The Boys Are Back 2009

Michael Phillips, At the Movies: I didn't think there was a minute of truth in this thing. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: The problem is that the movie always takes the easy way, scattering a few heavy, confrontational scenes among acres of picturesque montages. Read more

Keith Uhlich, Time Out: Owen brings insight and honesty to this otherwise by-the-numbers adaptation of Simon Carr's memoir, which director Scott Hicks bathes in shimmering golden tones as if the characters lived at the end of the rainbow. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: You may well cry -- I did -- at The Boys Are Back, but Hicks doesn't use hammers or harp strings; the emotion is honest and earned. Read more

Ruth Hessey, MovieTime, ABC Radio National: As the film grapples with the tension between the ideals of parenthood and the realities, the script fumbles some key moments. Read more

Nathan Rabin, AV Club: In spite of the fine lead performance, Back is a grey, unedifying slog from grief and hopelessness to parental semi-competence. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: If The Boys Are Back takes some emotional shortcuts, it still manages to convey some of the more mystifying aspects of parenthood. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: All told, the movie's a solid entry in the Bad Dad Gets It Together genre and Owen is really quite touching, especially when he's not trying too hard, which is most of the time. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: A substantial performance from Clive Owen rescues what might otherwise have been a fairly gooey fatherhood drama. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: Clive Owen was spared the role of James Bond. And The Boys are Back is an example of why we are all the better for it. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: A classy, intelligent, low-key affair and a fine reminder of what's really essential to most lives: family. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: With those piercing eyes, Owen makes a lovely, soulful Joe, of course. But it's not the nice papa we want to understand here, it's the unapologetically naughty one. Read more

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: The content of Allan Cubitt's script, based on Simon Carr's memoir, is meaty and straightforward, which gives it an unexpected power. Read more

Amy Nicholson, I.E. Weekly: Honesty defines the performances. The happiest possible ending here and in real life is that people keep going forward no matter how hard it hurts. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: The Boys Are Back is a bit like the parenting it portrays -- at times there is pain, mistakes will be made, but if you can get beyond that, there is pleasure to be found. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Owen, who doesn't get many roles like this but should be signed for more, brings a compelling and sturdy realism to Joe, making him likable but not insufferable. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: It sounds like the start of a Neil Simon sitcom, or some Dennis Quaid movie for Disney, with Rene Russo sweeping in during the second act to bring some order. Actually, that might have been okay. At least it would have had a few jokes. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: What you can't see with your mind's eye, however, are the performances, which save the movie from a treacly inevitability. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: The Boys Are Back is not a perfect movie -- but you can't do much better than Owen, who beautifully plays against his darkly brooding persona. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: Mr. Owen plays all the colors and emotions of the parenting dilemma with a probing wit and a sense of humanity that are thrilling to watch. Roguish yet vulnerable, he gives a performance that is both rough-hewn and gently nuanced. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: Owen, not chasing Julia Roberts or anyone else for a change, is pleasant enough making this 100-minute argument for unconventional parenting. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Relationships -- between men and women, fathers and sons -- are more complicated in real life, and The Boys Are Back deftly acknowledges that fact. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: There's nothing terribly wrong with this leisurely paced chronicle of a single father's struggles parenting his two sons, but there's nothing terribly right with it, either. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: The film seems to regard Joe with affection, and Owen certainly portrays him as a nice man. But why are his unformed theories about bringing up Artie supposed to fill us with affection and sentiment? Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: OK, it sounds like a tear-jerker, and sometimes it drifts dangerously close. But Owen, in a heartfelt, award-caliber performance, never goes soft. It's his core of toughness that makes the movie so funny, touching and vital. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: The Boys Are Back is based on a true story, and not in a good way. It's obviously true; otherwise why would anyone think it's worth telling a story so trivial? Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Has there been a better film about single fatherhood than The Boys Are Back? None that I recall. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: On the tougher side are Allan Cubitt's script, which is good-natured but doesn't idealize any character, and the prickly honesty of Owen's performance. Read more

Greg Quill, Toronto Star: Shot in the glorious golds and greens of South Australia's autumn, it's a convincing tale of spiritual and emotional rehabilitation, perhaps not as important as it wants to be, but not exactly a waste of time, either. Read more

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: Hicks's directing style is straightforward and unfussy - a description you could apply to this big-hearted film as a whole. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: This lovely and emotionally resonant film about a family shattered by grief deserves better than a forgettably glib title that conjures up images of beer brawls or gangster affiliations. Read more

Justin Chang, Variety: The pain of divorce and the tragedy of a parent's death supply the raw emotional materials of The Boys Are Back, making it all the more impressive that director Scott Hicks steers clear of the maudlin and the manipulative... Read more

Brian Miller, Village Voice: Carr's original anecdotes don't supply much storyline, so Hicks spans the gaps with golden-lit montages set to Sigur Ros. They're a great advertisement for Australian vacations. And vasectomies. Read more