Off And Running (2009)
Average Rating: 7.1/10
Reviews Counted: 15
Fresh: 13 | Rotten: 2
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 7.2/10
Critic Reviews: 5
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 0
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 141
My Rating
Movie Info
An intimate and earnest examination of race, gender identity, and the definition of "family," this sociological documentary chronicle filters said themes through the eyes of Avery Klein-Cloud, an intelligent and generally well-adjusted teenager from Brooklyn with decidedly unusual circumstances. Though African-American herself, Avery grew up with two Jewish lesbian foster mothers, who also adopted two boys, one Korean and the other of mixed ethnicity. Encouraged by both mothers to get in touch
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Cast
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Cyndi Lauper
Cyd Morse -
David Keith
Jack Cornett -
Jose Perez
J.W. (Woody) Vilela -
Anita Morris
Florence -
Richard Belzer
Milt Zoloth -
Nancy Duerr
Yuppie Wife -
Hazen Gifford
John K. Sasser -
Linda Hart
Gina Pompelli -
Jodie Wilson
Hostess -
Mark Harris
Shriner -
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Mark Dana
April -
Tony Jones
Curtis Valentine -
Tim Hawkins
Banjo Man -
George Richards
Auctioneer -
Tracy Roberts
Patti
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All Critics (15) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (15) | Rotten (2) | DVD (2)
A patient, slightly stiff, often intensely moving portrait of a girl who believes her choices are literally black and white.
Top CriticThe director, Nicole Opper, makes space for the complexities of transracial adoption without forcing her film into a predetermined, inspirational box.
As the father of an adopted daughter, I was very moved. But the film is so well done that just about anybody will have that feeling.
Opper doesn't angle for a climactic group hug, but she sticks around long enough to allow us to exhale while this intelligent young woman begins to set herself, quite literally, back on track.
What at first looks like a heartwarming portrait of a highly blended modern family turns into a no less engrossing illustration of that situation's possible pitfalls in Off and Running.
Inspirational Documentary Features Blended Family Comprised of Lesbian Couple and Adopted Kids.
An excellent, insightful exploration of a contemporary American family...Unquestionably more true-to-life than a certain current movie starring Annette Bening and Julianne Moore.
Off and Running is so careful about being non-judgmental, that it dares you to judge it for being too diverse and multi-cultural. Was this POV chosen so we could chastise ourselves for not accepting someone because they are "different?"
...a personal and insightful character study
This documentary not only provides a look at a most unique and diverse family, but provides a subtext of environment vs. heredity
Blessed with candid subjects, a sure sense of emotional honesty and an eye for drawing out the power of small moments, Opper has produced a memorable, deeply affecting film.
Captures raw emotion of adopted teen grappling with her African-American identity -- happy ever after is subjective in America where race makes everything more complicated.
Nice coming-of-age doc about an African-American teen who shares a Brooklyn brownstone with the white Jewish lesbian parents who adopted her and two adopted siblings.
Plots of coming of age narrative features often exploit teenagers' raging hormones and explore the high jinx fueled by them. In contrast, Nicole Opper's coming of age documentary is a serious study about an adolescent's search for her personal identity
the more stilted, scripted moments that make the whole thing seem false, and take away from the thrust of the movie
Director Nicole Opper never resorts to promoting reductive, campus counselor-esque values.
Ultimately uplifting, this endearing bio-pic offers a wonderful warts-and-all look from the inside out at both the blessings and challenges of trans-cultural adoption.
Audience Reviews for Off And Running
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January 28, 2010:
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