Story: Drama about a man in his forties who loses his job as a roadie and returns to his mother's home in Queens, New York, where he encounters his old flame and a former nemesis, now a married couple. Cast:Ron Eldard, Jill Hennessy, Lois Smith, Bobby CannavaleDirector:Michael CuestaOpened:January 6, 2012On DVD:March 19, 2012From:MagnoliaRating:RLength:1 hr. 35 min.
Roadie (2012) played in limited release to good not great reviews. • John Anderson wrote in Daily Variety, "Low-budget pic, a showcase for the outsized acting talents of Ron Eldard, Bobby Cannavale and Jill Hennessy, is appropriately gritty, honest and uncategorizable." • And Andrew O'Hehir wrote for Salon, "I simultaneously want to endorse its ambition and nerve and report that it's a very mixed bag." More Reviews Below...
Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: MODERATE(cg) "While the excellent cast does its level, honest best with the material, the material itself feels secondhand... the film's end credits feature Adam Duritz covering a Jackson Browne song. That just ain't right."(Read the full review...) 590 words, 01/05/12
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...a film about a middle-aged rock 'n' roll Sherpa who's lost his job and moorings... features a gruffly tender Ron Eldard, who brings layers of complication to his character..."(Read the full review...) 722 words, 01/06/12
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: EXCELLENT(cg) "Michael Cuesta's perfectly-pitched indie captures the pain of arrested development with so much empathy and insight, you can't help but root for the unmoored, overgrown adolescent at its center."(Read the full review...) 390 words, 01/06/12
Kyle Smith, New York Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Soulfully directed by Michael Cuesta ('L.I.E.')... short on narrative momentum, but it's a perfectly attuned character study of this rock relic and his middle-aged sorrows."(Read the full review...) 190 words, 01/06/12
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...director Michael Cuesta wrote the script with his brother, Gerald -- they understand exactly what it means to believe too deeply in rock and roll."(Read the full review...) 363 words, 01/20/12
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD "Ron Eldard, with eyes projecting adolescent vulnerability and a body lost to awkward midlife chub, is enough to redeem director Michael Cuesta's indie commonplaces."(Read the full review...) 229 words, 01/04/12
KEY CITIES (1 Review)
Walter Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "Michael Cuesta ('L.I.E.') directed the picture and wrote it with his brother, Gerald Cuesta.... the climactic scene, a booze- and drug-fueled party where Jimmy is stripped of illusions, has impact."(Read the full review...) 281 words, 02/24/12
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (4 Reviews)
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD "Ron Eldard, with eyes projecting adolescent vulnerability and a body lost to awkward midlife chub, is enough to redeem director Michael Cuesta's indie commonplaces."(Read the full review...) 229 words, 01/04/12
Alison Willmore, AV Club: MODERATE(cg) "Aside from the entertaining specificity about its setting and its protagonist's profession, 'Roadie' is as disappointingly rote as its standard setup suggests."(Read the full review...) 406 words, 01/05/12
Nick Schager, Slant: WEAK(cg) "...a slice of slight character-driven conventionality in which directorial sensitivity and drama rooted in tense conversations and intermittent blow-ups prove incapable of imparting depth to a tale that plays like a series of simplistic stock gestures."(Read the full review...) 398 words, 01/04/12
HIGHBROW PRESS (2 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...a film about a middle-aged rock 'n' roll Sherpa who's lost his job and moorings... features a gruffly tender Ron Eldard, who brings layers of complication to his character..."(Read the full review...) 722 words, 01/06/12
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "I simultaneously want to endorse the film's ambition and nerve and report that it's a very mixed bag."(Read the full review...) 756 words, 04/25/11
MOVIE INDUSTRY (2 Reviews)
John Anderson, Daily Variety: GOOD "Low-budget pic, a showcase for the outsized acting talents of Ron Eldard, Bobby Cannavale and Jill Hennessy, is appropriately gritty, honest and uncategorizable."(Read the full review...) 604 words, 04/23/11
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...a film about a middle-aged rock 'n' roll Sherpa who's lost his job and moorings... features a gruffly tender Ron Eldard, who brings layers of complication to his character..."(Read the full review...) 722 words, 01/06/12
13.2 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Roadie (2012)'s reviews are separated by an average 13.2 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.
Roadie (2012) (12 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Roadie (2012)'s reviews cover 14.9% of potential readers (average is 68.2%). Volume:The film's reviews total 5,158 words involume (average is 19,979 words). Length:The film's reviews average 430 words in length (the norm is 512 words).
Reviews Broke 24 Days Before Release (Norm is 0.2 Release)
Roadie (2012)'s reviews on average broke 24 days before opening. Norm for this measure is 0.2 hours after. 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 Roadie (2012)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Roadie (2012) (12 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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