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A LITTLE HELPMovie Reviews
Dramatic comedy about a woman trying to deal with her husband's death who finds herself caught up in a series of lies. Cast:Jenna Fischer, Chris O'Donnell, Rob Benedict, Arden Myrin, Daniel YelskyDirector:Michael J. WeithornRelease Date:July 22, 2011DVD Release:October 25, 2011From:FreestyleRating:RLength:1 hr 45 min
OCTOBER 25, 2011
A Little Help, Good (Not Great) Reviews Key Cities
A Little Help played in key cities to good not great reviews. • Bill Goodykoontz wrote in the Arizona Republic, "...worth watching, mostly for Jenna Fischer.... it's her first lead role, and she's good enough to make you want to see her next one." • And Michael Phillips wrote in the Chicago Tribune, "It's not much. Yet Fischer clearly relishes the chance to play someone who's a demurely reckless mess." More Reviews Below...
A Little Help Positive Reviews (27 Reviews, reviews below)
Keith Staskiewicz, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD(cg) "Jenna Fischer's performance is sweet and subtle, but the film can be so understated in tone and plot that it's hard to tell if it's actually saying anything."(See all of Keith Staskiewicz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 96 words, 07/22/11
Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com: OUTSTANDING(cg) "I just plain like Jenna Fischer. She plays a woman who is smart, plucky, trying to do the right thing... She deserves better. We believe that, and it's why the movie succeeds."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 632 words, 07/29/11
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Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...done right -- as this satiric comedy-drama from writer-director Michael J. Weithorn is -- it finds its footing in a morose but funny reflection of life upended."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 363 words, 07/22/11
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "By turns well observed and overstated... If the film takes too long to reach its rather soft denouement, Fischer makes Laura's awakening convincing."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 297 words, 07/22/11
Kyle Smith, New York Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "File this one in the same category of edgy Long Island comedies as the equally smart 2008 Alec Baldwin film 'Lymelife.' "(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 295 words, 07/22/11
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...settles for familiar and modest payoffs. It's not much. Yet Fischer clearly relishes the chance to play someone who's a demurely reckless mess."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 312 words, 07/29/11
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "I just plain like Jenna Fischer. She plays a woman who is smart, plucky, trying to do the right thing... She deserves better. We believe that, and it's why the movie succeeds."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 632 words, 07/29/11
Aaron Hillis, Village Voice/LA Weekly: MODERATE "...has the pleasant production values, fine acting, terse one-liners, and fruitlessly overstated dramatics one might expect from a veteran writer and producer of sitcoms."(See all of Aaron Hillis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 223 words, 07/20/11
KEY CITIES (12 Reviews)
John DeFore, Washington Post: WEAK(cg) "A grating portrait of domestic malfunction... presents an extended family so unpleasant that its most enviable member is the one who dies in the opening scenes."(See all of John DeFore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 439 words, 08/05/11
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: VERY GOOD(cg) "...an odd duck of a period piece dramedy, a wonderfully detailed character study.... Chris O'Donnell, Brooke Smith and Rob Benedict are terrific."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 538 words, 07/23/11
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: MODERATE(cg) "...suffers from an uncertain tone, playing serious situations for laughs while supplying Laura with a drinking habit and a hair-trigger temper that come across as problems..."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 195 words, 07/22/11
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...worth watching, mostly for Jenna Fischer.... it's her first lead role, and she's good enough to make you want to see her next one."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 523 words, 07/22/11
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: POOR(cg) "It's not that Jenna Fischer is miscast... It's that she's mis-everything else: misused, misdirected, misanthropic.... Under these circumstances, I'd rather be anywhere else."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 470 words, 07/29/11
Amy Biancolli, San Francisco Chronicle: MODERATE(cg) "...the melodrama feels forced - manipulated by filmmakers hell-bent on teaching its main character a lesson or two about life and the need to seize it."(See all of Amy Biancolli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 210 words, 07/29/11
Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD(cg) "...amiable... gives Jenna Fischer, best known as Pam on 'The Office,' an opportunity to play a character who's just a bit more complex."(See all of Calvin Wilson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 322 words, 07/22/11
Tom Long, Detroit News: VERY GOOD(cg) "Jenna Fischer's performance gives the movie a sense of romantic weariness that lingers. Life is a series of disasters to be weathered, no matter how cute you are."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 474 words, 07/29/11
Aaron Hillis, Village Voice/LA Weekly: MODERATE "...has the pleasant production values, fine acting, terse one-liners, and fruitlessly overstated dramatics one might expect from a veteran writer and producer of sitcoms."(See all of Aaron Hillis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 223 words, 07/20/11
Nathan Rabin, AV Club: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...watchable but fairly inert... belongs to that curious subsection of dramas set in the endless, ostensibly gravity-granting shadow of 9/11."(See all of Nathan Rabin's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 334 words, 07/21/11
Nick Schager, Slant: WEAK(cg) "...intends to be a dramedy, but with next to no humor materializing the film quickly bogs down into earnest indie bathos... Phoniness so pervades the action..."(See all of Nick Schager's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 426 words, 07/18/11
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "By turns well observed and overstated... If the film takes too long to reach its rather soft denouement, Fischer makes Laura's awakening convincing."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 297 words, 07/22/11
MOVIE INDUSTRY (4 Reviews)
Dennis Harvey, Daily Variety: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...likable enough, but never really distinctive.... the performers remain enjoyable to the varying degrees that their roles aren't emotional caricatures."(See all of Dennis Harvey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 489 words, 02/22/11
Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter: MODERATE "...a manipulative dramedy set in ennui-ridden suburbia.... best appreciated as a welcome big-screen starring vehicle for Jenna Fischer..."(See all of Frank Scheck's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 537 words, 07/20/11
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "By turns well observed and overstated... If the film takes too long to reach its rather soft denouement, Fischer makes Laura's awakening convincing."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 297 words, 07/22/11
17.0 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
A Little Help's reviews are separated by an average 17.0 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
A Little Help (27 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:A Little Help's reviews cover 31.7% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 9,764 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 362 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
A Little Help Coverage, Volume & Length (27 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 3.3 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
A Little Help's reviews on average broke 3.3 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is A Little Help's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
A Little Help (27 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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