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The Talent Given Us (2004)
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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
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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. Full Review |
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 4/5 |
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B+ |
The unwashed talent and originality of "The Talent Given Us" makes it a compelling and fascinating film. Full Review |
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1.5/4 |
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. Full Review |
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3/4 |
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. Full Review |
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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. Full Review |
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B+ |
[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. Full Review |
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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. Full Review |
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C+ |
Ultimately, the movie isn't as strong as the idea behind the movie, or the people inside that idea. Full Review |
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3/4 |
What 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. Full Review |
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3/4 |
If you enjoy HBO's cult hit Curb Your Enthusiasm, you're almost guaranteed to enjoy this bawdy, heartbreaking, deeply discomfiting mockumentary. Full Review |
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3.5/4 |
A brave, funny, affecting film. Full Review |
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3/4 |
A work of inspired, embarrassingly hilarious, uncomfortable fiction. Full Review |
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3/4 |
It's tough to describe The Talent Given Us, which is why it's fascinating. Full Review |
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2/4 |
Amounts to something like a home movie, offering more interest and entertainment inside the subject brood than it would to outsiders. Full Review |
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1.5/4 |
What starts out seeming courageous rapidly reveals itself as a narcissistic, opportunistic stunt. Full Review |
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B |
travels to some very unexpected places with its warts and all dissection of a family dynamic Full Review |
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