 7, 2010

Walter M.

Super Reviewer

A potboiler in which the Girl Next Door meets Conspiracy Theory. Catherine Caswell (Gretchen Mol), a Marilyn Monroe lookalike who is having an affair with JFK, grabs the attention of her school boy neighbor across the street, Adam Stafford (Cameron Bright). The friendship between the unlikely pair develops slowly and

October 26, 2009