Assisted Living (2003)
Average Rating: 6.6/10
Reviews Counted: 45
Fresh: 34 | Rotten: 11
An unconventional, heartfelt blend of fact and fiction.
Average Rating: 6.1/10
Critic Reviews: 18
Fresh: 13 | Rotten: 5
An unconventional, heartfelt blend of fact and fiction.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 83
My Rating
Movie Info
The first film for writer/director/producer Elliot Greenebaum, Assisted Living chronicles a day in the life of a young nursing home janitor. Michael Bonsignore stars as Todd, the pot-smoking custodian who takes pleasure in toying with the senile residents of the retirement community. When one of the residents mistakes Todd for her son, he finds himself becoming emotionally attached to his work for the first time. In order to lend the film a realistic fly-on-the-wall quality, Greenebaum shot it
Cast
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Michael Bonsignore
Todd -
Maggie Wise Riley
Mrs. Pearlman -
Nanci Jo Boone
Nanci Jo -
Mallory Jo Boone
Mallory -
Clint Vaught
Hance Purcell -
Gail Benedict
Kathy Hogan -
Jose Albovias
Himself -
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All Critics (50) | Top Critics (21) | Fresh (36) | Rotten (12) | DVD (3)
[A] charming and original little comedy.
Top CriticThe whimsy Greenebaum wants to construct can't match the terminal sadness that naturally takes over the film.
Assisted Living is a remarkably moving look at the prisons in our midst that most of us manage to ignore until we need them.
Authentically unconventional -- opening in the form of an almost convincing mock documentary -- but it gradually evolves into something more deeply affecting.
Works more than it doesn't, though it's easy to conclude that the film exploits some of the elderly in the movie.
In this lovely and loving film, the comedy is mellow and the mood is intimate.
Sensitively considers the potential for liberation of the mind from the shackles of the aging body, no matter how deteriorated that physical human essence might be.
Sensitively considers the potential for liberation of the mind from the shackles of the aging body, no matter how deteriorated that physical human essence might be.
There is a certain meditative grace to the cinematography here, but after a while, well, I was just plain bored.
It's a slight movie, setting a poignant scene but not quite filling out even its running time. Still, I like its wry sense of humor and compassionate heart.
There is a tender, poignant story in here... worthy of a great 20-minute short, not enough to fill writer-director Elliot Greenebaum's rambling mock-documentary.
Has a few enlightening moments but has just as many that are tedious.
Watching the movie is like conducting a conversation with a loved one stricken by Alzheimer's: It's at once moving and maddening.
Becomes an affecting story about the bond that develops between shiftless Todd and Mrs. Pearlman.
Maggie Riley, a former circus performer who suffered two strokes and a heart attack during the filming of this movie, is a revelation in this role [Mrs. Pearlman].
Audience Reviews for Assisted Living
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