Adult World 2014

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: "Adult World" proceeds by fits and starts, but fans of Cusack won't want to miss his performance as the petulant poet, whose resistance is inevitably worn down by his persistent fan. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: This is the kind of cheesy, sketched-out idea for prurient adolescents that gives indie-prods a bad reputation. Read more

Ronnie Scheib, Variety: The improvisational zeal with which Cusack approaches his role is particularly fun to watch. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: It's packed with independent-film cliches, yet director Scott Coffey manages to rise above them, thanks largely to the performances of Emma Roberts and John Cusack. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Roberts is completely over-the-top here, her frantic, unfunny performance serving only to highlight Cusack's caginess and restraint. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: "Adult World" is a coming-of-age story in which the starting age seems to be approximately 9. As a result, it just doesn't work. Read more

Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter: John Cusack delivers a deliciously deadpan performance in this uneven and self-consciously quirky dark comedy. Read more

Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: A smart, incisive comedy about a recent college grad's booby-trapped immersion into real life. Read more

Ella Taylor, NPR: This amiable, occasionally sharp-eyed movie makes us understand ... that lofty ambition often equals an evasion of hard work, humility and the insight that not everyone has what it takes. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: There's a lot of juvenile shenanigans in Adult World. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: Mr. Cusack's sardonic, understated portrayal of Rat, who is not quite what he says he is, grounds the movie in a wistfully cynical realism. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: Coffey knows his movie's at its best when Cusack and Roberts collide, and repeatedly uses them to overcome the script's limitations, and almost to dig a pit of chaos beneath it. Read more

Bruce Ingram, Chicago Sun-Times: Adult World does have some smart, funny and wincingly painful things to say about the desire to make art vs. the desire to be famous for it. Read more

Keith Uhlich, Time Out: The story beats are as familiar as they come, and there are a few halfhearted stabs at redeeming Roberts's clueless character when it would have been better to push her feeble-mindedness to Anna Faris-esque extremes. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice: Adult World captures beautifully, and with a great deal of self-deprecating humor, what it's like to feel trapped in a place you think is too small to hold you. Read more