The Descendants (2011)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: Funny, moving, and beautifully acted, The Descendants captures the unpredictable messiness of life with eloquence and uncommon grace.
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Cast
as Matt King
as Alexandra King
as Scottie King
as Cousin Hugh
as Sid
as Elizabeth King
as Scott Thorson
as Julie Speer
as Brian Speer
as Scottie's Teacher
as School Counselor
as Barb Higgins
as Lani Higgins
as Matt's Secretary Noe
as Cousin Ralph
as Cousin Hal
as Cousin Milo
as Cousin Stan
as Cousin Six
as Cousin Wink
as Cousin Connie
as Cousin Dave
as Dr. Johnston
as Kai Mitchell
as Mark Mitchell
as Troy Cook
as Dorm Supervisor
as Alex's Roommate
as Alex's Drunken Friend
as Alice "Tutu" Thorson
as Reina
as Buzz
as Hotel Clerk
as Grief Counselor
as Barry Thorson
as Tahiti Nui Singer (Kanak Attack)
as Tahiti Nui Singer (Kanak Attack)
as Tahiti Nui Singer (Kanak Attack)
News & Interviews for The Descendants
Critic Reviews for The Descendants
All Critics (242) | Top Critics (50) | Fresh (216) | Rotten (26) | DVD (4)
The Descendants is humane, decent, and close to real quality.
Payne is an unobtrusive director, a filmmaker who lets the script do the walking - in this case, perhaps too much.
The challenge in describing the film is that it doesn't neatly fit into any pigeonhole. It's a serious movie that happens to have a sense of humor, because Payne and his collaborators see the absurdity in everyday existence.
One of the year's best films, a bubbly meditation on family and responsibility that weighs just enough to matter.
In the hands of writer-director Alexander Payne, Clooney has rarely seemed so much at home.
In playing an everyman stranded between anger and duty, Clooney earns an emotional payoff that a lesser actor would simply demand.
Audience Reviews for The Descendants
A predictable pseudo-indie drama lazily written by someone who seems to have no clue about real people's lives, built around artificial conflicts and embarrassing moments of humor, and centered on a group of pathetic characters who are really hard for us to care about.
Super Reviewer
Boring and vacuous. Would have been better if the story was not focused on Matt (George Clooney) but an Arrested Development style ensemble examination of the whole family. Shouldn't have won a writing Oscar. Watch for the shots of Hawaii.
Super Reviewer
Clooney is an unlikely lawyer in Hawaii preparing for the deal of the century when his wife goes into a coma through an boating accident. What happens next, presented in a touching family drama kind of way, is the interpersonal family business of burying the dead, warts and all. Not bad, and a depiction of Hawaii not usually seen.
Super Reviewer
The Descendants Quotes
| Matt King: | Hey, I'm doing you a favor. I could go out there and fuck you up, so get a better attitude! |
| Matt King: | My friends on the mainland think just because I live in Hawaii, I live in paradise. Like a permanent vacation. We're all just out here sipping Mai Tais, shaking our hips, and catching waves. Are they insane? |
| Alexandra King: | Hey, Scottie! Raina's a fucked-up hoe-bag and you need to stay away from her! And she's going to be a meth-head and she's gonna get used by stupid guys! She's a twat! Say it! |
| Matt King: | I don't want my daughters growing up entitled and spoiled. And I agree with my father - you give your children enough money to do something but not enough to do nothing. |
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