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Movies / Upcoming / Lonesome Jim
Lonesome Jim

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Lonesome Jim (2006)

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Reviews Counted:87

Fresh:51

Rotten:36

Average Rating:6/10

Consensus: Though Lonesome Jim is leavened by sweet, understated humor, it's hard to root for such a morose, self-defeating protagonist.

Runtime: 87 mins

Genre: Comedies

US Box Office: $0

Synopsis: With LONESOME JIM, director Steve Buscemi delivers another low-budget gem about small-town American life. Boasting a fresh script courtesy of James C. Strouse, the film begins when 27-year-old Jim... With LONESOME JIM, director Steve Buscemi delivers another low-budget gem about small-town American life. Boasting a fresh script courtesy of James C. Strouse, the film begins when 27-year-old Jim (Casey Affleck) returns to his small Indiana town after having failed to make a dent as a writer in New York City. Depressed beyond comprehension, Jim must contend with his actively suicidal brother (Kevin Corrigan), insane mother (Mary Kay Place), and dangerously clueless uncle (Mark Boone Junior). Along the way, he meets a too-good-to-be-true nurse, Anika (Liv Tyler), and begins coaching his niece's hapless basketball squad. As time passes, the fog threatens to hang around forever, making Jim wonder if returning home might have been the worst mistake of all. Hilarious in its honesty, tender in its performances, and compassionate in its direction, LONESOME JIM is an example of superior independent filmmaking. Casey Affleck and Liv Tyler deliver especially wonderful performances, giving three-dimensional depth to characters that could potentially have come off as one-note clichés. One can only hope that audiences will see through the low-budget production values and embrace the film's universal themes. [More]

Starring: Casey Affleck, Liv Tyler, Mary Kay Place, Seymour Cassel

Starring: Casey Affleck, Liv Tyler, Mary Kay Place, Seymour Cassel, Kevin Corrigan, Mark Boone

Director: Steve Buscemi

Director: Steve Buscemi
Screenwriter: James C. Strouse
Producer: Celine Rattray, Jake Abraham
Studio: IFC Films

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Reviews for Lonesome Jim

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61 - 80 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

There's only so long you can watch this guy mope around without wanting to scream, 'Dude, what's your problem?'

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
03/30/06
Matt Pais
Matt Pais
Metromix.com

Yes, it all sounds quirky like most 'back-home' movies do, yet all of it rings true.

Full Review Source: Contra Costa Times | comment Comment
03/30/06
Randy Myers
Randy Myers
Contra Costa Times

Lonesome Jim -- despite its excellent cast, controlled direction and moody, well-judged atmospherics -- tends to alienate us, just as Affleck's Jim does.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
03/30/06
Michael Wilmington
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune

Screenwriter James C. Strouse (in whose hometown the film was shot) provides so few clues to the source of Jim’s malaise, or that of his entire sad-sack family, that the movie remains rudderless and not the least bit believable.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
03/30/06
Chuck Wilson
Chuck Wilson
L.A. Weekly

A slice of deadly dull life.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
03/30/06
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews

Steve Buscemi’s a very good director.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
03/28/06
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The stellar supporting cast helps compensate, and Phil Parmet's muddy photography is a constant visual reminder of the everyday desolation that helped drag Jim into his black hole of despair.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
03/24/06
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

If viewers can just get in synch with the movie's low energy and decidedly minor key, there are many pleasures to be had here, not the least of which is Affleck's affecting, unadorned performance.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
03/24/06
Gary Goldstein
Gary Goldstein
Reel.com

If Lonesome Jim feels like it's perpetually on the verge of evaporating, Buscemi brings to the material the boundless empathy for misfits and screw-ups he displayed in Trees Lounge.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
03/24/06
Jan Stuart
Jan Stuart
Newsday

Indie moviegoers have met slackers like Jim before, but he's still good company. The laughs are frequent while the emotions ring true.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
03/24/06
Lisa Rose
Lisa Rose
Newark Star-Ledger

One of those indie excursions to Loserville that lasts an hour and a half but feels longer than Roots.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
03/24/06
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith
New York Post

The real problem is its absolute absence of energy.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
03/24/06
Jack Mathews
Jack Mathews
New York Daily News

Steve Buscemi paints an honest picture of working class suburbia, where living rooms are covered with shag carpets and Applebees is the best restaurant in town.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
03/24/06
Marcy Dermansky
Marcy Dermansky
About.com

This flick is pure Schadenfreude

Full Review Source: Greenwich Village Gazette | comment Comment
03/24/06
Eric Lurio
Eric Lurio
Greenwich Village Gazette

Focuses in on a mother-son connection, rarely explored in films, after a depressed young man returns home to Indiana to start his life over again.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
03/24/06
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

Though Affleck does his best to humanize his one-note character, he's stuck in a script by first-time screenwriter James Strouse that works in broad strokes and trite moments.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
03/23/06
Keith Phipps
Keith Phipps
AV Club

The 27-year-old protagonist of Steve Buscemi's deadpan comedy Lonesome Jim lives out the worst nightmare of every bushy-tailed go-getter who moves to New York to Be Somebody (in his case, a writer) and fails miserably.

comment Comment
03/23/06
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Affleck is simply too clean-cut for the role.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
03/23/06
Peter Rainer
Peter Rainer
Christian Science Monitor

There's nothing for Jim to do but sulk in a local bar on the corner of Nowheresville and Stuckforlife.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
03/22/06
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment Weekly

Now that digital imagery (Buscemi's film is another InDigEnt production) is virtually indistinguishable from handheld celluloid, where's the 21st century's own nasty, truth-seeking front edge?

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
03/21/06
Michael Atkinson
Michael Atkinson
Village Voice
 
 
61 - 80 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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