Struck by Lightning Reviews

There are some nice spins on old high school clichés and enough off-center characters and good, occasionally great, dialogue that should make this one of the year's early hits in the art house market.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5

Edgy high school comedy from Glee star has some iffy stuff

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

Some charming, buzzy talents pitch in on this short little lark ...

Full Review | Original Score: B-

Colfer here is aggressively smart and unrelentingly snarky. ... It's a smart move on his part ... showcasing his potential range as an actor and as a writer.

Full Review | Original Score: 6.2/10

What makes this film rise a bit above the pack is the recurring idea that everyone wants to leave their nests and fly high into the sky, but few are able.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4

An unexpectedly serious-minded comedy that sets itself apart from other teen fare by tackling adolescent ambition without the safety net of irony or sarcasm.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10

If you're not keeping a keen eye on the camerawork, it's easy to get lost in the film's assets - the characters are likable, the jokes are spot on & it's an all-around good time.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5

The main character is more off-putting than endearing.

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Colfer is still very young, but he needs to learn that "snide" is not a point of view.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4

Ultimately, it all portends a much brighter future for Colfer than for Carson.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4

Struck By Lightning possesses a jarring mixture of tones, with moments of dark comedy sitting somewhat uneasily alongside scenes of quiet domestic drama.

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If only "Struck by Lightning" had a sharper, stronger perspective, it might have made more of its conceit.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5

Except for Ms. Janney's monstrous mother and an Alzheimer's-afflicted grandmother (Polly Bergen), "Struck by Lightning" gives its characters no dimension.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5

There isn't much to say about Struck by Lightning, except that it's one of those interchangeable teen movies that lands in theaters in early January, the morgue for films nobody knows what to do with.

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In his screenwriting debut, Glee's gifted Chris Colfer, 22, proves he can lace a line with sass and soul.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4

It's not exactly ambitious, but Struck by Lightning is a noble failure, with individual elements more interesting than the strangled, distracted whole.

Full Review | Original Score: D+

One can't blame Colfer for wanting to expand his range, but he's created a character who is neither hero nor villain, in a black comedy that is neither dark nor funny enough.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5

Lightning is a funny, fast-moving movie, packed with barbed one-liners, goofy hyperbole, and all the oversized exasperation of teen angst. But it's too acid, particularly where Colfer is concerned.

Full Review | Original Score: C+

At times the film is charming against its own will, but it remains needlessly complicated and obsessed with its own mythology and metaphors.

Full Review | Original Score: C-

All but the hard-core Colferphiles slink out embarrassed, feeling as confused and discombobulated as if they too just took an electric bolt to the brain.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5