The Boys Are Back (2009)
Average Rating: 6.3/10
Reviews Counted: 118
Fresh: 84 | Rotten: 34
Great performances by Clive Owen and The Boys save this melodrama from entering into the sappy territory it might have in less competent hands.
Average Rating: 6.3/10
Critic Reviews: 33
Fresh: 24 | Rotten: 9
Great performances by Clive Owen and The Boys save this melodrama from entering into the sappy territory it might have in less competent hands.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 21,568
My Rating
Movie Info
Prime Suspect writer Allan Cubitt adapts U.K. sportswriter Simon Carr's autobiographical novel about a successful sports journalist who is suddenly saddled with the responsibility of raising two sons from different marriages, and whose unusual parenting philosophy "just say yes" brings them closer together than ever before. A quick witted rogue with a talent for covering sports, Joe Warr (Clive Owen) never took life seriously -- until the day his beloved wife died in the blink of an eye. But
Watch It Now
Cast
ADVERTISEMENT
The Boys Are Back Trailer & Photos
All Critics (118) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (85) | Rotten (34) | DVD (3)
Hicks's directing style is straightforward and unfussy - a description you could apply to this big-hearted film as a whole.
Top CriticAs the film grapples with the tension between the ideals of parenthood and the realities, the script fumbles some key moments.
If The Boys Are Back takes some emotional shortcuts, it still manages to convey some of the more mystifying aspects of parenthood.
Owen, not chasing Julia Roberts or anyone else for a change, is pleasant enough making this 100-minute argument for unconventional parenting.
A classy, intelligent, low-key affair and a fine reminder of what's really essential to most lives: family.
It manages to veer from touching to humorous (Warr has some rather unconventional parenting techniques) without being overly mawkish, and the sumptuous cinematography by Greig Fraser is perhaps the best commercial ever for South Australia.
I felt a level of exasperation with how the character of Joe handled his own children. I'm not a fan of men who have a problem stepping up to the role of a parent.
Clive Owen gets in touch with his sensitive side in the heartbreaking drama, The Boys Are Back.
It's a fairly standard premise that is, for the most part, employed to middling effect by filmmaker Scott Hicks...
The Boys Are Back is poignant in dealing with the stages of grief but lets up with a bit of fun. Scott Hicks really is back in town.
A deeply resonant film, driven by strong performances and displaying an open affection that is too rarely depicted between fathers and sons.
Takes pain and loss and gives it a slightly glossy treatment that holds the drama but doesn't quite get to the point of complete emotional puppetry.
A couple of brief but info-packed extras complement the Shine director's latest weepy, true-life adaptation.
Boys Are Back shows unexpected resolve to approach the central conflict with sincerity, and that small effort takes something with the potential for dispiriting routine and makes it a truly responsive motion picture.
Clive Owen turns a tear-jerker into a meditation on fatherhood in The Boys Are Back
Owen reveals a rarely glimpsed warmth and the father and son dynamic has charm, but sappiness keeps the film nice, rather than as good as it might have been.
Aggressively life-affirming, unashamedly sentimental and tear-jerking with industrial efficiency.
If you could order a heart-tugging movie about a widower single dad from the Boden catalogue, accessorised with emotional moments purchased online at johnlewis.com, it might look like this excruciatingly artificial and prettified film.
Hicks's hand with these relationships is more than sure enough to guide this unexpectedly observant movie over its occasional rough spots.
The Boys Are Back strains admirably against the stereotypes which tend to weigh down such tales of the expected.
A quintessential boys film to admire with no explosions or pixelated action sequences.
Heartwrenchingly sad, yet ultimately uplifting, Shine director Hicks more than matches the film that made him famous with this deeply moving tale.
Visually sharp but dramatically flat, The Boys Are Back plays like a montage of Kodak moments that engage the eye but rarely the heart.
Often touching, more often infuriating account of an ex-pat Brit journo in Oz exploring the how-to of father-son bonding. But even if you're grinding your teeth, the film's brash exuberance and its lead actor will keep you watching.
Audience Reviews for The Boys Are Back
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
Discussion Forum
There are no discussion threads for The Boys Are Back yet.
Latest News on The Boys Are Back
September 24, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Surrogates Is A Passable ThrillerThis week at the movies, we've got robot clones (Surrogates, starring Bruce Willis and Radha...
What's Hot On RT
Bradley Cooper's Best Movies
Fast & Furious 6 is Certified Fresh
Fast & Furious cars gallery
Blockbusters ranked!
Featured on RT
- Critics Consensus: Fast & Furious 6 is Certified Fresh 18
- Red Carpet Photos with Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Gina Carano and More 0
- Video: The Hangover Part III Cast Interviews 0
- Total Recall: Bradley Cooper's Best Movies 37
- Parental Guidance: Epic and Beautiful Creatures 2
- Comic Book Movies You Can Watch Online 9
- In Pictures: The Cars of Fast & Furious 0
Top Headlines
-
Evan Peters Joins X-Men: Days of Future Past
0
-
Toby Jones Talks Captain America: The Winter Soldier
0
-
The Poltergeist Reboot May Actually Be a Sequel
7
-
Will Forte Promises MacGruber 2
1
-
Universal Plans Timecop Reboot
2
-
Return of the Jedi Turns 30
1
-
Vin Diesel Says Fast & Furious 7 Will Take Place in L.A.
0
Fresh Links
Featured
Star Trek Movies Ranked
HitFix offers their own take on the worst-to-best of the Enterprise crew's cinematic adventures.
Top 10 Star Trek Villains
Rolling Stone unveils the Enterprise's most irksome adversaries.
Celebrity Yearkbook Flashback
We'll bet you never realized how many stars were cheerleaders and high school athletes!
50 Most Classic Movie Moms
In celebration of Mother's Day, TimeOut offers up 50 iconic matriarchs from the big screen.
Weirdest Movie Siblings
From Twins to The Royal Tenenbaums, Moviefone explores cinema's oddest siblings.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter!
Spice up your feed with hourly Tomatometer updates!
Foreign Titles
- Sólo ellos (ES)
