The 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.
Comment
09/25/09
The Boys Are Back (2009)
72
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:81
Fresh:58
Rotten:23
Average Rating:6.4/10
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 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
The 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
This 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
It 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 CriticA hairs-breadth thumbs down; Owen's trademark tousled charm carries stretches of too-loose widower's tale The Boys Are Back, but otherwise overly familiar dramatic plotting elicits lukewarm positive feelings at best.
09/24/09
Where's Thin Lizzy when you need them?
09/24/09
With 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 CriticThe content of Allan Cubitt's script, based on Simon Carr's memoir, is meaty and straightforward, which gives it an unexpected power.
09/23/09
Top CriticCarr's original anecdotes don't supply much storyline, so Hicks spans the gaps with golden-lit montages set to Sigur Rós. They're a great advertisement for Australian vacations. And vasectomies.
09/23/09
Owen brings insight and honesty to this otherwise by-the-numbers adaptation of Simon Carr’s memoir, which director Scott Hicks bathes in shimmering golden tones as if the characters lived at the end of the rainbow.
09/23/09
Scott Hicks' film never confuses sentimentality for genuine feeling. Owen brings a range to this role that that he hasn't previously had much opportunity to reveal.
09/23/09
Mr. Owen plays all the colors and emotions of the parenting dilemma with a probing wit and a sense of humanity that are thrilling to watch. Roguish yet vulnerable, he gives a performance that is both rough-hewn and gently nuanced.
09/23/09
Top CriticThere's nothing terribly wrong with this leisurely paced chronicle of a single father's struggles parenting his two sons, but there's nothing terribly right with it, either.
09/18/09
Top CriticOK, it sounds like a tear-jerker, and sometimes it drifts dangerously close. But Owen, in a heartfelt, award-caliber performance, never goes soft. It's his core of toughness that makes the movie so funny, touching and vital.
09/18/09
Top CriticA richly emotional and heartfelt drama that should strike a strong chord with discerning movie audiences around the world.
09/17/09
After a decade of weak films, Hicks has made his strongest work since Shine, an intimate and emotional father-son melodrama that while conventional and predictable benefits from Clive Owen's presence in a part that updates Hoffman's in Kramer Vs. Kramer.
09/16/09
A head-turning performance by Clive Owen and a similar breakthrough from Emma Booth ... an incredibly powerful and moving film.
09/15/09
Never does anything feel forced or contrived. Life, as this memoir reminds, can offer plenty of drama that need not abide by fictional formulas or genre conventions.
09/15/09
Top CriticThe pain of divorce and the tragedy of a parent's death supply the raw emotional materials of The Boys Are Back, making it all the more impressive that director Scott Hicks steers clear of the maudlin and the manipulative...
09/15/09
Latest 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...
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