I went as someone who finds religion a 50-50 mix of fascinating and indigestible. I came out the same and have no expectations of encountering a stucco savior any time soon.
Comment
09/02/08
Henry Poole Is Here (2008)
37 %
Reviews Counted: 67 Fresh: 25 Rotten:42 Average Rating: 5/10
Consensus:
Full of Hallmark-truisms and pop songs presented with strained significance, this comic foible intends less to convert than to preach to the choir.
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Theatrical Release: Aug 15, 2008 Limited
Box Office: $1,646,452
Synopsis: For a man who seems to be living a perfect life--comfortable, engaged, full of opportunity--the discovery in a routine doctor's checkup that all is not well prompts Henry Poole to flee. He finds himself alone in a new house and a new place, somewhere where perhaps he can try to escape the fate... [More]
Genre: Comedies
Starring: Luke Wilson, George Lopez, Cheryl Hines, Radha Mitchell, Adriana Barraza
Reviews
A stronger script focus and less unanswered questions about Henry Poole might have made the film more appealing.
09/02/08
Henry Poole Is Here is a movie that asks all the big questions and then, weirdly, wrecks itself by offering puny answers.
08/22/08
Thanks to Wilson's sympathetic performance and Pellington's restraint, Henry Poole is Here may just succeed in warming hearts and lifting spirits.
08/22/08
The further the characters venture into the mystic, the more the movie itself seems to dissipate.
08/22/08
At times you feel as if you should raise your arms and shout "Hallelujah" or "Amen!"
08/21/08
You can feel the filmmakers' manipulation at every turn, yet there's a melancholy and life-is-a-gift spirit that still conveys.
08/20/08
Top Critic
A charming break-out for Luke Wilson but not the role that provides him with the dynamics we want. Touching with the right amount of mystery. Great family viewing but no thrills.
08/18/08
With characters named Esperanza, Dawn and Patience that signal Deeper Meaning, Henry Poole Is Here traffics in the kind of inspirational kitsch that only a true believer could swallow.
08/18/08
Top Critic
Sober discussions give way to a clumsily handled finale that doesn't stand a prayer of satisfying most discerning viewers.
08/16/08
Hope and faith, by their very nature, are issues that need to be handled with question marks. And yet, Henry Poole Is Here features nothing but ham-fisted periods.
08/16/08
Director Mark Pellington neatly underplays the more maudlin touches of rookie Albert Torres' script and draws a richly complex performance from the usually bland Wilson.
08/15/08
It's like a pushy neighbor who keeps inviting you to church and won't take no for an answer.
08/15/08
Top Critic
Henry Poole may be cynical, but Pellington never allows his movie to be.
08/15/08
Every so often there's a tabloid news story about the Virgin Mary seen in a piece of toast or Mother Teresa on a tortilla, and most of us equate them with Elvis sightings. This film is for the rest.
08/15/08
For a mildly quirky comedy-drama, Henry Poole Is Here has some surprising philosophical heft.
08/15/08
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