That's What I Am (2011)
Average Rating: 5.5/10
Reviews Counted: 20
Fresh: 12 | Rotten: 8
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 6.2/10
Critic Reviews: 8
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 2
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 1,419
Movie Info
Set in California against the backdrop of the mid-sixties, That's What I Am is a coming-of-age story that follows 12-year-old Andy Nichol (Chase Ellison), a bright student who, like most kids his age, will do anything to avoid conflict for fear of suffering overwhelming ridicule and punishment from his junior high school peers. Everyone's favorite teacher, Mr. Simon (Ed Harris), pairs Andy with the school's biggest outcast and social pariah, Stanley aka "Big G" (Alexander Walters), on a critical
Watch It Now
Cast
-
Ed Harris
Mr. Simon -
Chase Ellison
Andy Nichol -
Molly Parker
Sherri Nichol -
Daniel Roebuck
Jim Nichol -
Randy Orton
Ed Freel -
Daniel Yelsky
Norman -
Alexander Walters
Big G. -
Mia Rose Frampton
Mary Clear -
Amy Madigan
Principal Kelner
ADVERTISEMENT
That's What I Am Trailer & Photos
All Critics (20) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (12) | Rotten (8) | DVD (1)
Since a large portion of the film is taken up with the theme of school bullying, it may have some contemporary relevance, but good intentions do not always a good movie make.
Top CriticAn entertaining, well-made plea for tolerance...
A forgettable title and a barely there theatrical release don't do justice to the captivating and nostalgic coming-of-age dramedy "That's What I Am"...
Mr. Harris's depiction of a saintly, soft-spoken, bow-tie-wearing middle-school teacher lends the movie a moral weight it probably couldn't have summoned had another actor played the role.
Lessons are learned, bullies get their comeuppance, and every Wonder Years plot device is trotted out for maximum and-I-was-never-the-same-again nostalgia.
Nothing turns out as you might expect, and the plot twists provide unexpected suspense.
The only half-decent picture to come out of World Wrestling Entertainment's years-long experiment with making movies
Message movie about tolerance has a few mature themes.
That's What I Am isn't a movie, sadly, it's an unreconstructed piece of television and one that's suffused with the values of the US networked shows of yesteryear.
It means to be an earnest, uplifting family film, but the movie evinces a fitful attention span, and director Mike Pavone never comes up with a way to successfully stitch together all its disparate, capital-I issues.
The latest (and by far most sneaky) attempt to slip one of its wrestlers into multiplexes, WWE Films' That's What I Am is surprisingly low on testosterone.
Charming but conventionally plotted, it's a gentle ride that's lit up by compelling turns from Harris and Ellison.
WWE Films went really highbrow with their latest movie... This is WWE's take on Gandhi!... Truly touching, which is not something I could say about 12 Rounds or The Condemned.
[VIDEO] ...an awkwardly plotted drama that doesn't satisfactorily resolve the prickly social conditions it professes to explore.
A charming, inspirational indie (with a terrific performance by Ed Harris)...upholding such time-honored principles as tolerance, human dignity and compassion.
What we learn here is that bullying is definitely, but definitely, a bad thing. Sadly, so is this film.
A placard preceding the film's title card assures that it's "inspired by true events," but the note is unnecessary, given the limpness of the narrative arcs. Who would make up such an anticlimactic story?
An emotionally affecting coming-of-age drama set in the 1960s about the importance of the many splendored virtue of respect.
Audience Reviews for That's What I Am
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
-
- Mr. Simon: You should always have a book with you.
-
- Big G.: I can't make them be nice people. And even if I could, there would be others to take their place.
-
- Andy Nichol: My father was a good man. He just wasn't very user friendly.
-
- Mr. Simon: I am a teacher that's what I am.
-
- Mr. Simon: Human dignity plus compassion equals peace.
-
- Andy Nichol: Why would God make someone look like Big G, so that everyone makes fun of him?
- Sherri Nichol: Maybe because God didn't see anything wrong with him in the first place.
Discussion Forum
What's Hot On RT
New Desolation of Smaug trailer!
Naomi Watts is Princess Di
The Hangover 3, The Purge, and More
Trailer for a squirrely heist flick
See what's on TV tonight
Latest News on That's What I Am
April 28, 2011:
Critics Consensus: Fast Five is Certified FreshThis week at the movies, we've got speedy autos (Fast Five, starring Vin Diesel and Paul Walker), a...
Fresh Links
Featured
Halloween Movies For Wimps
Scary movies too scary for you? Here are some alternatives for October 31st.
10 Best Superhero TV Shows
HitFix combs through TV history to compile a superpowered list.
Ridiculous Movie Mistakes
RollingStone proves even the best movies miss a details here and there.
Deadly Movie Kids
Moviefone lists 11 Movie Kids Who Could Kick Our Asses.
50 States, 50 Movies
For July 4th, TimeOut has compiled 50 state-specific movie choices.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter!
Spice up your feed with hourly Tomatometer updates!
Featured on RT
- Primetime Preview: Supernatural, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and More 0
- RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: The Hangover Part III, The Purge, and More 11
- Primetime Preview: Beauty and the Beast, Sleepy Hollow and More 0
- NYFF: Joaquin Phoenix and James Gray talk The Immigrant 2
- Box Office Guru Wrapup: Gravity Stuns with Record $55M Launch 80
- Primetime Preview: Witches of East End, Once Upon a Time and More 4
- Weekly Ketchup: Disney Plans Live Action Cruella de Vil Movie 37
Top Headlines
-
Fox Animated Series, ABC Comedies Tumble in Sunday Ratings
0
-
Bong Joon-ho Reportedly "Furious" About Snowpiercer Cuts
0
-
Record-Setting Number of Films Competing in Foreign-Language Oscar Race
0
-
Woody Allen Cancels Blue Jasmine's India Premiere
1
-
Lionsgate Wants Gary Ross and Jennifer Lawrence's Burial Rites
1
-
ABC Plans Kevin Hart-Inspired Series
0
-
The Shining's Danny Torrance Is All Grown Up
1
