Any Questions for Ben? (2012)
Average Rating: 5.6/10
Reviews Counted: 17
Fresh: 10 | Rotten: 7
No consensus yet.
want to see
User Ratings: 455
My Rating
Movie Info
For 27-year-old Ben, life couldn't be better. A well paid job, friends, parties, girls and nothing to tie him down. But when he is invited back to his old school to join several other ex-students including Alex and Jim in talking about their personal achievements, something goes wrong. Ben is the only speaker not to be asked a question by the school kids. This triggers a year of soulsearching and looking for answers in all the wrong places. From his best friend Andy whose solution is that they
ADVERTISEMENT
All Critics (19) | Top Critics (1) | Fresh (10) | Rotten (7)
The Working Dog writing group's collaboration feels so organic. This is searching, vulnerable, dramatic, comedy.
It's a film made for the 1% who question their sweet life while sitting on a gold plated toilet.
While the film does have its flaws story-wise, the killer dialogue with its uniquely Australian style of wit makes it a true joy to watch.
Any Questions for Ben? is watchable enough. But it could have been so much more.
It's full of the kind of fake insights and sanctimonious crap to be found in magazine self-help columns. Pity, because that's a real fun killer.
The problem with the film, apart from it being only sporadically funny, is the character of Ben himself, there's too little development and a lot of repetition. But there's a lot to enjoy here.
The whole thing made me nostalgic for Working Dog's sharper days when they would surely have perpetrated all sorts of wickedness at Ben's expense.
I sense that others who similarly fell hard for the soulful sincerity of The Castle and The Dish will feel a little quizzical about the comparative slickness of Any Questions for Ben?
The talented bunch of actors ably cut through the surface gloss, but it's tough to remain invested in the plight of the self-absorbed lead.
It's a slick, lightweight feel-good film about a bunch of characters who happen to be sharing their glamorous, hard-partying lifestyle with you for a couple of hours.
It's slight and rarely laugh out loud funny-pleasant and occasionally chucklesome is an apt way to describe its loose style-but in the end I found myself smiling along to the proceedings, so I guess that's a win.
It's far from perfect, but it's damned funny.
Although this third film from the Working Dog team is their weakest, Any Questions for Ben? is still a funny and insightful look into Gen X pressures in an increasingly fast paced world.
Even though Any Questions for Ben never really produces any unique answers to make it a revelatory rom-com, it has an easy, low-stakes charm, and is buoyed by its very talented cast of performers.
At last, an Australian film that's as sophisticated and slick as its cities, yet down to earth and in touch with our sardonic sense of humour.
The film is blessed with a sharp cast ready to tread the fine line between comedy and drama that works like glue to hold the film together
this graceless comedy has been made by middle-aged dags trying and failing to capture the mannerisms and lifestyles of people decades their junior.
Audience Reviews for Any Questions for Ben?
Super Reviewer
Discussion Forum
There are no discussion threads for Any Questions for Ben? yet.
What's Hot On RT
Bradley Cooper's Best Movies
Trailer for new Coen Bros movie
Fast & Furious cars gallery
Blockbusters ranked!
Featured on RT
- Total Recall: Bradley Cooper's Best Movies 25
- Parental Guidance: Epic and Beautiful Creatures 2
- Comic Book Movies You Can Watch Online 6
- In Pictures: The Cars of Fast & Furious 0
- Digital Multiplex: Warm Bodies and Aftershock 8
- Discover the Best-Reviewed Films in Summer Movie Scorecard 2013 0
- RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: The Last Stand and Side Effects 17
Top Headlines
-
Vin Diesel Says Fast & Furious 7 Will Take Place in L.A.
0
-
10 Things You (Probably) Don't Know About the Hangover Movies
1
-
Zack Snyder, Christopher Nolan, and David S. Goyer Talk Man of Steel
0
-
New Transporter Trilogy in the Works
0
-
Richard Linklater Plans "Spiritual Sequel" to Dazed and Confused
0
-
King of Kong Filmmaker Seeks Funding for Lost Limb Documentary
0
-
Which Film Franchise Has Been the Best for Female Characters?
6
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!
