When Roberts should be avoiding the potholes of sentimentality and cliche ... he drives straight at them.
Comment
10/22/04
Around the Bend (2004)
29
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:92
Fresh:27
Rotten:65
Average Rating:4.9/10
Synopsis: "Around the Bend" is inspired by the relationship between writer-director Jordan Roberts and the absentee father he barely knew. It tells the story of four generations of men who are suddenly... [More]
Starring: Christopher Walken, Joshua Lucas, Michael Caine, Glenne Headly
Director: Jordan Roberts
Reviews for Around the Bend
Around the Bend has outstanding acting and a short running time, and still the story runs thin.
10/22/04
This movie is too precious by half, but the smooth, unhurried performances of Caine and Walken (along with the sturdy work of Josh Lucas) allow plenty of room for forgiveness.
10/21/04
The premise is one of those only-in- the-movies deals: Walken, Lucas and Bobo take off on a road trip during which old family wounds are instantaneously healed while the sun sets in the west.
10/21/04
There are a couple of minor detours, but on the whole the movie never loses its way.
10/21/04
While undoubtedly well-intentioned...just too forced to strike more than a glancing blow to the heartstrings.
10/20/04
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10/19/04
Top CriticIf by some chance you find it on the Movie Channel or Sundance or Cinemax, go ahead…but it’s not worth the bucks to go to the arthouse.
10/19/04
An appealing performance by underrated hunk Josh Lucas can’t save this well-meaning indie debut from a mawkish TV-movie of the week glow.
10/19/04
First-time filmmaker Jordan Roberts worked on this project for years, but merely ended up with dreary cliche.
10/15/04
Top CriticIt's so programmatic, so dogged in hitting the right steps at the right time that it completely lacks spontaneity.
10/15/04
Top CriticThe movie, sadly, wants us to be all warm and cozy. It wants to tuck us into bed. Try not to fall asleep.
10/15/04
Would be a much bigger treat if dramas like this weren't already plentiful on cable television.
10/15/04
Shamelessly sincere and shamefully contrived.
10/15/04
It feels shaky as a theatrical feature, but could play better as a late-night cable curiosity.
10/15/04
It's one of those films where the characters always seem to be Behaving, as if ordinary life has to be jacked up into eccentricity.
10/15/04
Top CriticOf course, audiences need and deserve tales of family reconciliation, but that doesn't make this one any less bogus at its softly fluttering heart.
10/15/04
Sometimes you have to dig up the past and deal with it. Life is full of little surprises and nice moments and this movie has both.
10/15/04
A subdued Walken brings magic to the sweet tale of a dysfunctional family.
10/15/04
A slight exercise in sentiment, a funny Hallmark card to the bereaved.
10/15/04
Latest News for Around the Bend
January 12, 2006:
Critical Consensus: A Regal "Holiday," A Well-Trodden "Road," A Tepid "Tristan"
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