Not awful or offensive, but pretty weak broth nonetheless.
Comment
06/20/08
Meet Bill (2008)
13 %
Reviews Counted: 15 Fresh: 2 Rotten:13 Average Rating: 3.5/10
Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins
Synopsis: Meet Bill (Aaron Eckhart)—a doormat if there ever was one. A man reduced to a mere accessory to his family by working a dead end job at his father-in-law's bank, Bill's wife Jess (Elizabeth Banks) is loathe to explain her "friendship" with the local news anchorman (Timothy Olyphant). But... [More]
Reviews
1 - 15 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
The story of a man (Aaron Eckhart) grappling with middle-age ennui at work and at home feels done to death, as does the distracting addition of a spunky rich-kid high schooler.
06/13/08
Top Critic
It tries hard to mimic the arch tone of the best suburban tragicomedies (American Beauty, et al.), but a surfeit of stock characters, double-wide plot holes and heavy-handed symbolism ruins the effect.
06/12/08
As the movie goes on, you actually end up rooting for this schmuck to take charge of his life, and in a way, the movie is sort of inspiring.
06/08/08
For those whose idea of hilarity is an adult and a kid throwing fireworks at each other, then getting stoned and playing piggyback in the mall, this movie should be a refreshing tonic.
05/23/08
With a pair of first-time directors at the helm, one of whom bears responsibility for the script, Meet Bill is a clash of poorly conceived and executed scenes lacking sense, continuity and entertainment value.
05/23/08
Takes scattershot aim at all manner of appropriate targets—the vapid nature of local television news, the perceived stigma of standing out from the pack in America, the dilemma of dreams deferred and abandoned—but rarely hits the comic bull’s-eye.
05/09/08
Male midlife crisis presents as pathological self-loathing in Meet Bill, an imperative to which the only sane response is: No thanks.
05/09/08
Top Critic
Even a hilarious turn by Kristen Wiig as the owner of a doughnut company can't save this clichéd, meandering story from playing like American Beauty lite.
05/07/08
Meet Bill misfires on multiple levels, but its foremost mistake is focusing on a sad-sack underachiever. Bill doesn't believe in himself, so why should we?
04/03/08
Top Critic
Husband-and-wife helmers Melisa Wallack and Bernie Goldmann make all the wrong choices, from the grimacing they've encouraged their large (and largely wasted) cast to indulge in, to the musical riffs that signal each and every dramatic beat.
09/14/07
Top Critic1 - 15 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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