Shrink 2009

Ben Lyons, At the Movies: A strong script from writer Thomas Moffett and stellar work from Spacey are what really make this movie work. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: I'm not his manager, but I wonder if Kevin Spacey would profit from laying off the sardonic, disaffected, emotionally numb characters for a while. They're criminally easy for him at this point in his career. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: Like smog settling over Los Angeles, a creeping sense of anomie haunts the Hollywood power players and parasites sidling nervously through Shrink. Read more

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: The characters in Thomas Moffett's script are intriguing enough, and director Jonas Pate gets sufficiently lively work from his eclectic cast, that you end up caring about them anyway. Read more

Kevin B. Lee, Time Out: Never mind the crazy cast; this weary retread of trendy multicharacter melodramas is what's really unhinged. Read more

John Hartl, Seattle Times: The script by Thomas Moffett slickly satirizes the movie industry's fascination with vampires and special effects without being especially compelling or original. Read more

Nathan Rabin, AV Club: It soon becomes apparent that Shrink is exactly like virtually all [Spacey's] post-American Beauty vehicles: flashy, phony, nakedly melodramatic, and full of big actorly moments disconnected from real life. Read more

Boston Globe: Read more

Cliff Doerksen, Chicago Reader: Man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward, and when those sparks emanate from a doobie clutched by Kevin Spacey, a smug critique of the American dream is sure to follow. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: Directed by Jonas Pate and written with a nice ear for self-delusion by Thomas Moffet, Shrink mixes cliches with some pleasant surprises. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: It wants to be Good Will Hunting set in the land of Entourage, but its bummed-out touchy-feeliness is every bit 
as concocted as its overly jaded showbiz corruption. Read more

Amy Nicholson, I.E. Weekly: Ultimately too cautious for even a Valley of the Dolls insider expose. It lambasts these walking movie biz cliches, but everyone's gotta get a happy-enough ending. Read more

Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: Director Jonas Pate and screenwriter Thomas Moffett have turned this strongly cast, potentially smart tale of personal intersection among a mostly rarefied group of Los Angelenos into an irritating and unconvincing slog. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: This is a movie for people who thought Crash was wise and profound, most of whom probably live in L.A. and know everything they know about life from watching movies. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Full of fake moments and 'Deep Thoughts' sentiment. It's the kind of film in which people stare regretfully into mirrors a lot. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Jonas Pate's derivative L.A. indie brings few fresh revelations, but it does offer this insight: There is no more juice left in the strangers-connected-by-coincidence story line. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: Shrink starts promisingly, but Jonas Pate directs his fine cast straight into a swamp of schmaltz as every loose thread of plot gets patly resolved. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: Not since The Informers, based catatonically on the idiotic Bret Easton Ellis book, has the screen unleashed a Hollywood abortion as dismal and dead-on-arrival as Shrink. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: A pity-party of Hollywood narcissism. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: [Spacey's] good, but the film doesn't find an emotional center, and we're left with actors acting out. Read more

Amy Biancolli, San Francisco Chronicle: Some of the humor is delicious. And there are a few fine moments of truth and pathos, most of them addressing a subset of grief often ignored on film. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: The characters are so flatly conceived and their dilemmas so familiar that you wonder if the filmmakers even aspired to be original. Luckily, Kevin Spacey plays Carter with scene-saving grace. Read more

Michael Posner, Globe and Mail: No one knows why bad things happen to good people. But we do know why bad things happen to good film ideas. They get ruined by poor scripts and indifferent direction. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: In seeking to depict the shallowness of Hollywood life, it's hard not to appear shallow yourself. Read more

Hank Sartin, Time Out: Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Spacey gives his best performance since Swimming With Sharks, and Palmer, the young star of Akeelah and the Bee, has matured into an actress of depth and nuance. Read more

Vadim Rizov, Village Voice: Hollywood movies don't get much more self-regarding than this. Read more

Philip Kennicott, Washington Post: Shrink is no worse than the average Hollywood comedy. But it shows, more obviously than most, the bankruptcy of standard-issue American pop narrative, circa 2009. Read more