Jakob the Liar Reviews
Top CriticJakob the Liar wants the freedom of the Benigni film but doesn't want to pay the dues.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/4
Williams is seriously miscast, and his presence in the movie damages its credibility and effectiveness.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/4
None of these reliable performers can put enough spin on their roles to conjure up more than the good will they've earned in previous and better movies.
| Original Score: 2/4
I never lost awareness that I was watching actors speaking lines, not real people.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/4
Jakob the Liar is a trial of cliche, strained optimism, and dire quasi-comedy.
It's jolting that such a potentially life-affirming movie could be so lifeless.
Matinee Magazine
The movie does absolutely no justice to its subject matter.
Full Review
| Original Score: D-
Compuserve
Jakob the Liar is too closed off to provide sufficient air for its deprecating humor (jokes, such as they are, fall flat), and the relentless struggle by the hapless people to survive is not adequately transmitted.
Full Review
| Original Score: 7/10
Jakob the Liar plays like a Robin Williams concentration-camp comedy that was intended to cash in on the success of Roberto Benigni's Life Is Beautiful.
Internet Reviews
The story is so underdeveloped that it's almost inert.
Full Review
| Original Score: 1/4
The film anticipates all laughter and emotion in ways that make it its own worst enemy.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/5
Scott Renshaw's Screening Room
I am of the depressing opinion that Williams is growing less assured as an actor in his 'serious' roles with every passing year.
Full Review
| Original Score: 5/10
Irish Times
