The further the characters venture into the mystic, the more the movie itself seems to dissipate.
Henry Poole Is Here (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:84
Fresh:32
Rotten:52
Average Rating:5/10
Consensus: Full of Hallmark-truisms and pop songs presented with strained significance, this comic foible intends less to convert than to preach to the choir.
Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for thematic elements and some language.
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Aug 15, 2008 Limited
Box Office: $1,749,146
Synopsis: For a man who seems to be living a perfect life--comfortable, engaged, full of opportunity--the discovery in a routine doctor's checkup that all is not well prompts Henry Poole to flee. He finds... For a man who seems to be living a perfect life--comfortable, engaged, full of opportunity--the discovery in a routine doctor's checkup that all is not well prompts Henry Poole to flee. He finds himself alone in a new house and a new place, somewhere where perhaps he can try to escape the fate that he has been dealt. It's a house in a working-class suburb with neighbors who welcome him, or at least try to; he finds them rather unattractive, frankly, but fine for his purposes. But life won't let him alone. His neighbors' intrusions, the discovery of a "miracle" on a backyard wall, and the attentions of a little girl with a tape recorder disrupt whatever hopes he had for hiding out. Director Mark Pellington revisits Sundance (Going All the Way played at the 1997 Festival) with a very personal work about devastation and the need to find yourself. Inspired by Pellington's own loss, Henry Poole Is Here is a work that is soul searching in the best sense of the word. Poignant, yet acerbic and funny, it tells us about faith, the vagaries of life and death, and personal salvation. Powered by a resonant performance from the remarkable Luke Wilson, Henry Poole Is Here is full of small moments and meanings that make it a memorable film. -- © Sundance Film Festival [More]
Starring: Luke Wilson, George Lopez, Cheryl Hines, Radha Mitchell
Starring: Luke Wilson, George Lopez, Cheryl Hines, Radha Mitchell, Adriana Barraza
Director: Mark Pellington
Director: Mark Pellington
Screenwriter: Albert Torres
Studio: Overture Films
Reviews for Henry Poole Is Here
At times you feel as if you should raise your arms and shout "Hallelujah" or "Amen!"
You can feel the filmmakers' manipulation at every turn, yet there's a melancholy and life-is-a-gift spirit that still conveys.
A charming break-out for Luke Wilson but not the role that provides him with the dynamics we want. Touching with the right amount of mystery. Great family viewing but no thrills.
With characters named Esperanza, Dawn and Patience that signal Deeper Meaning, Henry Poole Is Here traffics in the kind of inspirational kitsch that only a true believer could swallow.
Sober discussions give way to a clumsily handled finale that doesn't stand a prayer of satisfying most discerning viewers.
Hope and faith, by their very nature, are issues that need to be handled with question marks. And yet, Henry Poole Is Here features nothing but ham-fisted periods.
Director Mark Pellington neatly underplays the more maudlin touches of rookie Albert Torres' script and draws a richly complex performance from the usually bland Wilson.
It's like a pushy neighbor who keeps inviting you to church and won't take no for an answer.
Henry Poole may be cynical, but Pellington never allows his movie to be.
Every so often there's a tabloid news story about the Virgin Mary seen in a piece of toast or Mother Teresa on a tortilla, and most of us equate them with Elvis sightings. This film is for the rest.
For a mildly quirky comedy-drama, Henry Poole Is Here has some surprising philosophical heft.
Gooey, ponderous, and maudlin. It's less a tale of religious rebirth than a faith-based Hallmark card.
Henry Poole is Here is one of those average guy-miracle stories that are supposed to make you feel good, but instead it just makes you feel used, and used rather badly.
Latest News for Henry Poole Is Here
April 27, 2008:
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