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American Adobo (2002)

tomatometer

30

Average Rating: 4.6/10
Reviews Counted: 23
Fresh: 7 | Rotten: 16

The characters and situations seem borrowed from overwrought sitcoms.

44

Average Rating: 5/10
Critic Reviews: 9
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 5

The characters and situations seem borrowed from overwrought sitcoms.

audience

70

liked it
Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 996

My Rating

Movie Info

Five Filipino-American friends living in New York City deal with love, sex, friendship, careers, and cultural identity in this romantic comedy-drama directed by veteran Philippine actress Laurice Guillen. Tere Sanchez (Cherry Pie Picache) is an accountant who is in her early forties, single, and not especially happy about it. Tere is an excellent cook, and often throws dinner parties for her friends, and the arrival of her old friend Lorna (Sol Oca) from Manila is all the reason she needs to

R, 1 hr. 44 min.

Drama, Comedy

Vincent Nebrida

May 20, 2003

$0.2M

Outrider Pictures

Cast

All Critics (24) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (7) | Rotten (16) | DVD (1)

American Adobo is entertaining and it's filled with fine performances from the ensemble cast.

May 3, 2002 Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | Comment
Dallas Morning News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The script by Vincent R. Nebrida ... tries to cram too many ingredients into one small pot.

April 12, 2002 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comment
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A big meal of cliches that the talented cast generally chokes on.

February 6, 2002 Comment
Hollywood Reporter
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Stiff and schmaltzy and clumsily directed.

February 1, 2002 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | Comment
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic IconTop Critic

An intimate, good-humored ethnic comedy like numerous others but cuts deeper than expected.

February 1, 2002 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | Comment
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Really is a pan-American movie, with moments of genuine insight into the urban heart.

January 25, 2002 Full Review Source: Newsday | Comment
Newsday
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A sophomoric exploration of 'life problems' most people solved long ago -- or at least got tired of hearing people kvetch about.

October 21, 2002 Full Review Source: San Diego Metropolitan | Comment
San Diego Metropolitan

Guillen rarely gets beneath the surface of things. She lists ingredients, but never mixes and stirs.

October 3, 2002 Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | Comment
L.A. Weekly

While American Adobo has its heart (and its palate) in the right place, its brain is a little scattered -- ditsy, even.

June 14, 2002 Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune | Comment
San Diego Union-Tribune

Mushes the college-friends genre (The Big Chill) together with the contrivances and overwrought emotion of soap operas.

March 22, 2002 Full Review Source: Seattle Times | Comment
Seattle Times

It sticks rigidly to the paradigm, rarely permitting its characters more than two obvious dimensions and repeatedly placing them in contrived, well-worn situations.

February 8, 2002 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | Comment
Los Angeles Daily News

Tries to add some spice to its quirky sentiments but the taste is all too familiar.

February 8, 2002 Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | Comment
Filmcritic.com

I'm not sure which is worse: the poor acting by the ensemble cast, the flat dialogue by Vincent R. Nebrida or the gutless direction by Laurice Guillen.

February 3, 2002 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | Comment
Combustible Celluloid

The film is reasonably entertaining, though it begins to drag two-thirds through, when the melodramatic aspects start to overtake the comedy.

January 31, 2002 Comment
New Times

Too much clunky dialog in mawkish situations dissolve this flick into shrill histrionics.

January 25, 2002 Full Review Source: E! Online | Comment
E! Online

Though clearly well-intentioned, this cross-cultural soap opera is painfully formulaic and stilted.

January 24, 2002 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | Comment
TV Guide's Movie Guide
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for American Adobo

forgettable. funny, touching... but too cliche.

June 18, 2011

i need to watch it first!!! i cant find your movie!!!

March 4, 2011

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