Cyrus 2010

Amy Nicholson, I.E. Weekly: Moment to moment it's miserably enjoyable and true, especially Reilly's turn as a regressed adult who slowly learns to be the man his woman deserves Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: Nobody can play beaten and amusing better than Reilly, and no one is better at playing broken, accessible beauty than Tomei. Read more

Michael Phillips, At the Movies: This one's a disappointment, though, even with a valiant A-list cast. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: Despite their indie cred, the Duplasses are mainstream, hence the movie's status quo finish. "Cyrus" is more finely tuned than their earlier movies ("The Puffy Chair, Baghead), but it shares a similar, almost aggressive lack of ambition. Read more

David Germain, Associated Press: Despite their weird interrelations, these mismatched folks do seem like people you might know for real, the players in another of life's random acts of kinkiness that help to keep our curious species fresh and interesting. Read more

David Fear, Time Out: Neither Reilly nor Tomei have ever seemed so effortlessly funny, and whoever thought to cast one of Judd Apatow's regulars as a dysfunctional, disturbed manchild should be dubbed a genius. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: I've seldom seen a film in which three intelligent, articulate people make so many penetrating observations about themselves, and address their bizarre situation so directly, without providing, or indeed possessing, the slightest clue... Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Cyrus stays with you for a while after it's over; like an odd, unexpected party guest who nonetheless leaves an indelible impression. Read more

Noel Murray, AV Club: Once again with the Duplasses, there just isn't enough of anything: not enough funny lines, not enough variation of mood, not enough plot. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Although Hill certainly has been good in previous roles, this goes beyond what we've seen. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: It's too slack to shock. The film has its moments, but it shows the Duplasses poised on the edge of the big time with nothing to say and no real interest in risk. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Jonah Hill delivers a craftier comic performance than anything in his box-office hits, but what really elevates the story above its shticky premise is the combined neuroses of all three characters. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: A comedy of discomfort that walks a wonderful line between reality-based emotional honesty and engaging humor, it demonstrates the good things that happen when quirky independent style combines with top-of-the-line acting skill. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Cyrus slows down by the end, and even before then it's often too mopey for its own good. But there's an original comic temperament at work here, and that's rare. Read more

Tom Maurstad, Dallas Morning News: A movie that melds creepy and comic so seamlessly that almost every laugh is undercut by a cringe. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: Delightfully demented and unique. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: Cyrus may on some level be a stunt, yet the Duplasses' slightly sluggish, low-budget, mumblecore style allows this story to flower as both light-fingered lark and drama of suspenseful dysfunction. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: A comedy of discomfort that walks a wonderful line between reality-based emotional honesty and engaging humor, it demonstrates the good things that happen when quirky independent style combines with top-of-the-line acting skill. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Cyrus sounds like the sort of comedy in which people end up dropping buckets of paint on each other's heads, but the Duplasses treat the characters and their dilemma with utmost seriousness, a technique that gives the movie its uncomfortably comic vibe. Read more

Jennie Yabroff, Newsweek: Cyrus successfully walks the line between dark comedy and scary movie, thanks to the performances by Hill, Reilly, and Tomei, which are uniformly great. Read more

David Denby, New Yorker: The Duplasses' sensitivity, which is genuine, yields too much tepid relationship-speak, and Marisa Tomei, one of the most appealing actresses in Hollywood, is left with little to play. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: What's here is good enough to make you wish the Duplasses had gone even a little further. Read more

Bob Mondello, NPR: ...still had me guessing at the final fade, which is something I can't say about any other Hollywood comedy so far this year, and something I wish I could say more often. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: We all have routines, but the characters in Cyrus have complicated systems for dealing with things, and watching them smash into each other is endearing and often hilarious. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: Although the film is labeled a comedy, it hovers on the dark side in so many shadows that it is rarely amusing. Yet it never has the courage to fully explore the havoc a real Oedipus complex can wreak on the lives of real adults. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: The movie doesn't eagerly jump from one payoff to another, but attunes itself to nuance, body language and the habitual politeness with which we try to overlook social embarrassment. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: It's outrageous, twisted fun when boy meets girl, plus one. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: All the improvised dialogue, herky-jerk camerawork and social discomfort of previous Duplass films is here, along with name actors playing damaged but ultimately human characters. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: The Duplasses are showing how modern Americans think, talk and live. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: The oblique final scene seems intended to leave the viewer in a state of delicious suspense, but it feels more like a frustratingly underwritten limbo. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: The byplay between Reilly and Hill is sublime. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Cyrus is not the jokey, polished production you would expect from its Hollywood cast and LA setting, but audiences who are comfortable with discomfort should find it "funny." Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: The questions here are good; it's the answers that feel like a cheat. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: The Brothers Duplass find humor and a lot of truth in those moments between spoken words, when the flick of an eyelid, the pulse of a vein or the purse of the lips can betray things that might otherwise not be stated. Read more

Mary F. Pols, TIME Magazine: This engaging, provocative little movie is a reminder that sometimes the person that scares you most is the person most like you. Read more

Tom Huddleston, Time Out: Simply by treating these characters as real, with all the uncertainty, emotional baggage and bad decisions that entails, the Duplasses expertly expose the hypocrisy of the airbrushed all-American ideal. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Above all, it deftly captures the ambiguity and absurdity of human relationships. With improvised dialogue and performances that go from uncomfortable to honest, Cyrus is an off-kilter charmer. Read more

Peter Debruge, Variety: What makes these Duplassian experiments work is the way their characters are willing to share their feelings. Read more

Ella Taylor, Village Voice: A freakishly engrossing black comedy about excessively mothered men and the women who enable them. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: Even at its most troubling, Cyrus is powered by a deep vein of humanism, one that offers hope to even the weirdest among us. Read more