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04/29/09
The Talent Given Us (2004)
58 %
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 48
Fresh: 28
Rotten:20
Average Rating: 6.2/10
Consensus: The Talent Given Us is an odd hybrid of reality and fiction, but works due to its engaging characters.
Theatrical Release:Jun 17, 2005 Limited
Synopsis: Like a cinema vérité version of THE DAYTRIPPERS, writer-director Andrew Wagner's quirky indie dramedy THE TALENT GIVEN US fashions a hilarious, unconventional, but ultimately moving take on family... [More]
Starring: Allen Wagner, Judy Wagner, Emily Wagner, Maggie Wagner
Director: Andrew Wagner
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Reviews for The Talent Given Us
The ranting, whining, kvetching, self-involved family begins to outstay its welcome [...] so that time spent with them can feel like entrapment at a raucous bar mitzvah reception.
03/01/07
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06/24/06
Top CriticClick to read the article
12/06/05
Top CriticThe unwashed talent and originality of "The Talent Given Us" makes it a compelling and fascinating film.
12/01/05
Maybe Andrew Wagner was hoping they would be endearingly human, but instead they come off as annoying, hardly the type of people we want to be stuck with for an hour and a half.
10/14/05
The result is a funny and sometimes touching docu-comedy, sort of like watching your parents if they were in the middle of a Woody Allen movie.
10/14/05
Faux documentary, home movie or unexpurgated family therapy? The Talent Given Us, a funny, surprising ride with a mercurial New York clan, is all three.
10/13/05
[A] one-of-a-kind movie that sends the family road-trip genre happily spinning into these self-obsessed, overanalytical times; it's National Lampoon's Vacation as re-imagined by Dr. Phil.
10/13/05
The notion that there is no escape from one's family is elevated—and ameliorated—by the inkling that the Wagners' story is, in fact, real.
10/13/05
Top CriticUltimately, the movie isn't as strong as the idea behind the movie, or the people inside that idea.
10/07/05
Top CriticWhat initially seems hard to watch, even excruciating at times, becomes hard not to, a fascinating fiction that seems to be more real than just about any actual documentary you can imagine.
10/07/05
Top CriticIf you enjoy HBO's cult hit Curb Your Enthusiasm, you're almost guaranteed to enjoy this bawdy, heartbreaking, deeply discomfiting mockumentary.
09/29/05
Top CriticA brave, funny, affecting film.
09/29/05
Top CriticA work of inspired, embarrassingly hilarious, uncomfortable fiction.
09/23/05
Top CriticIt's tough to describe The Talent Given Us, which is why it's fascinating.
09/22/05
Amounts to something like a home movie, offering more interest and entertainment inside the subject brood than it would to outsiders.
09/15/05
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09/10/05
Top CriticWhat starts out seeming courageous rapidly reveals itself as a narcissistic, opportunistic stunt.
09/04/05
travels to some very unexpected places with its warts and all dissection of a family dynamic
08/30/05
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