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Reviews Counted:21
Fresh:11
Rotten:10
Average Rating:5.5/10
Theatrical Release:Sep 5, 2003 Limited
Synopsis: In the aftermath of a small town high school shooting, nine are killed and one, popular Deanna (Erika Christensen), is wounded. As students and the victims' relatives try to make sense of the... [More]
Starring: Busy Philipps, Erika Christensen, Victor Garber, Ken Jenkins
Director: Paul F. Ryan
Overwrought, way too long, and rife with emotional implausibilities, the film comes very close to being an affront to the memory of the victims of these real-life catastrophes, because very little in it comes very close to being real.
Top CriticNot only awful but also possessed of the potential for being truly offensive to the victims of the atrocities off which it pings.
The relationship that Deanna and Alicia forge is fascinating...as it allows for a genuine search for truth instead of something that is forced or contrived.
With an unconscionably long running time of 2 hours and 11 minutes for what is essentially a two-hander between Philipps and Christensen, Home Room feels like detention -- without the possibility of recess.
Top CriticA powerful movie that loses some of its momentum by touching on too many stories. It's not always easy to watch, but it's thought provoking.
At times, Home Room threatens to become a Driving Miss Daisy for the Clueless set.
Ryan's tough-minded little movie avoids any sort of sentimentality; nothing warm and fuzzy here, just honest emotions from two excellent young actresses.
Thanks to Philipps's explosive need and Christensen's struggling vulnerability, we see the human costs inherent in tragedy once the TV trucks have left and only the haunting remains.
Weighted by good intentions, Ryan turns a potentially riveting story of two lost souls shaken by trauma into a sappy teen drama.
Top CriticIts noble intentions are undermined by syrupy, movie-of- the-week direction.
Badly acted and, running well over two hours, often mind-numbingly ponderous.
Top CriticAt 133 minutes, Home Room is sluggishly paced and refuses to lighten up for even a second.
Top CriticIn the midst of this didactic, self-conscious movie about a high school shooting comes an extraordinary and intense performance by a young actress named Busy Philipps, which elevates the whole picture.
Top CriticDismal but not disheartening, this tale of picking up the pieces is as cutting as those pieces can be and as satisfying as cleaning up the mess.
Alicia and Deanna's journey toward friendship, or at least a truer understanding, is moving.
Top CriticOverall, it plays like the world's longest -- over two hours -- after-school special.
Top CriticToo often crosses the line between good melodrama and rank cliché.
Top CriticThough the film is overlong (it runs over two hours), it's never boring - mainly due to a pair of fantastic lead performances.
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