If The Boys Are Back takes some emotional shortcuts, it still manages to convey some of the more mystifying aspects of parenthood.
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10/14/09
The Boys Are Back (2009)
71
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:28
Fresh:20
Rotten:8
Average Rating:6.3/10
Consensus: Great performances by Clive Owen and The Boys save this melodrama from entering into the sappy territory it might have in less competent hands.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating]
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Sep 25, 2009 Limited
Box Office: $783,013
Synopsis: Inspired by a true story, THE BOYS ARE BACK is a deeply moving, wryly confessional tale of fatherhood, that intimately evokes both the fragility and wonders of family life. It follows a witty,... [More]
Starring: Clive Owen, Laura Fraser, Nicholas Macanulty, Julia Blake
Director: Scott Hicks
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Reviews for The Boys Are Back
Top CriticA classy, intelligent, low-key affair and a fine reminder of what's really essential to most lives: family.
10/09/09
Top CriticIt 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.
10/09/09
Top CriticThe Boys Are Back is based on a true story, and not in a good way. It's obviously true; otherwise why would anyone think it's worth telling a story so trivial?
10/09/09
Top CriticHas there been a better film about single fatherhood than The Boys Are Back? None that I recall.
10/08/09
Top CriticRelationships -- between men and women, fathers and sons -- are more complicated in real life, and The Boys Are Back deftly acknowledges that fact.
10/08/09
Top CriticClive Owen was spared the role of James Bond. And The Boys are Back is an example of why we are all the better for it.
10/02/09
Top CriticA substantial performance from Clive Owen rescues what might otherwise have been a fairly gooey fatherhood drama.
10/02/09
Top CriticAll told, the movie’s a solid entry in the Bad Dad Gets It Together genre and Owen is really quite touching, especially when he’s not trying too hard, which is most of the time.
10/01/09
Top CriticThe film seems to regard Joe with affection, and Owen certainly portrays him as a nice man. But why are his unformed theories about bringing up Artie supposed to fill us with affection and sentiment?
10/01/09
Top CriticI didn’t think there was a minute of truth in this thing.
09/28/09
Top CriticWhat you can't see with your mind's eye, however, are the performances, which save the movie from a treacly inevitability.
09/25/09
Top CriticOn the tougher side are Allan Cubitt's script, which is good-natured but doesn't idealize any character, and the prickly honesty of Owen's performance.
09/25/09
Top CriticThe problem is that the movie always takes the easy way, scattering a few heavy, confrontational scenes among acres of picturesque montages.
09/25/09
Top CriticThe Boys Are Back is not a perfect movie -- but you can't do much better than Owen, who beautifully plays against his darkly brooding persona.
09/25/09
Top CriticShot in the glorious golds and greens of South Australia's autumn, it's a convincing tale of spiritual and emotional rehabilitation, perhaps not as important as it wants to be, but not exactly a waste of time, either.
09/25/09
Top CriticThe Boys Are Back is a bit like the parenting it portrays -- at times there is pain, mistakes will be made, but if you can get beyond that, there is pleasure to be found.
09/25/09
Top CriticThis lovely and emotionally resonant film about a family shattered by grief deserves better than a forgettably glib title that conjures up images of beer brawls or gangster affiliations.
09/25/09
Top CriticIt sounds like the start of a Neil Simon sitcom, or some Dennis Quaid movie for Disney, with Rene Russo sweeping in during the second act to bring some order. Actually, that might have been okay. At least it would have had a few jokes.
09/25/09
Top CriticWith those piercing eyes, Owen makes a lovely, soulful Joe, of course. But it's not the nice papa we want to understand here, it's the unapologetically naughty one.
09/23/09
Top CriticLatest News for The Boys Are Back
November 09, 2009:
Scott Hicks Talks The Boys Are Back
RT talks to director Scott Hicks as his latest film, 'The Boys Are Back', starring Clive Owen, opens in Australian cinemas. More...
September 24, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Surrogates Is A Passable Thriller
This week at the movies, we've got robot clones (Surrogates, starring Bruce Willis and Radha Mitchell), artistic-minded freshmen (Fame, starring Kelsey Grammer and Megan... More...
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