The Groomsmen 2006

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: The movie snaps sharply to life every now and then, and its unfashionable decency really gets to you. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: This is the movie I believe Burns has been trying to make since The Brothers McMullen, 11 years ago. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: The Groomsmen may be low-cal Cassavetes or Secrets and Lies for mooks, but Burns knows his turf. The marvel is that after seven films he's still finding fresh grass. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: The Groomsmen, set in suburban New York, is a more serioso gloss on [common] guy themes. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: In a film of minor ambition, [the characters are] all worthy company. Read more

Philip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News: Traffics in such familiar territory as sibling rivalries, generational estrangements and broken dreams. But it slowly, sometimes too slowly, connects with the viewer. Read more

David Germain, Associated Press: You have to suffer through a lot of down time in The Groomsmen to get to the good stuff. Read more

Gene Seymour, Newsday: The revelations aren't all that surprising and the build-up isn't all that interesting. At least not as interesting as watching Lillard, of all people, persuasively playing the most evolved and serene of this clique. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: The problem is that Burns -- who insists on writing all his own material -- isn't a very good writer. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: The Groomsmen captures a single, specific moment, when responsibilities await but adulthood is still unwelcome. If their predicament strikes a chord, you may want to join Burns' boys for their final hurrah. Read more

Minneapolis Star Tribune: Read more

Ronnie Scheib, Variety: As time goes by, the supposedly everyday middleclass lifestyles effortlessly enjoyed by his regular Joes begin to seem suspiciously like the province of the idle rich. Read more

Scott Foundas, Village Voice: Burns remains an enigma: After six features, it's still impossible to tell if he's a filmmaker with something to say or merely one of the longest-running novelty acts in modern movies. Read more