Tooth Fairy 2010

A.O. Scott, At the Movies: Is there anything else to say except skip it? Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Johnson's a game and antic presence, but saddled with this material -- credited to five screenwriters, including Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel -- he comes perilously close to tiring out the audience with all the nervous activity and the mugging. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: As Fred Claus ham-fisted as this is, the glint of what might have been a cute kids' comedy still glimmers in random moments. But that Disney touch (which even Disney has trouble replicating) is missing. Read more

Mary F. Pols, MSN Movies: The problem is, Derek is not redeemable. Even after he's been to magic fairy land, he continues to behave like a jerk, because that is the natural state of his being. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: Like most family films nowadays, the movie squanders a lot of energy righteously huffing and puffing its message: let kids dream. Read more

Jake Coyle, Associated Press: Director Michael Lembeck shows little imagination in what could have been a quirkier, more interesting kids tale. He does direct surprisingly good hockey sequences, though, including an overhead shot of an airborne tooth. Read more

Aaron Hillis, Time Out: CGI fairy dust, dippy tooth puns and a semi-amusing Billy Crystal cameo can't disguise the fact that this sugary distraction is as hollow as a cavity. Read more

John Hartl, Seattle Times: Although it starts out as a sports comedy, Tooth Fairy quickly turns into a shamelessly derivative fantasy about the value of making things up. Read more

Tasha Robinson, AV Club: For a bad, broad comedy, Tooth Fairy boasts a surprising number of positives. Which isn't to say that it's good, but it could be much, much worse. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Tooth Fairy is a strictly by-the-numbers affair, except when Merchant is clowning around. He doesn't make you enjoy the film so much as he makes you wish he acted more. Guess that's something. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: Hey, how funny would it be to put Dwayne Johnson in ballerina slippers, pink tights, and a tutu? Not very. But here's the movie anyway, scarcely more than the pitch meeting that spawned it. Read more

Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: Tooth Fairy isn't half bad, outfitted with gently funny high jinks that place its brawny lead in progressively ridiculous circumstances. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: The marvelously handsome wrestler-turned-actor -- proving once again better than the material he takes -- dons tights and a baby-blue satin tunic in the slight family comedy Tooth Fairy. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: As dental experiences go, Tooth Fairy doesn't hurt as much as you might think. Read more

Missy Schwartz, Entertainment Weekly: A clumsy fable populated with cloying kids and a predictable hold-on-to-your-dreams message. Read more

Eric D. Snider, Film.com: The motivation for this scenario, obviously, is that someone thought it would be hilarious to see The Rock wearing wings and a tutu. Not that I dispute this, but it's hardly enough to hang a movie on. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Dwayne Johnson in shiny tights. Dwayne Johnson throwing around magic pixie dust. Dwayne Johnson flying around like a clumsy Tinkerbell. Wait. You're still not laughing? Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: As you may have guessed, this is purely synthetic, assembly-line stuff, with messages like "Dreams are good for everyone." As a result Johnson overcompensates, amping up his typical enthusiasm until it feels uncharacteristically false. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: Basically, if you've seen the ads, you've seen the only joke in this one-joke movie, although there are also endless groan-worthy gags about wings and teeth. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: The Rock can't handle the tooth. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: There's no way I can recommend this movie to anyone much beyond the Tooth Fairy Believement Age, but I must testify it's pleasant and inoffensive, although the violence in the hockey games seems out of place. Read more

Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: It's a step backward for Johnson, a charismatic performer who was much better in Race to Witch Mountain. A few more films like this, and he may be back to professional wrestling. Read more

Stephen Cole, Globe and Mail: Tooth Fairy makes the mistake of having too many anxious hockey players remain on the ice after their shift has ended. Read more

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: Kids won't mind any of The Tooth Fairy's flaws and will find the sight of burly Johnson in a pink tutu hilarious. Parents get a couple of clever gags that will make them forgive the filmmakers. And if we all remember to floss, everybody wins. Read more

David Jenkins, Time Out: The one element that lifts this above utter tedium is the presence of Stephen Merchant as tooth-fairy administrator Tracy. That he manages to come away with his dignity intact is testament to his skill as a comedian. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Perhaps the best thing about it is the sight of a hulking Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in a pink tutu and big feathery wings. Otherwise this silly story and barely there comedy is about as enjoyable as a root canal. Read more

Lael Loewenstein, Variety: A serendipitous combination of star (Dwayne Johnson), material and director (Michael Lembeck), this tale of an arrogant hockey player, forced to serve time in wings and a pastel-colored tutu, scores a goal for kids and adults alike. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: One of the film's charms is the way it carries childhood mythology to its logical, if absurd extreme. Read more